Ever had problems with -AN fittings?

Just wondering what the kind of problems people have ever had.

Was thinking of making my own, and was hoping to get some product history with different sizes etc, and perhaps design some improvements into it.

All the 'AN' thing is, is a standard of a fitting. Came about after the war, lots of surplus and then they have worked there way onto cars! Genuine Aeroquip has passed specific test for the 'aero' industry, hence being so expensive. The stuff from china is copy's of that, but without the tests, or quality base material.

In terms of failure, it is in general the cheaper stuff that fails. Seats have been known to crack and leak and the threads on the cheaper stuff can be poor. I personally use genuine Aeroquip on anything that is critical such as oil or fuel. Then you can cheap out on the rest. e.g i have a Chinese AN8 90 degree on the servo vacuum feed.

I think, short of using a good base material you would be pressed to improve on it. I mean the fittings are smooth internally, consistent in internal size and require no additional sealing on the threads.

the real ones you dont use ptf tape do you

the real ones you dont use ptf tape do you

No mate, none of them should need tape!

It's not something I would feel confident making and selling to someone, if something fails it could cost an engine or worse.

I had a GReddy spring fit oil cooler fitting fail on my Supra years ago. The connector failed, the engine dropped all the oil in seconds, covering the underside of the car and rear tyres, all this happened whilst I was traveling over this flyover in HK. As I entered the corner after the flyover the crank spun it's bearings, the engine seized and I was a passenger doing a 360 across both lanes. I was very lucky in the scheme of things that all I needed was an engine rebuild.

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1889/6i9j.jpg

This is the thread I wrote at the time.

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?7550-Trust-Greddy-Oil-Cooler-Warning&highlight=trust

It's not something I would feel confident making and selling to someone, if something fails it could cost an engine or worse.

 

I had a GReddy spring fit oil cooler fitting fail on my Supra years ago. The connector failed, the engine dropped all the oil in seconds, covering the underside of the car and rear tyres, all this happened whilst I was traveling over this flyover in HK. As I entered the corner after the flyover the crank spun it's bearings, the engine seized and I was a passenger doing a 360 across both lanes. I was very lucky in the scheme of things that all I needed was an engine rebuild.

 

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/1889/6i9j.jpg

 

This is the thread I wrote at the time.

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?7550-Trust-Greddy-Oil-Cooler-Warning&highlight=trust

Mental!

I know a guy who used an mech capilary oil pressure gauge on his brand new AC Cobra replica build, with plastic feed, ran next to his exhaust manifold.... Well it melted.... Fire. Lots.

I've never worked with a `failed` fitting though weaker material's would be more likely to fail to such issues.

The fittings I work with are medium pressure around 10,000psi.

I'm fairly confident I can produce a high quality product, with extensive testing and research for a reasonable price. If I can produce an AN fitting from 316 grade steel (which lets face it, is rare in the automotive industry, for manufacture reasons people use 304 99% of the time) then an improved product could do the market some good?

Think AQ are tested to that pressure already and made of aluminium!

Wouldnt 316 be a better design?