How I Use Rear Axle Stand Brackets to Build and Install a Rear End

Sometimes the best tools in the shop aren't the expensive specialty tools. They're the simple ones that solve a problem—and occasionally turn out to be useful for more than one job.

I recently had someone contact me after watching my 1966 Impala rear-end rebuild video. He wanted to know what I was using to support the complete rear axle assembly while I worked on it.

They're Allstar Performance ALL10178 Rear End Station Brackets, and I've had them in my shop for years.

They're designed to do one particular job, but I've found another way to use them that makes installing a complete rear end under a car a whole lot easier.

What Are Rear End Station Brackets?

The Allstar brackets are designed to attach to the adjustable arms of a conventional engine stand.

Instead of mounting an engine to the stand, the two brackets cradle the axle tubes on either side of the differential housing. That gives you a solid working platform for assembling, disassembling or servicing a complete rear end.

That's already a useful setup.

You can get the housing off the floor, put it at a comfortable working height and have good access to the entire assembly while you're working on it.

But that's not the only way I use mine.

I Put Them on My Transmission Jack

When I was rebuilding the rear end in my 1966 Impala SS, I mounted the same brackets to my telescopic transmission jack.

Now I've essentially got a transmission jack with a cradle specifically designed to hold a complete axle housing.

That's a hell of a lot better than trying to balance a heavy rear-end assembly on the flat platform of a jack.

With the Impala on the lift, I can roll the complete axle assembly underneath the car, position it where I need it and use the hydraulic transmission jack to raise the rear end directly into place.

The brackets cradle the axle tubes on both sides of the differential housing and keep the assembly located on the jack while I'm positioning everything underneath the car.

If you've ever installed a complete rear axle assembly, you know how awkward these things can be. They're heavy, they're wide, and the weight isn't necessarily where you want it while you're trying to line everything up.

This setup makes the whole job much more manageable.

One Set of Brackets, Two Jobs

That's really why I've kept these brackets around all these years.

I can use them the way they were originally intended—mounted to an engine stand when I'm building or servicing a rear end at a comfortable working height.

Then, when it's time to put the completed rear end back underneath the car, I can mount the same brackets to my telescopic transmission jack and use them to support the assembly during installation.

There's nothing particularly complicated about it.

It's just a simple piece of shop equipment that turned out to be more useful than I originally expected.

The Rear Axle Stand Brackets I Use

The brackets in my shop are the Allstar Performance ALL10178 Rear End Station Brackets.

If you're looking for the same setup, you can find them here:

See the Allstar Performance ALL10178 Rear End Station Brackets on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

If you've seen these brackets in one of my videos and wondered what the heck I was using to hold the rear end, that's it.

Watch the Complete 1966 Impala Rear-End Rebuild

The brackets shown here are the same ones I used while rebuilding the Chevy 12-bolt rear end in my 1966 Impala SS.

In the full video below, you can see the rear-end work and the transmission-jack setup in actual use in my shop.

A Simple Shop Tool That Makes the Job Easier

I've spent more than 40 years working on cars, and one thing I've learned is that a useful tool doesn't always have to be complicated.

Sometimes it's just about finding a better way to use what you've already got.

These rear axle stand brackets were designed to turn an engine stand into a rear-end workstation. They do that job just fine.

But being able to use the same brackets with my telescopic transmission jack to install a complete rear axle makes them considerably more useful in my shop.

Anything that makes handling a heavy, awkward rear-end assembly easier and more controlled is worth having around.