Anybody ever put thread sealant on AN fittings to keep them from leaking?? I finally got around to putting the Speed Demon on my car last night & just as I suspected the fittings on the fuel rail are leaking.. I didn't like the red & blue fittings, so I removed the anodizing from them on the wire wheel & polished the flat portions of the aluminum..

Now those fittings are seeping a little fuel.. What do you think of using some thread sealant to seal them up?? Or should I just try to tighten them up some more??

TIA,Scott

You do not use sealant on AN fittings. You just need to tighten them more till it stops leaking.

Yeah but do you think the missing anodizing is what's causing the leak?? THat's why I was thinking about using some sealant..

Scot,
The threads on AN fittings have nothing to do with the sealing. The seal is where the two flared pieces fit together. If you got carried away and messed up the flared part of the fitting, throw it away and get a new one. They are available in stainless if you don't like the colors.

AN fittings are A flare style fitting !! no sealer !!
When You removed the anodizing you most likely disturbed the flare itself making it useless. I would say you need to replace the fittings that are leaking.I think you can buy most fittings in the aluminum look also?

Actually, I stayed completely away from the flair because you don't see the color inside the joint anyway.. I'll just tighten them up some more..

Thanks guys :thumbsup:

If there are nicks on the flare surfaces they make aluminum repair 'cone' washers to fit in there. When snugged up they fill any small imperfections. There should be NO need to excessively tighten an AN fitting!

Leaking AN style flare fitting?

1. Overtightened, now the female flare has split. Male flare "may" be damaged, female is toast.

2. Mismatched flare angles. Hardware store flare fittings are almost always 45 degree flares. AN stuff is 37 degree. There are some "universal" female flares that use a radius instead of a flat angle. Personally, I had some trouble with them, too, and I'll avoid them if I can.

If you knocked the anodizing off, you might as well throw it away. It'll be corroded and ugly before long.