Cal-Van Tools 166 Hydraulic in Line Flaring Tool, 1 Pack,One Size

I got this tool for flaring the brake lines on my old pickup truck. The old lines had rusted out so I replaced this with nice copper nickel alloy lines.This tool produced beautiful double flares in 3/16 inch line without any of the tearing or off-center problems that users of the cheap non-hydraulic flare tools have reported.I do have a couple complaints:1. The dies that clamps around the line is easy to slightly misalign when tightening. If this happens, the split threads where it attaches to hydraulic ram don't align which makes it impossible to thread the coupler into place and risks damaging the threads if you force it.The solution I found was to grip the 2 parts of the die with a pair of smooth jaw pliers while tightening the screws. It would be nice to see a set of machined guide pins or even just a milled tongue and grove slot on the 2 pieces to hold the alignment as they are tightened.2. There is nothing to hold the flare die inserts in place when threading the coupling on. I ran into this problem when flaring the end of the line under the rear of the truck. The line has to be pointing up, or at least sideways otherwise the insert just falls off the tip of the brake line and down through the coupling. Maybe they could add a slight ridge on the inside of the coupling to keep the die from sliding all the way through.3. This is very minor but the cross handle on the hydraulic ram drive screw is only held in place with 2 rubber end caps. When you are cranking on the handle, it's very easy to pull the caps off and then the cross piece can fall out.Overall, this is a great tool for less than half the price of any other hydraulic flaring tool. As far as the other comment about not knowing how tight to turn the screw, I had good results with just turning it until hand snug. The hydraulic system seems to be calibrated such that provides just about the perfect amount of force at this point.

I bought this item to make bubble flares. I needed to make 14 of them for my 2003 Ford Expedition. I could get not a single one made correctly. The instructions were of no help. The instructions did not tell you how times to turn the tool to make them. It was a matter of trial and error. If you turned it too many times it flattened out the bubble. Not enough and it did not form the bubble. Had a mechanic friend of mine try it. He had the same difficulty.

The tool looks very durable but clamp that holds the line will still slide when you try to make a fitting. It is definitely a better then tools under 30 bucks so you have a higher chance of success. But it still not without its flaws. I tried to make 2 5/16 double flare and I had to try multiple times to get it to work. I ended up having to use a C clamp on the die in order to get the tubing to stay put and flare.

Very nice flare tool. Nice to have one that works on-vehicle in tight places. I bought to use on stainless brake line and wouldn’t hold the tubing. I tried clamping holder in vise and using it and still no luck. Great for other tubing, just not ideal for stainless.

After trying a local bought, cheap double flaring tool. I searched amazon and found this one! Its hydraulic and doesn't take much cranking pressure to achieve a nice double flare, consistently!! I replaced every brake line on my 2000 Silverado and making the flares was the easiest part. I highly recommend this tool. Its a bit pricey but well worth the piece of mind that the flares it produce are gonna hold!

Fantastic tool works great and very consistent results every time. This tool is probably more suitable for someone who does brake work occasionally although I believe if taken care of it would last several years in a professional setting.

Nice tool . Worked great pn my stainless steel brake lines!

This tool saved me so much time. I have a small restoration shop and this tool is perfect...if you are trying to decide if it is worth purchasing let me tell you IT IS!