Mystery Tool: what is it?

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Petros
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Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by Petros »

I bought this at a garage sale for only $2, at first I thought it was a muffler tool, for expanding the pipe to make a slip fit joint. I thought it could save me money rather than buying a sleeve or paying a shop to make one.

But after I got it home and looked it over more carefully now I am not so sure, I could not find any way for the collet-like things (of different diameters) to expand when I screw in the handle. There is a knurled nut on the end of the short pipe that will expand the black rubber sleeve, and presumably expand the collet thing that is over it, but I do not think there would be enough force to in the squashed rubber sleeve to expand the collet to flare out a muffler pipe. And there is this white plastic cone thing that I am not sure what it would be used for, it would not stand up to being forced into a metal pipe, and not much else either. The two length of pipe screw together to form a handle, the longer one has a fixed knob on the end, and the collet-like thingies attach to the end of the "handle". the collets are held together with a number of black rubber bands that look like large o-rings. The guy I bought if from had no idea what it was used for, he said it was left behind in his garage when he bought the house. It looks like a handle that is used to hold something on the end by expanding it to friction fit in the end. Perhaps a tool for installing something inside where it is hard to reach?

The case looks like a copy of a Snap-on or similar auto-tool box, there are no markings or identifying marks are it at all, not even a logo or "made in xxx" label. I thought it was a Chinese copy of a snap-on tail pipe tool, but it may not be an automotive tool at all.

I did not spend much on it, so I am not too concerned, but I thought perhaps someone on this list might know. Your guess is as good as mine.

What is it? Anyone seen one of these before? How is it used?

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'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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ARCHINSTL
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

Petros -
I posted the info - and the photo - on the Miata Club's Tool Talk forum. That Club has over 40K members, so maybe someon can supply an answer.
Heck, maybe it's worth some bigga eBay bucks - incidentally, there is a "no listing fee" offer going on over there until September 7th, if you want to sell it - once identified, anyway.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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splatterdog
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by splatterdog »

Cam bearing remover/installer for just about any engine that has a cam in the engine block.
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ARCHINSTL
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

You dang REAL wrenches just spoil the fun of a chase...
:wink:
It will be interesting to discover if the pecunious members of the Miata Club identify the tool...
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
takza
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by takza »

That ought to be worth some BUCKS to a real mechanic? :mrgreen:
Give a boy a gun-give a biatch a cell phone-and pretty soon you almost got yourself a police state.

Orwell said: War is peace! Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength...

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ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
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My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

splatterdog reinforced!
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.ph ... ost4693526 Scroll up to the first post.
One Miata member even posted an explanation of how it works!
Petros - I also asked about its value, if any.
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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splatterdog
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by splatterdog »

ARCHINSTL wrote:splatterdog reinforced!
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.ph ... ost4693526 Scroll up to the first post.
One Miata member even posted an explanation of how it works!
Petros - I also asked about its value, if any.
Tom M.
Never doubt me! :D

How it works on a Mazda/Miata site is wasted breath. Do they have anything with cam in block besides large diesel trucks ? I haven't even used one since vo-tech. Typically, machine shops do it for $20-30 while they are servicing the engine block. If you have cam bearing problems, that usually isn't the end of it...
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Petros
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Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by Petros »

Yup, that is it. It has been so long since I worked on a Detroit engine it completely slipped my mind. All the in-block cams (push rod engines) need a tool like this to install the soft metal bearings into the cam bore. I rebuilt a chevy 350 truck engine in 1975 (I was 16), it has been small European or Japanese engines ever since. Nothing I own can use it, but I know a couple of hot-rod types who might want it. Unless someone here wants to make me an offer.

Looks like I hit the jack-pot. Retail list is $204, ebay price $142. seems like a lot of money for not much of a tool.

Thanks everyone.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
User avatar
ARCHINSTL
Goldie Forever
Posts: 6369
Joined: Sat Apr 30, 2005 1:52 pm
My tercel:: Goldie is a 1986 SR5 attualmente con Weber/also owned the first T4WD in STL in late '82
Location: Kirkwood, a 'burb of St. Louis

Re: Mystery Tool: what is it?

Post by ARCHINSTL »

splatterdog wrote:How it works on a Mazda/Miata site is wasted breath.
Honestly - there are some very talented guys over there, many of whom do all sorts of work on their cars (they're not all secreteries...).
And the site has some really motorhead forums. There are a lot of folks who really care about cars. And, not surprisingly, I guess - there are many who've been around a long time and know about the time when cars were CARS - kinda like some of those Disney movie's characters.
Petros wrote:Looks like I hit the jack-pot. Retail list is $204, ebay price $142. seems like a lot of money for not much of a tool.
Thanks everyone.
So - you need my address to send the gift card?
Tom M.
T4WD augury?
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit."
T.S. Eliot - "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
"Now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
Mark Twain
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