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Components, Tips and Tricks for Plumbing Your Truck - Plumbed LocoComponents, Tips, And Tricks To Help Plumb Your Truck From the July, 2008 issue of Mini Truckin' By Gary Blount, Mike Alexander Photography by Gary Blount
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When it comes to the inception of a custom concept, the big ideas are the easiest to envision. However, once you see how a vehicle's mechanics were manipulated for the right custom aesthetic-without eliminating its function-you'll gain respect for the time people spend in design and ingenuity. Getting the fine details to succumb to the vehicle's conceived theme requires a great sense of design and knowledge. Other than wiring, plumbing is the primary element that can cause an aesthetic subtraction from a custom engine compartment's cleanliness. When choosing a type of line, there are a number of things to consider. When adding something to your stock system, such as adding an inline fuel filter, cutting out a section of your stock line can be done in many different ways. Part of your homework in accomplishing the task of adding something to your plumbing, or a complete replumbing, is learning the hydrodynamic principles of that system, and what it needs in relation to its dynamic. These committees approve all fittings and couplings used to flow liquids and/or gasses. For glossary terms' sake, these industry bodies and their acronyms are:
National Pipe Thread (NPT)
British Standard Pipe Thread (BSP)
Joint Industry Council (JIC)
O-Ring Face Seal (ORFS)
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)  There are three different...  There are three different types of line used in automotive. These are:  Hard line: This line type...  Hard line: This line type is sold in straight lengths of steel, aluminum, or stainless tubing. The rigid body tubing requires the use of a tubing bender to manipulate it.  Flexible line: This is similar...  Flexible line: This is similar to the hard line, but it is significantly more flexible. The flexible line is sold in rolls and doesn't require a bender to manipulate the material. For nice, smooth lines, we'd suggest a bender.  Soft line: This form of line...  Soft line: This form of line can be found in rubber, plastic, or rubber-insulated plastic. These hose-type lines are also sold in rolls; obviously tubing bender isn't required to manipulate it.  There are hundreds of different...  There are hundreds of different hose types. Here, a nylon line was wrapped in rubber and breaded; the two outer layers provide a protective thermal barrier, where the nylon is equipped for high-pressure fuel injection that can push gasoline to an excess of 100 psi.  PLUMBING FITTINGS  Getting lines, valves, compressors,...  Getting lines, valves, compressors, pumps, or any other system components to function requires fitting them to one another to form a complete system. Initially the fitting used to form a seal was a tapered thread, which by screwing it in with enough force would create a seal. This was not always completely sealed, and it usually leaked. This type of seal was developed for water and air pressure, and functioned well under a hydraulic system subject to 800 psi to as much as 200 degrees Fahrenheit.  This progressed the hydraulic...  This progressed the hydraulic fitting to a full-contact fittings that required flareing the line to form a taper. A nut, or (as shown) a nut with a tapered collar equipped with the same taper, slips over the line and supports and seals the flared line by wedging the line against the flare on the fitting with the torqued nut pressure. There are two different flares used in the industry: a 45- and 37-degree sealing surface. The 37-degree fits into smaller fitting bodies, but neither one provides a better seal over the other.  Light-weight aluminum fittings...  Light-weight aluminum fittings are excellent for marine or alcohol fuel. They are anodized or coated to prevent contaminating conductivity. Aluminum is prone to corrosion and oxidation breakdown when exposed to Mother Nature's elements, if not properly coated.  This two-piece ferrule fitting...  This two-piece ferrule fitting is a product of Swagelok. Swagelok makes stainless fittings designed to hold 10,000 pounds of psi, in a range of -28 to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. They are also available in polished stainless steel.  This push-lock fitting is...  This push-lock fitting is a soft-line fitting that uses a spring-loaded crimping mechanism. The higher the line pressure, the more force is used to clench the line. The only problem is the seal is extremely prone to failure when subjected to vibration and line movement.  Port to dash adapters are...  Port to dash adapters are used to transition fluid flow from a larger hole to a smaller port with the least amount of flow disturbance. Compressing a rubber O-ring to provide a positive seal is used by BSP and SAE. The O-ring seal, also called the elastomeric seal, offers the highest seal reliability, due to the rubber O-ring's ability to absorb damping. Adapting an O-ring, or port seal, to replace any pipe thread is easy.  Not every adapter needs to...  Not every adapter needs to make sense to you. You never know what two end types or sizes some overly frustrated "plumber" might need. But, if there ever was a need for adapting two alien fittings, or two lines together, adapters like this are readily available. Just keep the environment and the sealed system's needs in mind.  Stat O-Seals are synthetic...  Stat O-Seals are synthetic rubber impregnated, while Dowty Seals, which are noticeable by a smooth impregnated O-ring seal instead of a dimpled seal, are made for smaller diameters. Crush washers are stamped rings of soft metal, such as aluminum or copper. They create a seal by crushing down along the sealing ring to take the shape of the surface to be sealed. The aluminum crush washers are most noted for sealing swivel seals on carburetors. The copper counterpart is most known for Banjo bolt and brake fitting lines. In both cases, upon removal it's easy to see the textures transferred from the sealing surfaces to the crush washers. Because the washers seal from distortion, you need to change them every time you break the seal.  This type of seal will be...  This type of seal will be found on hydraulic steering or hydro-boost units on domestic trucks.  Convex inverted flare and...  Convex inverted flare and convex flare can be found in steel and brass and are generally used for brake plumbing. Not much converting is needed, as the OEM convex flares use the same 45-degree flare found in most dash fittings.  This screws into the convex...  This screws into the convex flare for adaptation. Both standard and inverted convex flare mounts can be found with a standard dash mount on a fitting's corresponding end.  JIC are commonly used for...  JIC are commonly used for hydraulic hose fittings, because they are reusable. So servicing or replacing a hose is easier to deal with in the field, which is one of the reasons aluminum and stainless 37-degree and 45-degree flare fittings have become the automotive aftermarket fitting of choice in the last few years.  When average pressures come...  When average pressures come close to reaching the edge of the component's ability, stepping up to the next level is recommended. Crimp fittings may not play toward reusable attributes, but its long-term reliability is higher.  Press-fit fittings use a ribbed...  Press-fit fittings use a ribbed tip and crimp sheath that retain the hose in between them. For this reason, the act of crimping is crucial, and makes it somewhat of an art.  To make things a bit easier,...  To make things a bit easier, crimp-fitting manufacturers have developed a pneumatic machine and crimping claws that provide an optimum method for crimping.  The depth of the hose fitment...  The depth of the hose fitment and amount of crimp dictates the success or failure of the crimping procedure. Keep in mind, the crimp end also needs to spin freely for installation.  Mounting lines and fittings...  Mounting lines and fittings is critical. Keeping lines from spring tension is a must. If a line's mounting and bends leave it spring loaded at the connection, it will more than likely compromise its fitting. Rubber-lined line fasteners will help retain the line and reduce vibration.
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