Tools MM Members Should Own

[G.Irish]

While changing the brakes on my Tundra last night I was thinking about what tools an MM member should own at each stage in their life. As a alumni a few years out of school I have the privilege of a garage with air tools and such but I think back fondly of those days of changing my oil in the Sunchase parking lot. So I thought it'd be useful to put together some lists of tools an auto (or moto) enthusiast should own at each stage of their life. To start:

MM Student
-Set of 1/4",3/8" sockets with socket wrenches
-Walmart jack (something that can be fit in a case for autox/track)
-Harbor Freight Impact Wrench
-HF Impact Sockets
-Oil filter wrench
-Small toolbox
-Set of Closed end wrenches
-At least 2 jack stands

MM Graduate (in addition to the MM Student tools)
-Air compressor
-Alignment tool
-Heavy duty floor jack
-1/2" impact gun
-3/8" impact ratchet
-Set of ratcheting wrenches
-Full complement of chemicals (anti-seize, pb blaster, wd-40, brake cleaner, etc.)
-Assortment of hammers

MM Rider
-Front and rear wheel stands
-Set of allen keys
-Wheel alignment tool
-Chain tool

I'm sure I forgot a bunch of stuff but when we get it all figured out maybe we can post it on the site as an article.

[ViPER1313]

Additional tools that anyone should own if performing car mechanics:

-Extendable magnetic wand
-Torque wrenches, 1/2 and 3/8 (cheap autozone ones work great unless you are building an engine.) The price is well worth the aggravation saved from snapped/stripped studs and bolts.
-Propane or MAPP torch
-Breaker bar
-Flashlight
-HF Pick / punch set

A good set of 1/4 <-> 3/8 and 3/8 <-> 1/2 socket adapters, swivels and some various length 3/8in extensions also make a lot of jobs a hell of a lot easier.

[G.Irish]

Ah yeah forgot about the torque wrench, that's a must. I almost never use u-joint sockets but I do get a lot of use out of my swivel head ratcheting wrenches.

[CaptainHenreh]

I'll add a Decent Quality (~$25-$30) Multimeter and LEARN HOW TO USE IT.

[Mike]

I'll add a Decent Quality (~$25-$30) Multimeter and LEARN HOW TO USE IT.

will ac delco brand cut it?

[Evan]

craftsman usually has pretty good multimeters for under $30. But I dont think its necessary, I dont think Ive ever had to use one for car work.

Im going to add Gearwrenches. Preferably the reversible ones. I know they are listed on graduate already, but I use them so often that I would say any student should make an effort to pick up a set, they are big time savers.
They are my go-to tool for just about everything that doesnt require a deep socket or extension.
Sears has 50% off sales every once in a while to get them for around $30 or less a set.

[Steve85]

I think a DVOM is goodto have, but at the very least a test light.
Channel lock pliers
Diag cutters
Wire Crimper and one of those various sizes butt connector sets
Pry Bar

Case of Beer

[Dave]

Cordless impact gun
Assorted pliers and snips
Angle grinder
Tool backpack (better than a toolbox; great for trips to the u-pull-it yard)
BFH and rubber mallet
Craftsman mechanics toolset - durable case + if you get a larger one ($125?) you'll have damn near every socket you'll ever need

[Maengelito]

Case of Beer

every car project definitely requires the proper lubrication. :beer:

[Ryan T]

First aid kit.

[Evan]

Harbor Freight has their long handle wrenches on sale for $17 this week. Well worth it even at the $25 regular price. VERY handy and get in places regular shorter wrenches wont. And unlike the cheaper HF stuff they are well made (every bit as good as my craftsman stuff) and wont round anything off.

[HAULN-SS]

I would add that you should actually get a whole set of pry bars in different lengths, so you're not tempted to break your flathead.

[Sijray21]

-Extendable magnetic wand
-Torque wrenches, 1/2 and 3/8 (cheap autozone ones work great unless you are building an engine.) The price is well worth the aggravation saved from snapped/stripped studs and bolts.
-Flashlight

these were so essential to me when i worked on the civic and integra. the flexible, magnetic wand was KEY - a must tool to have to avoid a lot of potential headache.

an oil filter wrench that was also mentioned above is key as well. i still remember the mobile 1 oil filter that took 4 hours to remove in the sunchase parking lot. i tried the messy screw driver trick, failed miserably and ended up using a mallet and a butter knife....yes...a butter knife

can we also add dremel to the list? that little thing has helped me on many occassions.

[ScottyB]

here are some odd ones i haven't seen mentioned that have come in handy for me.

- small fire extinguisher (i have KIDD brand) which i keep in the car...you never know.
- "headlight" miner-style LED camping light that goes on a headband. i HATE not having enough light and somehow always find myself working on the car early in the morning or late in the day.

- vice grip pliers
- i keep 2 or 3 mega-thick canvas military "kit" bags. they are good to lie on (side of the road, will keep you dry if surface is damp, pad rocks under you) and you can carry dirty or greasy junk in them as well.

- cordless dremel (i have the one below and love it) ah Jay beat me

[Kaan]

Add to the graduate list....
- drill press
- grinder/bench and hand held
- drill
- Vise
- bench, use a level and square unlike RJ

[HAULN-SS]

Probably going to want an air powered grinder too, with a chuck, for doing anything like polishing heads, etc if you're ever inclined to build a motor.

Also a dial bore indicator to be able to check specs on crank journals, cylinder hone jobs, etc, and raise hell if your new motor came back wrong. And a set of micrometers, and a good set of calipers too.

[Steve85]

Snap ring pliers.

Craftsman has a universal pair which means they don't work great for any one situation but can generally get the job done.

[NTIman]

Toolbox large and organized enough to fit every tool you own in its own place, not only for safety, but also to know when you are missing something (so you can spend the next hour and a half trying to figure out where that last 1/4 in socket is in your engine bay).

A set of high quality drill bits. And I can't stress high quality enough, a broken bit is... well not only useless, but worse than no bit at all, because the bit is harder than what you were trying to drill, and just as hard as the next bit you'll use.

And on that note... a nice set of screw/bolt extractors goes a long way too.

Wrench racks....nothing sucks more than looking though 30 wrenches to find the one that was already out to begin with.

[NTIman]

Oh, and for any track car, one (and only one) high quality air pressure gauge. A guy we used to build cars for at the dirt track in winchester had 3 that he used and they all read differently. So make sure you only use one so you're not messing with yourself.

[Mike]

as long as my data is from the same gauge i always use, i'm AOK.