Hydraulic Pipes, How are they made?

Hi All

Seem to have collected a fair sized pile of hydraulic pipes in quite good condition. I will need to make up a few lengths ready for when I move the Hydraulic pumps on some of the 2.5's from the lower to the higher mounting to make way for the aircon compressors. How are the flares near the pipe ends formed and how are the pipes bent to curved shapes without squashing? I realise that I could get these made up but if at all possible I would like to do the work myself. I have a pipe flaring kit but none of the mandrels seem to be designed to put flares other than at the end of the pipe. Can the pipe nuts be bought new?

Regards

XMexc

What size pipes are we talking about? 3.5 mm Citroen style terminal? 4.5 mm ditto; 6.35 mm(1/4 inch) end-flanged or Citroen-style end. All nuts are available from Pleiades, as are piping and made-up pipeTwo smaller diameter pipes in Cunifer can be bent by finger and thumb carefully but 6.35 are a different kettle of fish. I would suggest in that case to buy new.

It used to be possible to buy small bending kits. I think Sykes Pikavant used to do one.

Our club has a kit supplied by Pleiades and it has the flaring ends and benders. Once you know how it is very simple but requires the flaring mould holder thingy to be in a bench vice as you need a fair bit of leverage on the 6.35mm pipe to get the olive to squish.

Hi Craig, Demag & Techmanagain

Thanks, I guess I need to take a trip to Pleiades one of these days. I had not realised that a loose olive was squeezed onto the pipes, had assumed it was formed from the pipe itself using mandrels in a flaring kit.

Regards

XMexc

I am pretty sure that most of them have a swaged end, and as has been mentioned there are tools available. I have repaired them by silver soldering an olive on to the pipe....but don't tell anyone.

Peter.N.

No, it's not a loose olive, the device pushes the exposed end of the pipe with a die on the end of it into the mandrel and this causes the pipe to bulge at the appropriate spot. Therefore the olive is part of the pipe. The trick is to get it right so that the pipe is not to short or long at the end - it has to be Goldilocks. Practice on some shorter pieces first.

My best pipe making so far was the dreaded pump to regulator on a V6 XM.

Hi Craig

That helps a lot. Got a better idea what I am looking out for now. Tried the Pleiades UK web site but found nothing on pipe tools. It there a link to the Aussie one that would be useful. If you could post a photo or two of your clubs pipe kit that would be very interesting.

Thanks

John

Hi xmexclusive,
Try again on the Pleiades website and look at " pipe fittings and seals " and items 14 and 15 are the flaring tools for 3.5 and 4.5 mm pipes.
regards Tony