tool advice

[the great him]

having worked as a tech for several years for places such as BMW and a head tech for a major ambulance co in the PNW as well as some smaller private shops(i started off as an assistant and worked my way up), i would not buy a craftsman ratchet. i would get a name brand one like snap-on or mac or matco or cornwell ect. a ratchet is the one tool(s) that is used with the whole set of sockets, and is the single most expensive hand tool(s) for you basic tool set, as well as probably being the most used. and individual socket is cheap comparatively. meaning if you break your ratchet you are done for the the time being(unless you have more than one) until you go get a new one. craftsman ratchets have gone down hill IMO in the last 10 or so years they are junk, and way more pron to failure. id rather have my socket break than my ratchet any day. just cause one socket breaks doesnt mean the work stops. you can do other things and just use wrench for that size(in most cases) till you replace it. now if your ratchet breaks you will be using a wrench for everything. craftsman sockets are fine, i have no complaints there. most name brand tools have life time warranties, even a lot of junk/off brands do too, but it can be a pain in the but to have to keep using that warranty to replace it every other day.

i understand that you will probably not be able to go out and get a brand new basic set of mac or snapon ect set of tool all at once(i can only afford to cause i have an account on the trucks. heck if i were to get all the tools i wanted id be in the hole $50k+, and thats considering all the tools i already own now.

find someone who has both a newer craftsman and snapon ratchet and hold them, use them and i bet you will be able to tell the difference blindfolded, its night and day.

 

[Singtoe]

I love my Snap on tools. Especially the wrenches, they don't have sharp edges and won't tear up your hands while using them.


FWIW. I have 6 or so Snap On ratchets that i have broke in the last month. First time that I have broke more then on at one time. My Issue is that I don't see a Snap On dealer in my day to day travels so I can't get them fixed.

 

[the great him]

I love my Snap on tools. Especially the wrenches, they don't have sharp edges and won't tear up your hands while using them.


FWIW. I have 6 or so Snap On ratchets that i have broke in the last month. First time that I have broke more then on at one time. My Issue is that I don't see a Snap On dealer in my day to day travels so I can't get them fixed.

find a local shop, and ask them when the snapon truck stops buy(what day of the week and around what time) and then try and meet him there or maybe see if you can get his number then call him they will work with you to get your tools fixed or replaced. if you cant find a shop that is convenient, then call snapons 1800 number and ask for a rep closest to you and they will put you in touch with a tool truck where you can get your stuff fixed

 

[sportscarfan]

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:girl: 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

Fasteners on Japanese vehicles generally: 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19. Bigger than 19 you don't commonly need, but to remove the fill/drain plugs on the rear diff or 5-speed transmission, use a 24mm. Alternately, on the bigger stuff some standard sizes work fine (I use a 15/16" instead of the 24mm & a 1/2" instead of a 13mm).

I've also been a fan of just buying what I need, rather than a "set" since I was 15. Most sets are uber expensive if they are complete & 1/2 of it you probably won't use. Other less expensive sets like Craftsman, are NOT complete, and typically are missing the sizes that you use 90% of the time.

When you replace the fuel filter, use a proper fitting/line wrench like you would for anything on the brakes.

Singtoe offered the best advise of finding a pawn shop that has tools.

 

[Nelsonmd]

I buy most of my stuff from Home depot, so it's mostly Husky. I have broken a number of tools, but the whole reason I buy Husky is because I can return them and get a new one with the lifetime warranty. There are HD's everywhere so I know I can return them conveniently, and Husky is their exclusive brand, so even if I don't have the receipt, I have been able to return/exchange everything that has broken.

Plus I used to work there, so I kind of know how they work. They have tried to deny me returns, but I have been able to talk them into returning everything I have broken (for store credit at least).

BTW, Lots of different tools brand are made by the same people, SnapOn, Stanley, and Danaher are the biggest 3. The reality is that they each have a high quality brand, and then they supply for low quality brands, like huksy, kobalt, stanley, craftsman, etc... Who makes the low quality brands changes quite a bit as different companies bid on brand contracts. So in my mind, there is no quality difference between the economy brands, pick whichever you want, or whichever you can return the easiest. I havn't used the high quality stuff (SnapOn, MAC, MatCo), so maybe there is some quality difference, but likely there isn't as they each probably know exactly what the others are doing, and are making sure to stay competitive.

The oddballs might be the smaller companies like Cornwell that still make their own tools, and (at least to my knowledge) don't have a discount brand. To me, there is something to be said for stateside manufacturing,

Bottom line though, cheap is cheap. You find tools cheaper than husky/kobalt/craftsman, they are probably chinese garbage and will break the first time you use them. Harbor freight is hit or miss, here's a useful thread about them.

Good Harbor Freight Experiences?? - Pirate4x4.Com Bulletin Board

 

[LittleCaesar]

+1 on everyone with stating that a good ratchet is a must. Having everything from Snap On to Harbor Freight, I can state that the two companies I have never had anything break on me is older Kobalt and SK tools. As NelsonMD points out, Cornwell is a good company that fails to get a lot of face time in the tool world, yet their stuff is great.

If you have money to burn, or wrench every day, call the SnapOn truck to pay you a visit and call it a day. If not, then I think collectively everyone has put in their 2 cents to good use in giving ya good tool advice.