Any auto mechanics out there......

[jamestown94west]

Don't underestimate how useful a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket set can be. I bought a blue point set, it has shallow/deep, 6&12 point, extensions, a driver with bits, and a nice ratchet. Its probably the one thing in my tool box I was most protective of.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

A decent digital multimeter.
OBD2 scanner.

 

[srxplayer]

A lot of good advice so far. So I would only ad this. I work for a commercial heavy truck dealership and have been in this business for 20 years. One mistake I see a lot of young mechanics make is getting themselves into debt because they buy a lot of stuff they don't need. Specifically tools on credit.

1. Snap-On / Mack / Marco tool distributors can be the Devil. Don't get duped into buying a $15,000 Snap-on box on credit.

2. Don't buy tolls on credit just because you want to have a a bunch of Snap-on tools to stroke your ego. Snap-on is great stuff but you don't have to have it Craftsman will serve you well until you can actually afford the Tool Truck stuff.

3. Buy only Snap-on, Matco or Mack Torque wrenches. But buy them used. You can find them for half of what you would pay off the tool trucks new. Get it calibrated and you are gold. These are the only we have found to be accurate.

 

[VTRC]

3. Buy only Snap-on, Matco or Mack Torque wrenches. But buy them used. You can find them for half of what you would pay off the tool trucks new. Get it calibrated and you are gold. These are the only we have found to be accurate.

Question about that. My mechanic told me once that if I needed a torque wrench and couldn't get the Snap-on(and that's just silly for me), the old style swing-gauge torque wrenches were good. Any truth to that?

 

[stratovani]

I've been a shade-tree mechanic since the late 70s, working on my 1974 Dodge Dart, and one thing I would recommend that hasn't been mentioned here is a pair of mechanic's gloves. I've cut up and burned my hands more times than I care to remember, and if I would have had a good pair of mechanic's gloves it would have made life a lot easier. Spaces can be tight in today's engine compartments, and a good pair of gloves will protect your hands.

 

[jamestown94west]

Question about that. My mechanic told me once that if I needed a torque wrench and couldn't get the Snap-on(and that's just silly for me), the old style swing-gauge torque wrenches were good. Any truth to that?

I've found that keeping an inexpensive torque wrench as a "just in case" will get you by, specially if you work for a big shop or a dealer, because a lot of them will provide some tools, which almost always include torque wrenches.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Question about that. My mechanic told me once that if I needed a torque wrench and couldn't get the Snap-on(and that's just silly for me), the old style swing-gauge torque wrenches were good. Any truth to that?

Shade tree mechanic here. Although I prefer click wrenches, beam torque wrenches are good as long as your viewing angle is right. And it's pretty easy to tell if it's working right.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

+1 on the mechanic's gloves. (At first I kept forgetting I had them until I was about halfway through the job at hand.)

 

[VTRC]

I found an insulated pair of gloves entirely dipped in nitrile or rubber at HomeDepot, I love those for doing oil changes. Once loosened I can just grab the drain plug with my fingers, or even pull the filter by hand.

 

[jamestown94west]

+1 on the mechanic's gloves. (At first I kept forgetting I had them until I was about halfway through the job at hand.)

That's good advice. Baby your hands. Your fellow mechanic friends may scoff at you, but canceling gigs because you busted your fingers doing something that gloves could've prevented is no fun.

 

[Mike N]

Don't buy tools on credit just because you want to have a a bunch of Snap-on tools to stroke your ego. Snap-on is great stuff but you don't have to have it Craftsman will serve you well until you can actually afford the Tool Truck stuff.

This is a valid point. Snap On stuff is ungodly expensive and it's no guarantee that you can actually fix anything just because you have them. A combination wrench set from 10mm-19mm will run you $250+ off the Snap On truck. Good stuff but you could get by with less expensive than that. I've been doing this for 30 years and lately I've embarked on what I call the "cheap tool challenge"..... where I'm swapping my expensive Snappy stuff with my cheap stuff from home. Right now I've got more Snap On tools at home than I do at the shop. My chrome 1/4" and 3/8" inch sockets are Kobalt (none of the sets costing more than $9), my wrenches are Duralast (none of them were more than $11 each) and my impact sockets are a mix of Husky, Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply and I've yet to have an issue with any of the cheap tools.

 

[Mike N]

+1 on the mechanic's gloves. (At first I kept forgetting I had them until I was about halfway through the job at hand.)

Only time I wear gloves is when I'm welding. Other than that I can't stand wearing them.

 

[1958Bassman]

a GOOD pocket flashlight.
A quality code reader is nice to have.

Craftsman doesn't always honor their 'lifetime'.
Snap also makes BluePoint, which are pretty much the same, without the snap-on logo.

Get a quality rolling box, and KEEP IT ORGANIZED

I'm not a professional tech, but get to play one on the internet...............

Code readers are good for spot checks, but most diagnostics is done with a laptop, these days. Still, without the background knowledge, someone only knows enough to be dangerous, like a whole lot of boat owners.

 

[1958Bassman]

When acquiring socket sets, I purchased six point socket sets before twelve point socket sets, (you need both), because when taking old rusty fasteners off, the six point socket is less likely to damage the head of the fastener.

A couple of dead-blow hammers are useful.

Take care of screwdrivers. I replace them when the tips wear out. I buy mostly SnapOn screwdrivers, and they basically don't guarantee them at all, but they are much better than Craftsmen screwdrivers. They are not meant to be hammered on. I bought a set of "demolition screwdrivers", (from Stanley, at Home Depot,) that are made to be hammered on if need be.

I have carried this very high quality mini-ratchet set around the globe, in a field service tool kit, to work on very intricate mechanical equipment, and it has been extremely useful, and has never failed: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].

I have bought a LOT of SnaOn tools, and I find that for rusty/stuck fasteners, they are more likely to work than other brands, BUT their guarantee, is probably the worst of any brand.

I could tell you of numerous problems with SnapOn tools that failed on first use, where the dealer acted like I did not know how to use tools. I still buy them, but I hate the dealers, and the warranty.

Snap On honors warranty on screwdrivers if the tip breaks or if the tech has a good working relationship with the dealer.

 

[1958Bassman]

Question about that. My mechanic told me once that if I needed a torque wrench and couldn't get the Snap-on(and that's just silly for me), the old style swing-gauge torque wrenches were good. Any truth to that?

I wouldn't beat a rock with one of those. The new fasteners are torqued to more specific spec than a beam-type wrench's accuracy (or, lack of) will allow. Some fasteners are "torque to yield" or use torque angle, which is when the fastener is torqued to spec, then you add additional rotation, based on the recommendation. Some torque angle gauges are just a dial with a small arm that attaches to a torque wrench, but some assemblies need much more accuracy, so a Kent-Moore digital torque angle gauge (or something like it) is needed.

Link Removed

 

[1958Bassman]

This is a valid point. Snap On stuff is ungodly expensive and it's no guarantee that you can actually fix anything just because you have them. A combination wrench set from 10mm-19mm will run you $250+ off the Snap On truck. Good stuff but you could get by with less expensive than that. I've been doing this for 30 years and lately I've embarked on what I call the "cheap tool challenge"..... where I'm swapping my expensive Snappy stuff with my cheap stuff from home. Right now I've got more Snap On tools at home than I do at the shop. My chrome 1/4" and 3/8" inch sockets are Kobalt (none of the sets costing more than $9), my wrenches are Duralast (none of them were more than $11 each) and my impact sockets are a mix of Husky, Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply and I've yet to have an issue with any of the cheap tools.

I bought flank drive sockets before the patent ran out and paid the price. Now, Harbor Freight and everybody's aunt sell them for a lot less.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

That's good advice. Baby your hands. Your fellow mechanic friends may scoff at you, but canceling gigs because you busted your fingers doing something that gloves could've prevented is no fun.

Hand care is really important for us musicians. One NAMM show some years ago, I saw the Laurel Canyon Ramblers perform one evening. One of the vocalists used to also be a guitarist. Used to be. A skilsaw accident had taken off half the pinky and ring finger and the tip of the middle finger on his left hand. I thought, wow, man, that's permanent. Imagine playing an instrument you love all your life, and then never being able to again because of a single slip-up while trying to do something useful.

I play soccer, too, and a couple years ago did a season as my then-club's goalkeeper. After a few weeks of tipping and blocking shots my fingers were always sore and felt like I was developing arthritis. I can deal with bruises and scrapes on my body, legs, arms, etc., but the looming prospect of possibly not being able to play music was really scary. I discovered the existence of GK gloves that have fingersaves (splines behind the fingers that extend down the back of the hand). They were more expensive but well worth it because my fingers soon felt normal again.

So yeah, I've gotten into the habit of wearing gloves when I'm working on an engine, brakes, etc. I can always take a glove off temporarily when I need some better dexterity. But I watch out for my hands better than I used to.

 

[Mike N]

I bought flank drive sockets before the patent ran out and paid the price. Now, Harbor Freight and everybody's aunt sell them for a lot less.

So did I. Heck, you can go to closeout places like Big Lots and buy cheap sockets for 50 cents each that have flank drive.

 

[nortonrider]

I wear gloves for the regular everyday stuff (fueling trucks and tractors, 3-points, PTO's, chain binders, etc....)
but they have to come off if I'm dealing with nuts, bolts and such.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Craftsman doesn't always honor their 'lifetime'.

It's a common belief that all Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty, but only certain ones actually do--I think it's mostly those that are all chrome. Even my first click torque wrench, which I bought at Sears in 1985 for an engine rebuild job, had only a 90-day or 6-month warranty or something like that (it ended up lasting about 25 years before the adjustment knob, made of plastic, cracked and broke off--well, I got my money's worth from it in that time anyway).