Custom made shop tools

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Moparmat2000

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I found a dual 4.2A dual w over circuit prot, and a volt gage. And a back lit one thats i think 3A without volt gage. Either one would work good. I dont have a tablet. But when using my phone as a map, i need quite a bit of juice to run it and keep it lit. Def going to buy a few of these. I figure that would be great for each muscle car, and one in my truck. New vehicles have these already. May wire one up in my 08 HHR daily driver too. Had i known about them when i had 4 kids in the minivan, i woulda taken a holesaw to the plastics and wired that ***** up. Oldest kids gone, vans gone, a Dodge Journey in its place, and enough power ports right from the factory to keep em all happy.
 

Dan_Frisbie

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Not a truck tool, but I think it qualifies.
The new Indian Motorcycle (big bikes) use the engine as a stressed frame component.
Due to this configuration, there are exposed brake lines and linkages underneath that the standard (motorcycle)jack frames will rest on.
A few companies sell specialized jacks ($250+) or adapters ($50+).
I just used four rubber doorstops and the bike is lifted safely and it's steady when I'm working on it or cleaning it.
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Moparmat2000

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I’m going to take it down a notch. I can’t match your fabrication skills Moparmat2000, and I damn sure can’t compete with JackE’s Grandpa, but I have one more. I needed a transmission jack. I already had a good trolley jack and just needed an adapter for it. I think the cheapest one was almost $100 even at Harbor Freight. So I measured the pan on my 4L60e and cut a piece of 5/8 plywood (yes I think it was from the same piece as the tool cart project). Then I went to Lowe’s and got a galvanized nipple that would fit the dowel pin hole under the lifting cup and got a floor flange to fit that then I cut a piece of 2x4 and screwed it all together. It works great! I did two 4L60e R+Rs with it and didn’t even need the 4 notches I cut out for the tie downs. Because it is wood
the trans stays put. It would probably slide around on the cheap steel one. Works great for just dropping the pan. I can take all the bolts out and lower the pan without spilling any fluid or bending the flange by taking the bolts out of one side. Just goes to show what you can do with a little imagination, a little labor, and a trip to Lowe’s. Again I think I have about $5.00 in this not counting the jack I already had. Maybe this will inspire someone else.
The fabrication skills dont matter, what you made that works is what does matter. I started this thread as a way to help others out. You come up with a tool to help you do the job, weather its something made of welded steel, or wood, or something else.

Years ago i was a dealership mechanic at a chrysler plymouth dealer. Back then we used to work on a lot of 8 valve 2.2s. When doing a turbo engine head gasket it was much easier and quicker to leave the cam, and intake/exhaust manifolds along w turbo attached to the head, and pull it off the block as an assembly. Of course this make it pretty freakin heavy. I came up w 2 tools back then along with a bottle of whiteout. First tool i made from angle iron bolted together with padding on either end that would set on the top of the firewall and on top of the radiator support. It had a hook with a bungee cord. I used it to hold the timing belt under tension so it would stay on the crank and intermediate shaft sprocket that drove the distributor. After marking the belt and cam sprocket with white out , i would loosen the belt tensioner and slip the belt off the sprocket using this tool to hold the belt up

Second tool was an old pair of head bolts. I had a 10mm pair for 1985 and older, and an 11mm pair for 1986 up engines. I cut off the bolt heads, and rounded them off, then cut a screwdriver slot in the top of each. I would loosely thread them into the block one at each end, set the headgasket in place, then have another mechanic help me pick up the head with the cam, turbo and both manifolds attached and set it in place using the old headbolts as removable guide pins. Once i got the other 8 headbolts in place, i would use the screwdriver and spin these out and pluck em out with a pair of needle nose plyers then install the last 2 headbolts and start torquing the head down. It would cut 5 hours off a headgasket replacement. Working piecework they still had to pay me for those 5 book time hours i saved.

These werent elaborate tools, they were made out of old headbolts, and angle iron strut material 2ith prepunched holes in it, some ductt aped on pipe insulation and a bungee cord. When i left the dealership, i gave em to one of the other mechanics i was friends with.
 
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Moparmat2000

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I made this one awhile back for dropping out and reinstalling leaf spring axles to cars or trucks the easy way and as a 1 person operation. I am sure plenty of you have done the barbell balance with a leaf spring axle on a floor jack. I have plenty of times, and that sucks. This can also be used for buildup or teardown of the axle as well. Mine currently has a cut down ford exploder 8.8 on it that will be going under my sons barracuda.

Anyhoo the deal is that to drop out an axle with this tool you disconnect everything but the front spring eye bolts and rear shackle bolts, slide this little number under the axle, then support the rear w a floor jack, and pull the shackle bolts and lower the axle onto the fixtures perches. Then disconnect the front spring eye bolts and let the axle rotate nose down onto the removable pinion support. Then roll the axle with leaf springs and all out from under the vehicle. Installation is reverse, roll axle and springs on the fixture under the vehicle, rotate the springs up to hook in fwd spring eyes, then jack it up by the pumpkin, and hook up the rear shackles.

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Moparmat2000

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I dunno what happened to my pix, they were all right side up in my phone when i attached em. I hope you get the gist of the idea. I used heavy duty bearing races to allow the axle to rotate in the perches. The 3rd pic in the series of pictures shows a ratchet strap on the rear axle. This was while i was mocking it up with a leaf spring attached. That is not needed once the gear carrier was installed because of the weight forward of the axle tube with it. 4 swivel and lock castors were used so it can be locked into position.
 

PlayingWithTBI

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I got 4 of these nice 5 gallon metal skydrol cans from work years ago. I painted waste oil on 3 of em with a stencil,

Nice set up!

A word of caution, according to OSHA, your cans/jugs containing drained oil from your engine, tranny, rear end, etc must be labeled "Used Oil" and have a date on it when it was filled. "Waste Oil" denotes hazardous waste which can't be recycled or repurposed. Odds are nobody will care especially in residential settings but, in my past life, in heavy manufacturing we got busted - big fine!!!
 
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