TOOLS AND TOOLBOXES THREAD

I'm only a simple parking lot diy'er, I've only owned one car with obd2 and I couldn't figure shit out. I'm trying to become a carb "expert" but I'm already fed up with it after have a carbd car for like only 6 months

what is bi-directional obd2. i paid well under 1000$ for that scanner and nothing under 700$ can reprogram keys, tpms, command and calibrate actuators, etc. this thing also has service info relating to most common vehicle specific common fixes for almost every code that comes up built in.

snap-on scanners make money, all day and only amateurs use anything but snap-on, otc, or dealer specific oem obd2 devices

also what is measuring voltage resistance and amperage to find current drains and bad grounds
REEEEEEEEEEEE
ARMCHAIR MECHANICS PLS GO

I've found the solus to be pretty shit. I put that down to it being an American tool, so probably is best suited to American cars. It's not great on European stuff, I prefer bosch kts, delphi or autel.

I do have a chink bluetooth obd2 that i use with my surface pro when i'm not lugging my scanner around or just reading datas. it works great but it can't command en ecu to do anything or do anything other than read data from the bus. bi-directional obd2 is for some reason really fucking expensive even though the hardware isnt all that fancy but its very nessecary for diagnostic purposes. my scanner was fucking 4300$ new!!!! i have the reciept for it in the box still even

base model solus sucks and my solus ultra out of the box sucks for euro cars, but with the 700$+ euro update it handles everything great, autel is the only brand i'd use over snap-on, and only on diesel stuff as it surpasses snap-on in coverage in that niche

You only need a code reader to find the problem and make the car run fine again
>what is measuring voltage resistance and amperage
pointless if everything works
> bi-directional obd2 is for some reason really fucking expensive
Because the only people who can make them are the one who make the ECUs(i.e car makers)
So they make them expensive to increase profits since only expensive shops and (you) buy these things(also to discourage people to get one and DIY since they want you to go to the dealership garage)

try replacing and then calibrating an electronic throttle body or pedal with a 10$ elm327 bluetooth from amazon...

Who else Cart Before Horse here

I jumped on a rare-ish project truck before I got all my tools back in order, or really even bought a workbench, so now I'm trying to get the truck on the road and get it home before I even have anything more than assorted harbor freight sets from my quicklube days.

Thank God I work at a stealershit that lets me store and work on a project there. I'm not even a tech. Last one I was at would have laughed and told me to tow it home.

>electronic
I'm a gypsy me mate
cables > electronics
cheap > expensive

lol my first car was like that. i eg33 swapped a 91 legacy wagon in high school with no idea what i was doing, the things i learned then have made me what i am today. learned a LOT.

go for it user. best way to learn hands down is to just figure it out with minimum tools. i remember still how my auto tech teacher in hs taught me drum brakes, he ripped both sides apart and put them mixed together in a box, gave me a flathead and pliers and told me to figure it out. now i can do it with my eyes closed

Serious question though, don't these work with a pot? I figured it would work out of the box since the min/max voltage they give would be the same

yes but the ohm/angle is different between individual units and has to be calibrated for accuracy. theres actually 2 pots most times that work in opposite directions usually too for redundancy and they have to be synchronised as well

pic related the alldata service info for the2008 jeep commander 5.7 i just replaced the TB on earlier today and then calibr8ed

I really hate shit that needs to be torque'd to something like
>1nM
just wrench my shit up

I dont torque anything but fluid pans head bolts and manifolds.

>prefer
Würth
>use
Primarily Biltema and Teng Tools. Makita/Hitachi/DeWalt/Bosch for electrics

>invested
Good question... maybe $4000 or something if you count stuff like all cable stuff, electric tools, air compressor and more

>specialization
I'm a snow monkey who should not be allowed with 100m of a power outlet. No specializaiton needed

nice garage user

Everything has a torque value on a Haynes/Chilton's

I figured if they bother printing that, it must be important

>he torques his head bolts
LOL fag, you just do em up good n tight and go more if they leak.

i fix stuff literally all day and i havent had a problem when doing this

Sadly its my parents, but I own like 70% of the tools and stuff there

Saving up for the garage I plan on putting up when the time comes to buy out my parents/aunt/uncle from my grandparents house, which is the next-door house to my parents... its gonna be a big garage with automatic doors, four-post lift, lighting, tiles and heated

Kinda like this

ALSO
surface pro is the best fucking computer for a mechanic i use it as my main windows pc and take it everywhere, in combination with tethering i can access service info anywhere with a cell signal. also shitpost on Veeky Forums from my rented garage without internat as i am now. its comfy AF to be able to carry a windows computer everywhere that isnt heavy and a pain in the ass. even plays skyrim way better than a god damn tablet has any right to

i rent this garage and its nice. i get to be left the fuck alone while working which is awesome cuz i like to blast music and not be bothered as i work

These fucking things! They aint cheap but both myself and my mate who builds cars together swear by them above all else.

>Pic is of mates garage with some of the toys, he has caught the spinning dorito bug hard

That's what I'm doing, for the most part. Learning plenty but it's an MJ, so the drivetrain is solid as fuck already (except diff- I will pass that off on one of the techs for now) so I've been learning about the wiring looms, dashboard, the pre-OBD ECU etc.

I am gonna go up to a 4.6L stroker eventually and 4WD swap it, THAT will be interesting. I'll wait for the next engine rebuild.

all great choices. love that wagon, id kill for a clean big turbo example

yea def leave setting diff up to the pros.
shit is pretty fuckin hard and not easy to teach ones self

I don't prefer any brand overall, some niches I only like one brand
Maybe $10k
Fixing cars

...

nice cart, matco rly makes the best boxes and carts imo. also i have same snapon ratchets. who makes the square lookin torque wrench?

It's Precision Instruments, you might recognize it because they also make Snap Ons split beams. I just ordered this Wurth 1/4" torque wrench (5-20nm), going to take a month to get from Germany though, really cool if you do tight quarters sensitive stuff. The Snap On 1/4 drive electronic is about the length of my 1/2", it's nice but half the time I wouldn't be able to use it because of space restriction

Best tools I've every bought. Literally have the exact same. A lot of snap on shit is overrated but these are 10/10

That one guy with the sage green hospital crash cart he got for 50 bucks was gangster

You're the type of guy who just reads the codes and fires the parts canon at it aren't you?

General auto mechanic.

My biggest year purchase wise was about 12k. Likely have 30-40; somewhere in there.
Also: LOL at test lights. Unless you're using it to load a circuit, it's useless. Multi-meter, continuity, voltage drop, back-probe, confirm agreement with ECU figures.

I get by with a solus ultra, and a smaller Launch. Both have strengths and weakness. I'll be up-grading in the next few years, really feeling lap-top based.

op/other solus ultra guy here
what update are you on and did they fix the mazda\ford lack of "functional tests" ex. 09 mazda6 had none with my version. will update for this tho i do a lot of mazda3 work too

I'm upgraded to 2013 or 2014. That's about all I can remember, I got it in 2013 IIRC.

Best info would be to speak with your dealer. If he's worth a shit, he can find out for you.

Some of that isn't nessesarily an upgrade issue, but that the PCM may not have that native function. More common than you might think, the ford-era mazdas were a real PITA.

I'm the drivablity guy where I work.

This is what the tv is displaying.

i share a bored with inbreds like this

god damn wear some fucking gloves for fucks sake you disgusting fatbody

oh god im so fucking jealous
thats my dream setup, same color box even. looks great

them's workin man's hands son. we all can't be NEETs
also i cant wear gloves because sweat drips down my forearms within 5mins. its super gross so i just deal with it

Thanks. I actually wanted to do green and black. But I got my first box on a repo deal and it was orange. And then when the time came to upgrade I had a shit tonne of orange tool so I kept it.

I have that same ⅜ ratchet. Except mine says Pittsburgh Professional on it, and only cost $24.99.

I use a test light all the time and work on the most electronically advanced cars on the market. You go through a whole fuse box with your multimeter? Seems like a lot of time to spend for no reason

If it was the same I would have bought it, I hate buying tools off the truck and will use the cheap shit when I can, but ratchets aren't one of those things. The Gearwrench ones are pretty good though.

Do you guys have any security systems in your garages besides the regular door locks? Or maybe some special lock setups?

There's been some break-ins in my area and I'm a bit nervous my garage is going to get cleared out.

Seems pretty similar to me, my dude. 72 teeth, lifetime warranty.

As if niggers want your dirty toolset.
They steal cars not fix em.

Problem is I'm in northern yurop, and they're gypsies, they love welders, plasma cutters, electric tools, chainsaws etc. They typically come over in a fullsize trailer truck and some vans, then they go around collecting stuff until the trailer is full, then they just drive it over the border and sell the stuff in eastern europe. They only go for garages pretty much.

That's what I used to think too. Till I broke 5 in one day and they told me they won't warrenty it anymore...

Probably because that's a ratchet, not a hammer. And whatever you were using it for was out of its capacity, you should have stepped up to half inch, or gotten an impact. Or you're just full of shit. The snap on guy won't warranty anything five times in a day either. No one will because that proves user error.

The ones I broke were 1/2. And you bet your ass snap on will warrenty like that.

How did it fail?
>pic related, my $25 baby

I have plenty of snap on, no they won't. A good snap on guy after the second one will find out how you're fucking up, and help you find the right tool for the job.

I had my guy at the shop. There wasn't a better tool. Broke the teeth every time. He rebuilt it 3 times on the spot.

That box was 800$? Is there something special about it?

I saw this video and think that you could get more for 800$.

youtube.com/watch?v=7hIAg1Qi4zQ

r8 my misc drawer

I would have sold you a breaker bar

>Harbor Freight threadlocker

I love Harbor Freight, but that stuff sucks. Had the sets of torque converter bolts come loose because of it. Went back to name brand and no more issues. Just a heads up.

9/10 drawer for that reason. Love the do not steal.

Three sets***

Thanks for the warning. I will stick to the brand name stuff for important fasteners.

Though I did use the hf threadlocker to stick the shank of my hf screwdriver back into the handle and it hasn't come back out yet.

I gave the stuff a chance because why not. But I can't trust it on a customer's car after that.

If it's something like an O2 probe I try to clean it first

my snap-on multimeter can be set to beep it makes fuseboxes easy. i literally do not own a test light my dvom does w/e i need

yeah bub r u tryna trigger me
>implying harbor freight brand comparable to snap-on

>tool looks unused

well if you dont do any serious work every day for years of course you're gonna think they're equivalent.
i would be fucking embarassed to use that at my shop tho it just shows you don't care about what you're doing if you buy cut-rate shit mane

pic related.GOOD toolboxes are fucking expensive, husky and craftsman boxes are kind of shit. it's expensive to make a durable box with drawers that slide smoothly filled with heavy tools for 40 years, and when locked can resist break-ins in a place where tools are commonplace

this is the same model box without the decals or "pro-formance" trim

yes

>Both made in China
>Out of the same shit
>Embarrassed

Maybe that's because you're fifteen years old, and you think people give a shit about what brand you use. Do you also wear Abercrombie & Fitch uniforms so people will know you spend too much money for literally zero gain?

about that
>made in usa

...

I'm the opposite. I recived a 300 piece mechanics set, plus some odds and ends that the set didn't come with, for Christmas last year. I don't have a project car, a place to work on a project car, or money for either. My sockets have been used for carpentry more than they've been used for automotive work.

Holy I don't know if you're bating hard or are genuinely this fucking retarded.

The guts of those ratchets are made in China, and that's what is important. They've also stopped stamping USA on the new ones. You wanna guess why that is?

i just bought that ratchet like 3 months ago mane. im on the truck every week they're still stamped usa and will be for a long time

I have fewer than 15 sockets and I have no 12mm one, 8 or 9 crescent wrenches, I don't know where the battery to my craftsman impact is, and the only specialized tools are a HF torx set and an oil filter wrench I haven't touched since working at Sears.

And I'm trying to restomod a Comanche.
At least it's cold enough to work outside with no shade now. This is a pain.

My meh little bench, I plan to make a new one but I think I'll wait till spring.

Seriously. Any mid level box from mac, matco, strap on is gonna be $5k+

However the horrible fright 72" is actually damn good for the price. I'm seriously considering picking one up to clean up this mess. I got out of the business years ago and all my tools are now safe at home, but this overloaded cluster fuck still annoys me.

I'm not a professional mechanic but the torin tool box on the right has been amazing for the last year...the Kennedy I got a few months ago it's had a hard life but a good deal for 20$

Yee boi!

those wheels goin on a 1jz mk3 4 sen hyne. praise chaos

Idgaf. I was talkin bout the Pepsi

hi kenny roberts

Who?

>need to buy torque wrenches, spark plug socket and tool to remove spark plug wires
>no idea what to get

>torque wrenches
Precision Instruments
>spark plug socket
Snap-On swivel
>tool to remove spark plug wires
human hands (preferably your own)

>all these nice garages with lifts and powertools everywhere
>tfw my "garage" is a big piece of old cardboard on my gravel driveway to save my ass from rocks.

Why? That's the dumbest shitni have ever heard.

I can tell some people in this thread actually know what they are talking about. But you want to clean an O2 sensor. With what? Dish soap? You fucking idiot. Have fun working at Jiffy Lube cleaning sensors faggot.

The Surface really is awesome in an automotive environment. We had one at my old shop and used it for working with standalone ECUs and datalogging, as well as general "around the shop" stuff. We used Autologic and a more normal laptop for working with factory electronics, though.

Pic related was the shop back when I worked there, they've since moved to a new location.