Can AN fittings be re used?

[shortrack]

Ive never tried it. My engine came with a remote oil filter with AN lines. Where I want to put the filter and housing requires about another 2 ft of braided steel line than I have. I was going to extend on to the lines but that will mean four new $$ fittings for a total of 8. Im thinking it would probably be cheaper to buy longer lines and re use the original fittings. Can AN fittings be re used? Anyone ever actually do it?

[andrewb70]

Yes, they can be reused. That's the whole point of having them. The only issue you need to watch for is brand compatibility. Some vendors design fittings specifically for certain kinds of hoses. So if you have fittings from Earl's, I would stick with hoses from Earl's, etc...

Andrew

[Jim Nilsen]

And even more cool is the fact that you can send them out and have them stripped and reanodized any color you want fairly cheap. It is a bout $35 dollars for anything all you can fit into a bin the size of 2 cu.ft. tote.
Chem Processing is the company we have around here.

[CarlC]

Andrew as usual is spot-on.

It's good practice to inspect the fitting after removal. Sometimes the cutters get beat up, and if they are too bad it's best to scrap it.

I've thought long and hard about changing to a different fitting color. Keeping them the standard red/blue has two advantages. First, most all of them come that way. Second, and more importantly for me, is that it is much easier to see leaks on a red/blue vs. a black fitting.

[HarleyR]

if you need fittings and hoses let me know.... theres miles of the stuff around here in he Mooresville area... a lot of new and barely used high quality stuff like Brown and Miller or Goodrich.... tons of pre made lines too if you have a length and what type of fittings you need

[David Pozzi]

I've re-used them since the early 70's. never a problem. But the cutter type fittings get rubber lodged in-between the cutter and tube and I always pry most of the rubber out of there so it's good to go.
The colored fittings tend to get scratches in them and look worse than the black, so I only use black these days. I also like the black hose over the stainless braided. The stainless can cut your hands if there is a broken wire in the braiding. Some cheaper vendors buy defective hose with broken wires and re-sell it to racers. The hose is generally rated at way higher pressures than automotive uses so it usually works.

[69Vettetoy]

I have heard that replacing the ferrules is a good idea when re-using the fittings.
Otherwise they are re-usable. I used to make them when I was in the business.