Tools! - Crimpin ain't easy but it is necessary.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Tools! - Crimpin ain't easy but it is necessary.

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

grover posted:

I have the 1/2" one. Never had a problem; it's been a solid gently caress-off ratchet. It's amazing what a little extra leverage does to turn an impossible bolt into a trivial one. Since it's a ratchet, it's a lot easier to work with in tight spaces than a conventional breaker bar.

I dont use ratcheting tools for breaking loose tight stuff, it can and will shear the inner gears eventually/immidiately. My 18 and 10 from my first set of craftsman brand gear wrenches are blown out, from years of use.
That said, one of the best things i ever bought was stubby gear wrenches. the GW brand itself is pretty legit so far, esp the smooth handles.

A breaker bar should be dead nuts simple so theres nothing to fail. If anyone is on the fence about it just get the conventional one.

Allthough its fuckoff expensive and if you have air power, uneeded, if the breaker bar doesnt work, the dewalt 36v 1/2in electric impact will do the trick. Pulled 30 year old ball joints out with that beast when a 7 foot long cheater-on-breaker was only lifting the front end off the jack stands.

Any opinions on 3/4dr impact guns? I need a high torque pro one but dont want to owe snap on my soul. Hoping to find that pawn shop gold but i need to know what models are cool.

Raw_Beef fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Jun 18, 2012

# ¿ Jun 18, 2012 01:15

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 09:41

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

sharkytm posted:

Torque is really good, and the dashboard display is nice on cars with very few gauges.

AutoEnginuity is a true replacement for a Tech2. I needed it do diagnose an SRS light, and do a crank sensor re-learn to stop the annoying P0300 and flashing check engine light on my '04 Silverado 2500HD. The SRS light needed a new crash sensor (intermittent), and the crank relearn worked perfectly.

Wait, youve got an affordable scan tool that resets SRS system lights?
They were the bain of my trim shop's operations. Remove a seat and turn the key on (required in some cars to get the column trim off, turning the wheel without the steering lock) and bam you got an SRS light.

I kept telling the monkeys to leave the drat seats in till i had the columns stripped off, but trim shop guys are retarded and dont listen, so poor elecrical installer me had to gently caress off and die.

The repair shop im at now uses a CenTech 1100 or something. Its pretty good, can provide live data feedback if you need it and manufacturer specific codes. I dont think it can get into the SRS system however.

We've got a Snap on Modus with 1" of dust on it rotting away in the break room. :cry:

I just ordered some Mac Redline (their cheapies but warrantied) double ended, swivel head, offset, extra long ratchet wrenches. I've been using a co-worker's set made by Platinum for everything. Forget all the Belt tool kits youve ever seen, these things have the reach and are slim enough to do it all.

Raw_Beef fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Jul 27, 2012

# ¿ Jul 27, 2012 16:25

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Seconding what Sharkytm said. Also you might consider a cordless impact gun. An impact can be a drill but a drill cant be an impact. Requires quick change bits or a twist tight style adaptor for regular bits.

my milwaulkee M12 pistol style 1/4 impact is a great little tool that i use for everything. A 14 or 18v impact would make a better drill though.

Picked up a Power Probe today. No more running jumper wires to a battery to test components. The PPmk3 has a digital readout for voltage and ohms, woop woop!

Kinda sad that i might retire my faithful craftsman multimeter now, but we'll see how things play out in the shop.

Those were some good ideas on how to avoid tripping the SRS. Wish i had had the authority to discon the batteries in those cars but i wasnt the boss and he had 'his way'
Though without battery voltage i couldnt check for ignition hot wires, so that might not have worked anyhow.

edit: the famous craftsman warranty doesnt apply to anything but their hand tools. And even then i belive there is a catch that if youre professionaly using them, the warranty doesnt apply. That said, a fair amount of my sockets are craftsman. I find their wrenches are too fat though maybe theyve slimmed down, my last craftsman wrenches are over 8 years old.

Raw_Beef fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Jul 29, 2012

# ¿ Jul 29, 2012 06:43

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

bolind posted:

I live in an apartment complex, with a basement level parking garage. I've pitched the idea of installing a compressor there, ostensibly to air up bicycle and car tires, but maybe I'd like to sneak in the odd air-tool as well.

It'll live in its own little room, with some sort of air line running out to the garage space proper.

What size compressor will I be looking at? Any idea how to limit running time on the actual motor to, say, 9am to 7pm (which is our official "power tools are allowed".) How do I detect a leak and shut it down so it doesn't burn itself up? Oiled or oilless? Is this even feasible?

Most shops shut their compressor breakers off at the end of the day to prevent running all night, you could just unplug it.

Theyre loud, you will probably have to build a box with sound deading, and then a vent fan to prevent overheating.

cant reccomend a specific model but just in the last few pages there were some porta-pressors linked.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2012 07:48

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

If youre going to run off of regular plug in voltage, not that fancy 220, you could just get a standard timer at your local hardware store and that would take care of it.
Edit: despite being a farily competent auto electrician i know zilch about home/commercial electrical, so i dont know how much load one of said timers can sustain before blowing out or whatever. Look into that before taking a vacation and finding out you burned the apartments down.

# ¿ Jul 29, 2012 08:30

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

16 amps aint poo poo, id expect a compressor to draw way more than that. Most cars made today roll with 60 amp fuses on their main power feed junction box.

Plan it well, like i said there is the possiblity you burn the house down and kill everyone youve ever loved.

Edit: This post is full of pre-coffee massive retardation please ignore everything i said.

Raw_Beef fucked around with this message at 18:17 on Jul 29, 2012

# ¿ Jul 29, 2012 16:04

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Listen to these people and not me. I am not good with math, numbers, or anything really.

But seriously, i know Ohm's law, i just wasnt thinking clearly when i woke up and rushed to post on the internet. using voltages above 12-24 is outside my experience so i didnt do the conversions myself, just gut-reaction posted "hurr i use 60 amp fuses 16 is not enough you will die!"

i apologize.

Raw_Beef fucked around with this message at 18:05 on Jul 29, 2012

# ¿ Jul 29, 2012 18:02

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Very similar to the crank gear pulley tool required on older Harley Davidson sportsters. Good show.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2012 04:25

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

revmoo posted:

Chiming in to say that I love my 100 pound HF full-size steel jack. Best tool purchase ever. It's portable enough if you eat your wheaties.

I agree with this. I use a performance tool 2 ton floor jack as my 'throw in the trunk when driving a long distance' jack. Ive had it for 8+ years now, its a solid tool, but definatley weighs 50+lbs.

Portable is relative, after all.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2012 02:34

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

~Coxy posted:

I saw a cheap rattle gun on the weekend so bought it. The socket I have for my car lug nuts is a dual-ended thing with two different sizes, with the square bit in the middle.

What's the doohickey called to plug onto the end of the impact wrench and extend a square shaft out to the socket?

Sounds like youve got a 'flip socket' they usually come in a 3 peice kit, one SAE, one metric, and then a 3" extension. Im curious how you got just the one socket, since as you obviously know, its useless without the extension.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2012 04:38

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Phone posted:

I have a no-name probably 80 piece socket set from Costco (maybe?). I'm looking to get a decent mechanics set and I was wondering if anybody has some input. I'm looking at getting the Kobalt set from Lowes because I've heard over the past few years that Craftsmen has declined in quality.

Lemme know what you guys think!

Husky brand hand tools from Home Depot are suprisingly good. Their wratchets are very ergonomic and the wrenches are slim low profile like snap-on, unlike my fat rear end bulky craftsmans from 10 years ago.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2012 04:34

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Sir Cornelius posted:

My absolutely favorite new tool is a MemoScan U581 OBDII/EOBDII CAN-Bus scanner.

Seriously the best value for the money spend compared to any tool I've ever owned. Well, maybe my favorite sledgehammer is a close match, but not really.

I got mine for about $40 shipped from Hong Kong, but it's easily worth much more. Arrived to northern Europe in impressive 10 days. Price apparently varies quite a bit though. http://www.dhgate.com/wholesale/u581+memo+scanner.html

Why is it better than my 7 year old $500 tool it replaced? Oh well..

1) It's loving sturdy. Hell, it's build like a German WWII tank.

2) It's free upgradable from the manufactures website, and the codes and descriptions are actually maintained by some Chinese guys that actually know what they're doing.

3) It's worked on all, even the most recent and the oldest cars I've tried it on. So far I've only tried it on European and Japanese cars though, and only N/A. I have no doubt that it'll probably work on anything OBDII/EOBDII CAN-Bus.

4) It gives you actual errors and codes instead of just codes.

5) It reads freaking live-data for all sensors. ALL loving SENSORS!

6) It has the most comprehensive freeze-frames (what happened to all sensors just before the error or pending error occurred, as in what was the water temperature, how fast did you go, what was your RPM, what was your MAF/MAP etc.). This is seriously more like a "Black-Box" than any cheap freeze-frame capable tester I've worked with previously.

7) The bastard actually auto-detects protocols. It's really true plug'n'play.

8) An idiot can use it. drat thing has on-screen instructions.

The tool has my highest recommendations. Unless you've already got a much more expensive advanced OBDII-tester, you should get this. I'm rarely impressed by any product, especially Chinese, but at this price I have a hard time imagining anything beating it.

Might be a dumb question but does it do SRS resets?

Also anyone thinking of getting a screw-gun/light duty drill, I have to recommend the Milwaukee M12 .25 driver. There are drill bits for its quick-change chuck, or you can get a screw tight chuck adaptor. i see no reason to own the actual drill, because this gun can do both things well. I've used one at work for going on 2 years without any problems, its perfect for pretty much all fasteners and with its huge range of quick change bits its always able to get the job done. This actually takes the place of a 1/4 air ratchet for most of my under-hood work.

# ¿ Nov 24, 2012 03:32

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Preoptopus posted:

Is any one else's Matco guy a complete and utter dick for no good reason?

Theyre probably losing money and pissed off. Our Matco guy just went out of business, i just moved to a new area but i am told he was the 3rd one in as many years. He sent letters to all the techs who owed him money demanding payment in full, and anyone who bought tools from him is now forced to wait till another franchisee comes around.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2012 07:49

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Motronic posted:

I don't think you understand how torque sticks work. It's the same thing as a beam torque wrench with slightly sloppier tolerances (which are totally acceptable for the torque values and application we're talking about here). You still need to use a proper pattern, which means not being a moron at a tire shop who's boss said to use torque sticks so they do and don't know anything more than that.

In defense of every tire guy ive ever known, they know about using the correct pattern. The boss tells you that part too.

TTY outside of cylinder heads is a pretty new thing? I just looked it up and apparently GM is putting it on their newer brake caliper bolts. Thats going to be a pain in the rear end!

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 05:00

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

grover posted:

I do find it odd that my supposedly 200 ft-lb impact wrench is unable to drive a 100lb torque stick past 70lbs or so of actual torque. I'm thinking this may be a case where air tools are definitely better. It at least prevents overtightening, though, and is easy enough to torque down with a click wrench.

I like to use a stick rated 20 lbs under the torque spec then tighten it with a click wrench. Still if youre using a 100 stick and getting 70, something is wrong.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 23:56

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

daslog posted:

I don't own any torque sticks. I know that it's the blue one because that's what all the techs at the Subaru dealership use.

Have you ever seen this old movie called "the matrix?"
:thejoke:

# ¿ Dec 22, 2012 03:26

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

General_Failure posted:

Is that a 1/4" UJ? I want one! Even though it's only for this one job where there's a hose clamp I need to tighten which I can't otherwise do without removing the fuel tank and gently caress that.

A set like this is the best solution. Obviously its more stuff to buy and throw in the ever getting heavier tool box. I do find that the design of the joint in the type pictured gives a better range of motion and torque before locking or kicking out and off the fastener. Also a huge bonus that you never accidentally separate the socket from the joint and lose it somewhere.

Old rubber fuel lines with hose clamps can be a bitch on tanks mounted too close to the body to get in and tighten the lines. Last time i had to do it was on this old RV with 2 fuel pumps, like 7 hoses, each one decided to fail as i repaired the ones next to it. I love the smell of gasoline fumes in the morning.

# ¿ Dec 23, 2012 04:29

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# ¿ Apr 19, 2024 09:41

Raw_Beef: Jul 2, 2004; We know what you been up to and my advice on that little venture is to pack it in. It won't work. It will all end in tears.

Disgruntled Bovine posted:

So I've got a bit of dilemma.

That torque wrench is probably fantastic. I had no idea Snap-On made this hybrid tool that is *almost* the same thing. I might buy it for professional use, As long as i can have it serviced every now and again at that price its a steal.

Dont ever buy cheap on torque wrenches, ive learnd this the hard way. Three $60 TW's adds up to that snap-on/CDI.

The Impact is probably a good tool, but Battery handhelds arent the best for breaking free lug nuts. I find 3/8ths sized stuff to be great for battery impacts, but by the time you get to 1/2 its a gamble if the battery unit will really have the break-free torque needed. Get the breaker bar. Get a "6 inch extension and the right lug socket. Dont buy a crappy chromed one, get one meant to be an impact lug socket.

As far as jacks, just read the reviews and go with what that tells you. Its what I'd do. I know lots here love harbor freight jacks, but I dont like them, so theres that. Also get some nice well-made jack stands. I like to use one when changing a tire on the ground, since if the hydraulic jack fails at the wrong time it could be serious even though your not fully under the vehicle. You will need them to set an axle up to do the brakes or change the oil so get them.

:can:

A product exists to ensure corrosion never develops on your lug nuts it is called anti-seize. it is controversial. I use it without issues :can:

# ¿ Jan 10, 2013 03:46

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Tools! - Crimpin ain't easy but it is necessary.