At one point or another we have all encountered a truck that is slammed down over a wide set of tires and the outer edge of the tire is sliced up from contacting the lip of the fenderwell. There are many ways to roll the fenderwell lip to prevent those expensive tires from getting cut up when the suspension sacks out. Hammers, pliers, baseball bats, and even tin snips have all been used in the past. Pliers and hammers will leave uneven results and tear up the paint. A baseball bat will give you smooth results, but it's very sketchy having some one drive your truck forward and back while you try and control the bat rolling between the tire and fender. It's very unsafe and I have personally seen someone's toe get crushed in the process. Tin snips will give you clearance, but the edge of the fender becomes very weak and can buckle. As you can tell, these tools will get the job done, but they won't do it as good as a tool specifically designed for the task. Enter the Fender Roller from Eastwood.
The engineers at Eastwood built this very beefy tool to increase tire and fender clearance, flare fenders, and or repair wheel arch collision damage. This pro-grade tool is made to bolt to the hub and allow you to progressively roll the lip on the fender, increasing clearance while bending the sharp edge out of the way and preventing it from cutting the sidewall of the tire. We got a little seat time with this tool and it worked so well we will never go back to using a bat again.
The Eastwood Fender Roller is constructed of heavy-gauge steel and a Delrin roller on an adjustable arm. The forming arm adjusts from 14 to 22 3/4 inches, and the Delrin ball bearing forming roller is tough enough to form the fender without damaging the paint. It comes with a flange drilled for most four- and five-lug car patterns. Since we are truck people, we purchased the truck adapter as well, which covers most five- and six-lug truck patterns. The tool comes with a limited one-year warranty and a 60-day unconditional money-back guarantee.
1.After thoroughly reading...
1.After thoroughly reading the instructions, I jacked the truck up and swapped the car hub for the truck adapter. Then I used the supplied dished washers and the truck's lug nuts to secure the tool to the brake rotor.
2.Here is a shot of the front...
2.Here is a shot of the front lip on a '94 Chevy truck. Not only does it encroach into the wheelwell, but it has a sharp edge that chews up the front tires. This needs to be addressed so the new rubber doesn't get chewed up as well.
3.I adjusted the arm to center...
3.I adjusted the arm to center the Delrin roller on the lip. Then, I positioned the roller so it will push up on the lip to create the initial bend. At this point, Eastwood recommends heating the paint with a heat gun to make it pliable and prevent it from cracking. I didn't have a heat gun handy, but the sun was doing a fine job warming the paint since the temperature was in the triple digits that day. I got lucky having the sun on my side, but I wouldn't recommend taking that chance. Get a heat gun before you start.
4.I applied a little pressure...
4.I applied a little pressure on the wheel by turning the T-handle. With the pressure applied, I swung the tool side-to-side and when it got easy to swing I knew the lip started to bend.
5.With the initial bend out...
5.With the initial bend out of the way, I repositioned the roller to the final angle I wanted the lip to be. Then, all I had to do was apply a little pressure and swing the tool until the lip was flat against the fender.
6. Since the wheelwells in...
6. Since the wheelwells in the truck aren't a perfect circle, I had to elongate the arm and do the outer sections separately. The tool is totally adjustable so this was a snap.
Final Word
After using the Eastwood Fender Roller on the front wheelwells of the truck, the lip sits flat against the fender. This netted me two great things: extra tire clearance and a smooth contact surface. If the tire happens to rub, it will get polished instead of gouging the sidewall. This is no wimpy contraption, this is a built-to-last tool that can be used over and over. Just remember, it can be used to roll fender lips, flare fenders, and speed up collision damage repair.