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The instructor at the junior college where I'll be taking basic and advanced auto repair classes gave me a heads up that I should buy my tool set - sockets (5/32"-1" and 5-20mm), wrenches (1/4"-7/8" and 9-19 mm), ratchets (1/4", 3/8", and 1/2"), and pliers sets.
What tool brands/kits do you recommend and not recommend?
Any experience with having to warranty tools?
For example, I hear Snap-on is really good, but really expensive.
I like the idea of an all-in-one kit to reduce running around town to pinch pennies and to have a portable case. I would store the tools in a locker, then move them over to the work area up to 200 feet distance.
I also see a big Craftsman kit on sale for $200, but am not sure about the quality and durability of the made in China Craftsman:
https://www.sears.com/craftsman-450-piece-mechanic-s-tool-set/p-A010318153?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1#
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posted by
someone claiming to be CB
on
Sat Mar 2 16:00 CST 2019 [ RELATED]
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If you are just getting into this, taking a class, I would go with Craftsman. They are not what they used to be but they are good enough and better made than Harbor Freight.
I've got Craftsman tools that I bought in the mid 70's. I think the only thing that ever "broke" was the ratching mechanism on a 3/8" ratchet. But they have a kit to fix that.
You need to get Metric tools to work on a Volvo. Get 6pt sockets instead of 12pt.
Keep in mind that you are not going to be using these tools every day. I've got wrenchs and socket sizes that I use a couple of times a year.
Craftsman are good enough and you can get deals on Sets - which is the way to go.
About 6 months before Sears gave up the ghost, I bought a full set of 3/8" drive 6pt metric sockets with ratchet for under $35. And a full set of metric wrenches for $25. (sized 10mm to 19mm)
I don't know who bought the brand from Sears, Black and Decker or DeWalt ...you can look it up. Plus they are now sold in places like Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Lowes---all competing for your dollars, so you no longer have to wait for the Sears store to run a sale.
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To do a timing belt tensioner, pliers are needed to remove the timing belt tensioner.
http://www.volvoadventures.com/240cambelttensioner.jpg
Are there any good brands of water pump/tongue-in-groove pliers, or would any brand work fine?
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"Are there any good brands of water pump/tongue-in-groove pliers, or would any brand work fine?" --- Channelock -- Dave
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In Channelocks we trust! Greatest Multigrips ever.
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Definitely not Snap-on. Nowadays there are many tools with a no-hassle lifetime warranty that sell for a lot less.
--
1992 745, >500k km (now gone, but not forgotten)
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What have been your or other people you knows' experience with Snap-On warranty-ing?
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SK is good stuff. American Made and comes in nice snap closed green plastic case that lasts. Very good support and a real lifetime warranty.
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i'd like to second that recommendation for SK tools. My father bought me my first set of sockets when I was in high school. 50 years later, I am still using them and many other SKs while other brand tools have come and gone. Little expensive, but you'll never be sorry.
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Where do you buy SK?
How does their warranty work?
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You can order direct from them online. Lifetime warranty. When I broke a 1/4" Ratchet (internal clip snapped) I just sent it in and they replaced it in a week..no questions. https://sktools.com/content/sktools/en_US/shop.html also on Amazon.
BTW MAC/Matco are the same maker as Snap On...
I do Engineering Testing for Structural Steel Bolting and Welding so make my $ on my tools...Regularly use a 700 ft Lb 1" Drive Torque Wrench to qualify A325/A490 Bolts
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I read, but couldn't find details, that Snap-On uses a higher grade of steel than the chrome vanadium that, say, Harbor Freight uses. If true, what's the name/spec for that steel?
Did you also mean that the same company makes Snap-On, MAC, and Matco tools?
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There are only a few firms that make the tools under contract for the "names"
Example is Torque Wrenches...Williams and Proto are made by same firm. I have disassembled both and the internals bear the same makers mark.
Google SK Tools and you will find a number of resellers that offer the SK Kits at 40% discount. Have never had an issue with quality or warranty with SK.
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If you aren't going to be wrenching every day, then most of the cheaper brands of tools will work just fine.
My brother and I started with Craftsman when we started working on our own cars, but we started upgrading to Snap-On when we started wrenching professionally, especially when needing more specialized automotive tools.
When we started buying from a Snap-On truck, we were lucky enough to have a dealer that would sell on time without a credit account mostly because he would come by every week to collect. He would give $500.00 worth of credit and back then that was enough to buy several sets of wrenches or sockets.
My only suggestion when buying sets of wrenches and sockets is to check for and to fill in any missing sizes. It used to be normal not to get odd sizes like 7mm, 9mm,16mm and 18mm in the sets being sold by all brands including Snap-on, so to have a full set you might have to buy some individual wrenches and sockets. And don't think you won't need them as them m!@#%r f^&*()g engineers just love making life difficult.
I remember having a hard time finding a 16mm or an 18mm flare wrenches or crows feet back in the 1980's and 1 or the other were needed for working on 122 or 1800 to replace the stock clutch hydraulic hoses.
And I remember being pissed off at GM when I had to remove some bellhousing bolts for 1 of their early V6 engines and I needed a 16mm flex socket that didn't come in my Snap-On set I had purchased a few months earlier.
The funny thing is the bolt was not actually metric, but was GMs cheat for the metric mandate which was to put metric heads on bolts with either UNC or UNF(American standard) threads. I was pissed at GM because they could have used the way more common 15mm or 17mm head, but nooooooooooooooo, it had to be an oddball 16mm.
--
Eric
Hi Performance Automotive Service (formerly OVO or Old Volvos Only)
Torrance, CA 90502
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Yes, you'll seldom find a wrench or socket set that includes all the sizes, so be prepared to buy the missing ones separately if you need them. Like I said before, tool sets today are a lot better made than they were 50 years ago and a lot have lifetime warranties. Those are the ones to get.
--
1992 745, >500k km (now gone, but not forgotten)
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Not sure what the future holds about my doing this for a living or as a hobby.
Maybe I could try out a Snap-on wrench, but I don't know anyone who would lend me a Snap-on ratchet. If I wanted to minimize cost and buy just one try out the brande, would you recommend a 3/8" or 1/2" ratchet?
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"Not sure what the future holds..."
Junk bonds or gold. Rent or buy. Time or money.
With some of what you've learned in this thread, keep asking. Ask the instructor -- she's probably seen more recently purchased complete tool sets than all of us put together.
Stop in at a dealership shop or large indy where young techs work together with veterans. Talk to the Snap-On man. Keep asking until you've run out of time.
I can tell by your words you'll be successful, hobby or vocation.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore
A Stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet.
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posted by
someone claiming to be CB
on
Mon Mar 4 10:30 CST 2019 [ RELATED]
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this TV show could never be made today, because of the New Collective SJW Consciousness that infects the world.
Men love tools.
The daily trials and tribulations of Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor
Home Improvement
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101120/
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CB, this thread reminds me of Clint Eastwood's character Walt Kowalski trying to explain to Thao how he came by all the tools in his garage.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore
RIP
Doug Williams aka Mr. Doug 4/15/2009
George Downs III aka walrus3 7/5/2013
Pete Fluitman aka fivehundred 7/14/2013
Mick Starkey aka TrickMick 1/10/2014
Bruce Young aka lucid 1/22/2017
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hi arty b- love that movie reminds me of me. like the part where he told thao, to start you need duct tape, vise grip and wd 40. that's how I started back in the war. liked it too when walt had the street punks looking down the bore of his M1. never had an experience like that with the 245. still get waved at during stoplight launches. windshield washer stopped. have two suspicions dead washer motor on the reservoir or dead fuse. uncle moe said its usually clogging in the hose or hood orifice. thanks tons oldduke
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posted by
someone claiming to be CB
on
Tue Mar 5 21:43 CST 2019 [ RELATED]
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oldduke
one of the first great things I found about my first 245, a 1975, was that you can take the Washer pump apart. Remove it from the mount and take off the bottom - 4 small bolts hold a plate. Underneath 2 gears force the liquid under pressure and they get crusty over the years. polish them up and lube.
That may be the problem.
Unless they change the design of the pump so you can't disasselble it.
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You may find S-K at independent tool specific stores (not HF) or from tool "jobbers" that visit shops. Some jobbers may carry MAC or MATCO tools. Those brands are also well made and carry lifetime warranties. If you know a mechanic that works in a shop ask when those jobbers visit the shop--usually on the same day of the week, each week. HF tools are ok but the fit may not be ideal. I use them for "at the site" repairs where they may get lost in the dirt.
Tools are expensive--there's no getting around that but keep in mind, a well made tool can last a lifetime. I still have most of a set of 1/2 inch drive sockets, ratchet and extension my mother gave me for my 16th birthday (using "Green Stamps" from the grocery store! Thorsen brand) - I'll be 72 this May. -- Dave
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