best tool set for weekend mechanics
 

What kind of tool sets do you guys have? I'm looking for something high quality and portable since I don't have a garage.

I've been looking at Craftsman 230-piece, STANLEY 210-piece, Crescent 170-piece.

It really doesn't matter. We have the Crecent 170 pic set here at work. It does the job.
It's all there in the molded case. If you want to spend a few dollars more get the ones with more stuff.

If you don't have any basic tools to start with, the Crescent or the Stanley look pretty good. I was lucky and picked up the 190 piece on sale before Craftsman discontinued it a couple years ago. Lots of room in the case for wrenches/picks/pliers/etc.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/Professio...48&mode=seeAll

Be careful about the piece count - they fluff it up by including allen keys, 1/4 inch bit heads, and stupid 1/4 inch nut drivers. You want to pay attention to how many sockets they include, prioritize 6 point over 12 points (because stronger). You'll want the majority of your sockets to be 3/8 inch and up - I barely use the 1/4 inch sockets as the stuff in the car are usually 10mm and up. I find myself grabbing the deep sockets more than the shallow sockets, just because it's easier to get clear of the stuff around the bolt/nut you're working on, and you don't have to mess with a short extension - but shallow sockets do have their uses.


And for your screwdriving / hex / torx / external torx needs, I find myself reaching for this set all the time (it's at the sale price right now):

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-42-pi...p-00934845000P



I also wouldn't care much about the wrenches in the kits. I would save up and get a set of ratcheting wrenches like these:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-20-pi...2&blockType=G2

The Gearwrench ones are exactly the same, sometimes they are cheaper / go on sale.


In the end though - don't sweat the choice too much. You'll find yourself accumulating more and more tools...it is inevitable... It's like girls and makeup - some are used all the time, but most are rarely used (hint: this analogy is a double edged sword - use carefully). :party0030:

I've had luck with the stanley sets, cheap and strong. Last weekend I sheared two 14mm bolts off a rusted exhaust and there was zero damage to the socket. Craftsman set I had was good until it started rusting and I could not stop it. I had it about 5 years. Look for the set that has the 17mm and 19mm. Not sure if there is many bolts bigger than that for our cars.

Oh yeah, once you get into air tools, or just working on super rusty cars that involve lots of stuck bolts and cursing, you'll want to get some impact-rated sockets like these:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-4885-Impact-11-32mm-Sockets/dp/B000NPUKGQ"]Amazon.com: TEKTON 4885 1/2" Drive Deep Impact Socket Set, 11-32mm, Metric, Cr-V, 14 Sockets: Home Improvement[/ame]

Nice bonus is that these sets usually have bigger sockets that don't usually come in the starter kits. (I'm looking at you, stupid 350z 22mm brake caliper bracket bolt)

Now that you mention it, I haven't encountered anything bigger than a 17mm on the car, 19mm being the lug nuts.

As for unique pieces, the only things I know of are:

1. E10 external torx bolt for the seat rails
2. 10mm hex key (or socket thingy from that Craftsman set I linked before) for the transmission and differential drain/fill plugs

keep an eye on the sears website; there are usually deals on craftsman tools often on the site.

or you can go to slickdeals.com and search up tools and see what you can get.

over time, your tool drawer will fill up once you start figuring out what tools you need that you don't have.

Craftsman

I would say start with the basics like your sockets and wrenches then buy as you go. No need to buy a big fancy set if your never going to use half the tools they come with

I think you'll add a torque wrench and hex key set eventually into your set. The oil and diff replacement and torque wrench for many other things.

don't forget a good ol' breaker bar for bolts that you don't want (or shouldn't use) an impact on.

This. I've been piecing together tools for years this way. I pick up tools if I happen to need them for a project, on a project-by-project basis. You can do a ton of work on these cars with just a metric socket set, a few wrenches, and a torque wrench.

An impact gun set to low is actually better for not breaking bolts. Size the gun to the bolt of course. I have an IR2135 for bigger stuff, an a cheap butterfly impact for things like exhaust studs.

I got two of these, one each for my kids. They go on sale for $300 pretty often. If you live anywhere near a Canadian border I'd highly recommend these or any of there hand tools.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/ma...-0589295p.html