Tools & Garage General

Start with watching youtube videos on changing your oil and then get the tools shown.

>>17572417
I've gotten tools as I've needed them. Start with a socket set/ratchet, screwdrivers, and pliers. Start out with easy stuff like oil changes and air filters and work your way up. I couldn't even change a tire last year, now I'm changing stuff like my transmission filter and camshaft tensioner

As bad as this sounds, watch ChrisFix videos. He's not an idiot and his information is geared towards noobs.

I do all my own work. Wish I didn't, but good luck finding a mechanic who isn't a con artist.

>>17572850
His information is good. The way he delivers it is autistic.

Does anyone gave the /o/fficial Harbor Freight good/bad list? There's a store close to me and I've been looking into getting a MIG welder. I'll mostly use it for small things, I don't need something that a pro would use every day.

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Blog post: I bought a vise and forgot to buy bolts

>>17572850
Why would that sound bad? Gotta ignore the shitposting busriders

>>17572916
Kek that's the best part

>>17572417
Hit up Habor Freight/Canadian Tire/whatever equivalent you have for those sweet deals in cheap chinesium shit that's you'll use, you're not a professional and don't need meme-on tools
Ryobi makes decent power tools for newbies, they use the same parts, though sometimes less refined, as Milwaukee except in an ABS shell versus fibre reinforced. Their batteries have also been the same platform for like 20 years as well

>>17572925

I tried buying two off-brand MIG welders. They were garbage and getting parts was a nightmare.

I work on my cars with a "procure on demand" basis. Basically I realize I am missing something and run to the hardware store next to me to buy that shit, rinse and repeat like 50 times till the job is done.

The dealers at the store all know me and ask me if it's payday or if their vacation bonuses are coming early.

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>>17572452
this desu
most of the issues I've had were fixed with jack stands, a multitool, and a socket set. The special work usually just requires an extra pair of hands.

fuck bodywork though

Get extensions and U-joints. Lots of them. Everyone complains about the 3rd bolt on a modular Ford engine but with some creative extension work it's easy.

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Get a breaker bar for the really tough bolts.

P.B. blaster is a must. So are latex/nylon gloves if you don't want to get your hands too dirty

when you buy tools, try to find ones with lifetime warranty. also keep the receipts and put them in a shoe box. so when you break a tool and go to return it, they cant jew you for not having a proof of purchase.

Most useful tools I bought are a pair of super long nose pliers; straight and angled, and one of those long ass flexible magnetic grabber things for when you drop one of the fuel gallery bolts into the open lower intake plenum

Luckily the intake valve was shut

>>17572417
You could call up your local Snap-On dealer and he'll be happy to drive over and discuss what it is you'll need.

>>17573045
I have an off brand too. It works fine.
Mines a LTEC

>>17573419
Best tool i liked was a big hammer.

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Yup.

>>17574442
Is this a marijuana crop sir

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The only tool you'll ever need, OP

>>17572925
That's the market that HF caters to, anon. The casual pleb that isn't going to be driving the shit out of their tools 8 hours a day straight. You do get what you pay for though at HF, most of that stuff is made out of Chinesium.

All you need to do OP is go to a harbor freight near you if there is one, or some auto store, buy tools and google what generic mechanic tools you'll need. Then just look on youtube or a forum, there's most likely a forum specifically for your car and start researching and learning. I spent years learning how to work on my civic and I'm amazed how many things I can do myself with the tools I already had in my garage, and I've saved so much fucking money doing maintenance and repairs myself. I went from not even knowing how an oil change works to being able to do my whole brake area, plugs, oil change, rotors, etc. You'll be shocked how a lot of stuff is easy to work on, OP.

its not like it used to be OP. the internet has kind of revolutionized at home car repair. virtually every procedure you can think of has been documented out the ass and has piles of literature and video's on the subject.

just read the manual.

>>17575967
this is actually pretty good.

>>17575967
>all these worthless tools
Give me a screwdriver and some pliers and I'll rebuild an engine

>>17575991
Look at the toolet, everyone.

>>17575967
Honestly you can get away with Ryobi power tools

>>17572939
Do you watch uncle bumble fuck, AvE?

>>17575967

Add 6-point to socket set
Remove jack stands from harbor fright unless you are genuinely trying to kill people.

>>17576057
It's pretty hard to fun up jack stands

>>17576066
fuck up*

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>>17576057
>using jackstands at all

>>17576039
Mebeh

Still is nice seeing what the stuff is made out of and how it'll perform versus "Wow this kit it great we built a shed with it! Just remember to buy more batteries through our Amazon affiliated link below!"

>>17572939
STOP SHILLING RYOBI YOU FUCKING POORFAGS REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

>>17572417
jack, jack stands, basic socket and ratchet set with some pliers and maybe a set of wrenches. thats really all you need

>>17578753
mcm uses them

>>17580245
That's even worse

>>17573520
>poorfag shitbox owners being able to afford new snap-on

>>17572417
Do your research and shop around, OP.
I sourced tools from Lowes, Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Amazon, Ebay, Craigslist and friends/family to get good deals on decent (not amazing) tools.
Just be careful what you buy from where and READ REVIEWS. Don't just go with the star rating. Reading and interpreting reviews effectively is an art form.
Some people have recommended Cryobi power tools. I have them and suffer buyer's remorse. The quality if fine (again, not amazing), but standard battery impact guns are too weak for car work. You need a heavy duty cordless impact, and Ryobi doesn't offer one. HF has cheap corded ones, but I don't know how good they are.

You absolutely need:
>jack and stands
>a good socket set
>breaker bar (with cheater if you're not a gorilla)
>soft and hard hammers
>combination wrenches
>needle nose, slip joint, and dikes
>headlamp or flashlight
>safety glasses, nitrile gloves, rags, good hand scrub
>drain pan, funnel set
>penetrating oil, various other chemicals depending on the job
>workbench with vise

You can't buy mechanical aptitude, but it's by far the most important tool. You WILL strip threads, shear bolts, cut the wrong wire, spill oil everywhere, and sweat, bleed and maybe cry in pursuit of know-how. Be prepared.

>>17580617
Your Snap-On dealer will do a credit check and put you on an easy payment plan.

>>17580617
Just finance it, lol

>>17580697
> good hand scrub

protip: buy some cheap olive (or generic food) oil, it's great at removing oil from hands

>>17581929
Just use the orange hand cleaner with crushed pumice in it

>>17572417
Might as well ask this here.

Is fuel injector cleaner a meme? If it isn't, what are the best ones?

>>17581943
>>17581929
Or just wear disposable gloves???

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>>17581943
>>17581929
Pro -protip

Just buy latex gloves and your hands never get dirty in the first place

Also you can roleplay as a car surgeon

>>17581953
>>17581955
Gloves can tear, and sometimes you need to do something that requires dexterity

>>17581973
Gloves a shit

>>17581949
If you're using "top tier" gas, it already has it. If not, don't use it unless your engine has a problem. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

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>>17572925
This the one?

>>17582016
The big reason why mechanics wear gloves is carcinogens in motor oil. Then again we all die, it's just a question of how, when and where.

>>17572916
His delivery is autistic? I always thought it was well-paced, attacks the issue from all angles, etc.

>>17583427
Cancer is one of the worse ways though.
Wear gloves.

>>17573312
this
torque wrenches are also important

>>17581953
i wear gloves whenever i work but my forearms always get pretty dirty thats when a good degreaser like fast orange comes in handy

>>17572477
This is the way I've done stuff. Start with the basics, buy specialized as you need

>>17584176
My favorite are the people who smoke all like "we're all gonna die anyway", they don't realise their final days are going to be awful being unable to breath and having cancers that give you permanent adrenaline rushes and shit
Hears of a case of a woman who was put on 100% oxygen for failing lungs who decided to smoke. The explosion tore half her face off and she burned alive

>>17583427
The toxins in various fluids and products also cause issues... one of our mechanics has terrible joint issues in the hand he commonly uses to pull drain plugs with.

>>17581955
Wearing rubber gloves makes your hands sweat.
Wet hands degrades dexterity and just generally fucking sucks. They also offer literally no protection.
Nobody agrees, but I use fast fit cloth gloves when working on cars sometimes. It'll save your knuckles, protect you from heat, and keep your hands clean enough so that soap and water will remove the little grease that gets through.
I don't work on cars daily, so it doesn't end up costing a lot, a pair of cloth gloves can last a few months for me. I imagine if you were a professional working on decently clean cars they'd last a week tops.

>>17586205
You're wlcome

https://www.amazon.com/12-Pack-370BLK-Nitrile-Gloves/dp/B0035UWIAW


We take ours once a month to a local washateria and clean them.

>>17584341
I would argue torque wrenches are one of the tools you should be very particular about. To do a job properly, you have to trust your torque wrenches.

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Word of advice: Unless you work on cars with 12 point bolts, do not buy 12 point sockets like pic related. They are fucking awful on rusted, very tight or already damaged heads and massively increase the chance of damaging them further. I have no idea why tool companies push them so hard.

>>17586285
Unfortunately for us, 12 point bolts are found in many locations on Mercs.

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can anyone recommend me decent cheap timing light?

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Just changed water pump on pic related.

To do most everything on a vehicle you really only need:

>socket set
>screwdriver set
>pliers
>channel locks

Wrenches, breaker bars, and PB plaster really help but aren't a neccesity.

Just be patient, shit usually never goes according to plan, be prepared to bust some knuckles and scrape the fuck out of your arms, and don't do anything major you aren't 100% on.

>>17586370
Check out RockAuto

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i find cordless impacts are better than pneumatic
for one, im not always near an air line.

>>17586147
At least she died doing something she loved.

>>17572417
I am currently working on a 94 sl2 with a odometer that broke at 70,000 miles. The question I have is the computer on the car record mileage on the engine? I am curious.

>>17586285
Trust this Anon
>t. Stripped bolts with a 12 point.

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>>17586285
Buy both 6 point and 12 point

12 point for general work and stuff like that, 6 point for when the going gets tough

Impact sockets are nice to keep around, but if you're using a breaker bar then they are often a bit too long and therefore increase the risk of you twisting or snapping the bolt

>>17589931
She loved being burned alive?

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>>17573520

Get the second cheapest stuff

>>17575991
No you won't

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Since this is a tool thread and all.

Anyone got any recommendations on a 120v air compressor? Garage is basic as fuck and only has one 120v outlet. Outside of the typical air tools it would be powering a paint sprayer as well.

>>17572417

Rusted bolts are no fucking joke. Do yourself a favor and grab yourself a nice acetylene torch kit. MAPP torches also work, but take time to heat up.

I do.
I drive a Saab 900, '89 and I do what I can by myself. I only have a toolbox but lack an engine hoist and stuff like this.
I have changed brake calipers, changed the clutch, changed gas pump, cleaned and rebuilt the carburettor and things like this.
You can do quite a bit of work with very basic tools.

>>17592820
I use a propane/butane torch. Quite cheap and works good with stuck bolts.

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>>17592829
I use my dab torch as well

It works.

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>>17592802
Pic related. garage is dinky as fuck. I've basically got my back to the garage door here.

>>17593067
>>17592802
I'd you're going to be using a spray gun but are stuck with 120v outlets you'll want something high capacity and leave it filled and off when not in use praying it doesn't leak
Otherwise have fun waiting a while for it to fill back up next time you want to use it

Wait for Home Depot to put one of their 20 gallon+ standing compressors on sale

>>17593117
Well, I was planning on painting the Ford pictured, since the PO repainted it with implement paint and its chipping off all over the place. Would probably just pull the front apart and do it piece by piece.

>>17590608
They're windowless vans and they even have candy inside...

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Very funny guys I bet snap-on isn't that expens..Oh my God what the fuck

>>17595130
The meme is very real. I know some dumb fuck who works at a junk yard and his job is to only pull cars apart. He somehow put himself into 100k in debt to the Snap On guy. He's got some really bitchin' tools, but he's gonna be paying that shit off until the day he dies working at a junk yard tearing fucking cars apart. Meanwhile I was working on yachts and the only tool truck shit I bought was stuff I was likely to break because I abused the fuck out of it frequently. Also stuff I wasn't likely to drop in the water.

>>17595130
Yes. That the fuck.

>>17595646
Bet he lives in an apartment too?

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>>17595130

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>>17595646
>He somehow put himself into 100k in debt to the Snap On guy

You're fucking kidding me

>>17572939
hi ave

>>17576068
i liked it better the other way

>>17592820
I was thinking some sort of solvent, or like an acidic solution, but I'm about to go fuck with my torch and hopefully fix these annoying fuckers.

>>17596119
Who?

>>17586374
Sometimes wrenches are necessary nerd

>>17583103
Thanks Anon

>>17586370
Hondas are looking and sounding more and more like lawn mowers, I swear.

I mean if you straightened the wheels and took off that fart cannon it'd look EXACTLY like a regular lawn mower.

>>17592802
Hope you have an receptacle connected to a breaker that can hold some amps

>>17589886
What we use all the time at work. Unless we are breaking loose bolts that have 300lb or more torque specs and they havent moved in a long time. Then we use pneumatic

>>17596199
coca cola has phosphoric acid in it. eats rust right up. u could use vinegar, sodium triphosphate, evaporust, so on and on

>>17596933
Why would you use Coca Cola when purpose-made chemicals are cheap and work infinitely better?

>>17586370
>Stancefags.jpg

>>17573356

To one up this, make a copy of the receipts because they'll turn white after a few years if they're on thermal paper.

>>17596877
Garage is on it's own little subpanel connected to the main one in the house, so I should be OK.

>>17596877
How many amps would a basic air compressor draw?

>>17599630
More than you can afford, pal

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I broke another Dremel. Thinking of cutting my losses and buying the chink version instead, any different or worse than the branded rotary tool?

>>17572417
>So who here actually works on their own cars? I've been wanting to get some basic stuff but don't know where to start

I own an Oldsmobile Intrigue 3.8.
I've done the basics(brakes/lights/thermostat) along with starter replacement, lower intake manifold gasket replacement, and an engine swap.
The must have tools for me are
>a complete socket set in both standard and metric from 1/4 and 5mm up to 1" and 30mm
>wrench set of the same
>screwdriver sets in flat Philips and torx heads
>putty scrapers
>a breaker bar
>a shit load of extensions and adapters
>spare sockets
>a good multimeter
>a cheap multimeter
>A deadblow hammer
>valve core tools
>An air gauge
>A wire brush
>Carb cleaner
>a variety of pliers
>a variety of C-clamps

>>17601884
if you only work on the one car you should really only carry the wrenches and sockets that actually fit it, otherwise you have a bunch of useless tools in odd sizes.

you can always buy more.

>Tfw scared of Jack stands failing and car killing me
Feels bad man.

>>17602069
>Just own the the sockets and wrenches u know your car needs bro why have any extra gotta save money muh optimization

There are so better many ways to save money and space than trying to roll with half a socket set kiddo.
Besides I work in a service station and work on other people's cars as well.

>>17601787
I have one of those I nicked for $25 on Ebay. Probably performs as well as a $60 Dremel, it's not particularly high torque but it does the job surprisingly well. I don't regret it.

>>17602159
I should note that the bits it comes with are beyond piss but it's still a good deal, particularly if you already have bits laying around.

>>17580617
>discuss what it is that you need
>make a list of what all bits he recommends you get
>go out and buy not Snap-On tools
ez

>>17602144
>when you entire car can be taken apart with 3 socket sizes
Gotta love nip shit

>>17602079
It's pretty hard to fuck up jack stands, just make sure the welds are good