Robert Kos Technician at Lincoln Garage
Reid Meyer Technician at Reid Meyer
I bought mine after doing a full brake retube on a Mercury Grand Marquis. I did the entire job in steel line with a manual flaring set. Don't know how many flares I did but when the job was done my hands were really sore. Bought my Mastercool set the next day. Using it does take some getting used to but worth the effort in terms of time saved and results. I still keep my old flaring set around if I need to form one in a real awkward spot.
The kit produces great flares every time as long as the instructions are followed. It is simple and quick. This kit seems expensive but like many good tools it will pay for itself very quickly in reduced initial labor and in eliminating repeat operations. First time - every time!
My two gripes about the Mastercool kit are as follows:
- The dies sometimes leave tread marks on the tubing where it was clamped. These marks interfere with proper rotation and seating of the flare nut. Sometimes these marks must be manually buffed down to allow proper fit of the flare nut. This seems to only happen on smaller ( < 1/4" ) tubing sizes. When it happens it doubles the time to complete a flare.
- Alignment of the tubing in the dies can be a three-handed job sometimes. When working with a line in an awkward spot, the die alignment can be cumbersome. I finally made a tool that aligns the dies and the tubing automatically and allows two-handed implementation of the tool. Mastercool needs to include this simple accessory tool with every $300 kit! Shame on them for omitting this necessary part.
If someone stole my Mastercool kit tomorrow, I would have a replacement by next week. I have no need for regular flare kits any more.