Hey I just bought a 97 4runner with 185k miles as a project vehicle. I am just learning how to work on trucks and would love to do most things in my garage.. I have a lot of maintenance and preventative measures in mind. Things like water pump, timing belt, spark plugs, trans fluids, diff fluids and such.. but my question is what kind of tools should I purchase to begin doing these things I'm young and just bought my first house with a garage so I'm wondering what to buy to get my tool set started. Any suggestions would he helpful ill probably just get like craftsman brand stuff but where do i start and what do i need

It's hard to say what is more important than others, but start with these and you'll be in good shape. You'll soon find out where their limits are.

Metric socket set.
Metric wrench (or spanners as I call them) set.
Screw drivers.
Medium size adjustable wrench.
Jack stands.
WD40

I have Craftsman, Husky, Ace, Powerbuilt and a small smattering of Snap-on. Sure Snap-on and other tool truck brands are awesome but you pay a lot more for them. Other than the ratchets wearing out from time to time, they all work just fine.

Don't buy junk and you will be fine.

If your doing timing belt your going to want a good torque wrench for the crankshaft pulley. Don't forget the all important piece of pipe that can slide over your wrench/breaker bar so you can break stuff free that is not being reasonable. You will probably also need Metric Alan wrenches/or sockets if your changing trans/diff oil. PB Blaster is nice for those rusty nuts. A ODB2 reader can be invaluable to have around on a high mileage truck so you can check it and not have to worry about it being serious or just smog crap. When you buy sockets 6 sided sockets would be preferable to 12 sided under most situations because the 6 sided socket will "grip" more and less chance of rounding off.

2nd the jack stands. Jacks are for lifting the vehicle. Jack stands are for supporting the vehicle. Don't get under the vehicle without it being on jack stands or at least a tire that it can fall on instead of you!

Most people start with a basic set of Craftsman stuff. Older Craftsman is good, the newer stuff, well a lot of it is made in China. While not all China products are bad, there does seem to a higher chance of problems with their tools.

I honestly would suggest doing a bit of research and buy some used stuff, flea market, craigslist, auctions, etc are all great places to add to your tool collection.

check out The Garage Journal and some of the similar websites for classifieds and reviews. just be warned they can be very addictive, before you know it you'll have two really expensive hobbies.

Go to pawn shops and buy your name brand tools. Let some one else knock the depreciation off of it. The still carry the lifetime warranty.

Make sure to get a pair of both 6ton and 3ton jack stands.

+1 with Singtoe on finding SnapOn, Bluepoint, etc. at a pawn shop. I still wrench a 20 year old set of Craftsman sockets.

A metric set of flare nut wrenches comes in handy.

As much as I hate to say it… We ran to Wal-Mart to grab a socket set in a pinch and have beat the living hell out of a set of Stanley sockets and ratchet for quite some time without them giving up. We are not kind to tools, so if they can survive Scotty and I, they will probably survive anything you can throw at it.

If you don't wrench a lot, some of the "junk" tools actually work out quite well.
You just have to use common sense. If it looks and feels like a piece of sh*t, it probably is.

All that jibber jabber said… There's a Craftsman kit that a couple friends have that has a box with I think two or three drawers that has just about everything you'd need and would last you forever. That's the route I would go as most of the stuff I use daily is Craftsman with a handful of Snap-on here and there.

I'm done rambling now

Here's a thread I created a year ago and it had some really good info. I'm slowly working on my tool collection, but I have a long way to go. What tools do I need?

I agree. The nice part about Craftsmen is the lifetime warranty. Just take the broken hand tool to any sears or Craftsmen dealer and they will replace it. I had to do this once with my 3/8" ratchet broke. Be careful how long of a pipe you use for leverage.

Don't skimp on the ratchet get a good quality one craftsman are good but of course snap on are better. Also try to get a flex head ratchet they are very handy.

Check craigslist man!

I got a Husky tool kit from Home Depot for like $100 and it's incredible what all I have been able to do with it. It's mostly sockets, but also has a screwdriver set, and a few wrenches.

The one thing I don't have that I have rented from Autozone a dozen times probably is a torque wrench. A good torque wrench is expensive, but man are they handy.

About once a week I will search for "Craftsman Tools" and "Snap on" on craigslist... There are some screaming deals, but more often then not there are so many tools in a kit that they are still too expensive.

Edit** My Husky 3/4" drive ratchet broke the first time I used it. Everything else has worked wonderfully. It also has a lifetime warranty, I just have not used it yet.

SOBER is one of the best of TOOL.


For working on your car I think you should try to get some Craftsman / Dewalt / Channelock if you have the $$. I have some tools by Huskey but they are definitely lower quality.

Amazon.com is actually a very good place to shop for tools.

So thank you for some of the replys I appreciate it.. now I was wondering I am going to be putting my tool set together slowly and want to buy quality tools but want to save money .. I was wondering what are the most common size fasteners on 3rd gen runners .. if Iwas going to piece together good wreches and sockets what sizes would i most likely use on a regular basis

My first starter set was a Craftman 260 piece mechanics tool set. My father bought the 263 piece version a week ago on sale for 165. It had everything you could need to do most jobs except a torque wrench. I also recommend a set of metric ratcheting wrenches.