What will make a teflon stainless hose burst?

[73z-6sp]

Just like it says. I was cycling my steering today with the wheels off the ground. Engine idling. Turning left to right. After a couple of cycles, at the end of one turn I see huge flames coming up in front of my windshield!! (hoods off) I about crapped my pants! Thank God it didnt do any damage other than bursting the pressure line. I had my trusty fire extinguisher handy and was able to put the fire on the ground out. Man was I lucky! That could have been disastrous.

So what did I do wrong? The line definitely burst. It did not pull out of the fitting. Im using -6 AN fittings. Braided stainless teflon meant for PS lines.

[Matt@RFR]

Wow, I've never heard of that happening before. You need to send it in to the hose manufacturer just as it is and see what they say.

[Steve1968LS2]

Manufacturer flaw or a mistake made during assembly (since the failure was at the fitting) is all I can come up with.. I doubt your PS system could spike the presure enough to burst the line like that.. I'm with Matt in having never seen that before.

Glad it didn't happen when you were making a hard turn.. yikes!

[73z-6sp]

I've been on hold for a while now with Russell/Edelbrock. Im not sure what good it will do to ask them. I am just happy it didnt destroy my car! I have already had a new line made. This time it is a rubber PS hose made by a shop here in town. It is a lot beefier than the one I had.
I'm afraid it may have been an assembly flaw because this was my first attempt at making my own PS lines. If there is no other explanation, then that is probably it. I thought I was doing it right! I guess you live and learn. While the SS is prettier, the rubber will be more functional I think. I guess I will leave that aspect of building a car to someone else! I dont want that happening again. Ayy!! You cant see it much anyway.

FWIW...its not really "rubber" I just cant think of the name right now.

[ProdigyCustoms]

One of 2 things. Either you had them on backwards, or you did not use the brass collar correctly. Are you sure they were not backwards? I've blown a few off in my day that way.

[73z-6sp]

Well, I guess its possible. I dont remember at this point why I connected them the way I did. Seems like the box came with some instructions and I connected it according to that. At any rate, here is a pic. Can you tell if I have it correctly? (the return line is the one still attached.)

Thanks,

[paul67]

On somethink like steering hoses i would never make my own, what would have happened if you were on the road when it went:drive2: a lot companys localy to me that make hoses up will not make steering hoses up because of that reason.

[ProdigyCustoms]

I cannot tell by your pictures what is going where.

Paul, the stainless teflon lined hoses, if done correctly, are easy to build and very capable of doing the job on PS and also A/C. They are actually easier hoses to build then normal braided rubber.

[Steve Chryssos]

If assembling PS hose at home, use Aeroquip's AQP blue hose. It is much easier to assemble and can easily handle the pressure spikes. Know that power steering pressure is not constant. Pressure spikes when the steering wheel is turned to the ends of its travel.

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