Anyone fab one of these up? I can't justify shelling out 400 bucks to buy one and no one local has any to rent or use. I am having a tough time getting my shims in and don't want to bend them by forcing it. Thanks, Peter

I think I saw someone talking about that on this board, or the driveline board.
search for "rear end spreader", I think you'll be able to find it...

Yeah, a search yieled this thread but no info on building one. I am afraid if I make it out of boxed tubing from Lowe's that it might not be strong enough.

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/fa...=rear+spreader (Rear End Spreader)

yea that's the thread.
No help there eh?

Yea, it'll need to be extremely strong, brace it like crazy... anyway, good luck :shrug:

I have no local contacts other than Lowe's, Home Depot, and Menard's for stock. They only have wimpy stuff. I can't find any bare nuts either! Weldable nuts that is, unless zinc coated nuts can be welded?

sure, just don't breathe the fumes. bare nuts are hard to find. or grind/sand them in the spot you want to weld.

you don't have a metal supply shop there of any kind? You should have some sort of place to get real materials. Perhaps a fabrication shop will sell you some material.

what is your drive method? hydraulic cylinder? acme screw?

From what I have been reading it would be right and left hand threaded rod.

hmm, BIG threaded rod... That should work, I guess post pics when you're done

Yeah, I will if I make one. I think I might have found a lead. My dad just called and said he found a shop that has them but he can't get ahold of the manager to see if we can rent one.

There a so mant metals suppliers between Chicago and Kenosha that performing a Google search for them all would probably lock up the whole internet.

And I would like to personally than Sonix for this comment:

That's a nice reminder that I have to visit my doctor in a week and a half for "that" exam. This makes the prospect all that much more palatable. Yeah. Thanks a bunch...

I talked to a couple of places in kenosha and they don't sell to the general public. They told me only unless its for a big order.

I struck out with the shop that I was talking to told me no on lending out tools. So, it looks like I will have to try to fab something up. What type material should I use (angle iron, boxed steel, etc.)? I was going to use 3/4" thread rod and nuts. How much stress is put on this tool anyways?

It seems to be a fairly simpl assembly. The thread wouldn't matter - Right- or left-handed.



I would suspect you would want at least 1/2" or heavier flat stock for the two legs, 1018 at a minimum. The pivot bar should be similar, but could be lighter so long as it has enought strength to prevent twisting of the legs. The jack bars could be the same as the pivot bar, but with provisions for the jack bolt and a shoulder for the nut to impart its force. I can't imagine the device would need to produce much more than a few tons of force.

The Kent more tool is made of something in the range of ¼-3/8” flat bar.

If I was going to make one I’d probably try something like some 1.5” box with 3/16” wall and probably reinforce it where the pins go through, that and I’d get rid of the screw deal altogether and just make a pocket to slide my bottle jack into… which would make it quicker to use

i was going to make one once but didn't have a need at the time so i put it on hold. after doing a google search i found out how silly that idea was except for finding porn sites. my plan was to make it with a provision for a 1" portapower jack instead of a screw. i thought that would be less work on my part and less effort to use. cost would be a little high if you didn't already have a portapower. i ask on here and never got replies from anyone that had one to provide some measurements for me.

I did go ahead an built one. It was a "shade tree mechanic" type buildup but it got the job done. I just went to Menards over the weekend and got some 1" pipe, 1/4" angle iron, 5/8"threaded rod and some nuts and washers. I will post some pics tomorrow. It got the job done but looks pretty bad.

Well, I found a picture of the rear finally put back together and it has a picture of the tool that I made. I tool 1" steel water pipe and welded it to a piece of angle iron as a brace.I then took some 3/8" water pipe and 1/2" solid round stock and hammered the round stock inside the water pipe. I drilled 3 holes on each piece of pipe/angle iron. 2 on the end (2" in) and 1 in the middle. I slid the now 1 piece pipe and round stock in the middle hole for the hole in the rear end case. I then took my threaded rod and inserted it into both ends on the first piece of pipe/angle iron. I put a nut on the end and on the other side of the pipe and torqued the hell out of it. Then I slid some more water pipe over the threaded rod for extra support, put on a nut, then a greased washer, then the other piece of pipe/angle iron. I inserted this into the case holes and started to tighten the "greased side" of the moveable pipe/angle iron. This forced the case apart. Quite simple and easy. The only problem is after a couple times (had to measure shims, reinstall, measure again, reinstall,etc.) the piped started to "twist" itself out of the dowl holes. Everything was welded also. The pieces didn't bend but they kept wanting to walk out of those holes. Not bad for a $30 tool compared to 400.

The tool itself is in the top right corner of this picture.

That rear axle looks good! I just noticed that you are from plymouth, surely there has got to be a couple of local shops between you and quincy that could have helped you out, or could help you out in the future, I have some friends and family form that area, let me know if you need anything and i'll make a few phone calls.

My dad still lives in Plymouth. I went to Western and senior year of High School in hmmm...hmmm...Colchester...hmm...hmm. I currently reside in Lake County. Better job market for elementary teachers.

What yr did u graduate, i went to ...Colchester as well. Lived in Macomb till moving to peoria a yr ago.

'01 from Colchester for both of us

'93 here, you guys were about the last class through weren't you? Glad to at least know that there are some local people on here!

Third to last. I believe it was '03 that was the last class.

i've just seen shops say you get untill there is 0 degrees side to side then use a rosebud type flame on the torch and slowly heat it up. Then wearing gloves (duh) carefully put in the assembly in with an extra shim (can't remember the size i think .006) and allow to cool then use the guage to check for backlash etc one again then button er up.

of course when i built my G body rear end over again I did not get the lash down that low. It worked fine though and did a couple of dozen burnouts since then and still runs awesome (untill i sold it, still regret it, especially after putting in a 3.42 posi all by me lonesome savvy)

I bought the kent tool to hammer in the carrier shims. Hopefully that'll do me for my next rebuild of this rear.