Oil and Filter Change
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From: Jeff on 23 Oct 2007 16:42 Ray O wrote: > I don't like the feel of Stanley or > Craftsman screwdrivers in my hand - they are hard to grip and result in > blisters after long use, while the blades on my Snap-On and Mac screwdrivers > are still in perfect shape. The walls on cheap sockets are much thicker, > making them difficult to use in tight spaces, they don't grip bolt heads as > well as a good 6 point socket, the chrome finish chips off, and I've split > several cheap sockets. My fine-tooth Snap-on ratchets work much more > smoothly, especially when starting bolts, and the fine teeth allow better > back-and-forth motions when working in tight spaces. For weekend and NASCAR mechanics, Craftsman, Blackhawk, SK, etc., are good enough most of the time. They're cheap enough and get the job done. They usually have a life-time warranty. When I was taking apart engines in high and college for my dad, who rebuilt engines, I used mostly SK tools. They made high impact sockets for the air ratchets that almost never failed. And the regular sockets and stuff were good enough for what I needed. And dad was an SK dealer, so getting replacement tools wasn't a big deal. For professional mechanics, Mac and Snap-On are even cheaper. They let the mechanic work faster. And the mechanic doesn't have to return the tools for new ones under warranty. Time is money. Mac and Snap-On let the mechanic spend his/her time working on vehicles, not replacing tools. Saves money in the long run. > For automotive applications, Snap-On, Mac, and Matco are what most pros use. > Plumbers seem to prefer Rigid tools, and electricians seem to prefer Klein > and Greenlee. Good tools make the work go more smoothly and fit in the hand > better. I am curious how good the new Colbalt Tools for Home Depot are. Jeff
From: Scott Dorsey on 23 Oct 2007 16:54 Jeff <kidsdoc2000(a)hotmail.com> wrote: >For weekend and NASCAR mechanics, Craftsman, Blackhawk, SK, etc., are >good enough most of the time. They're cheap enough and get the job done. >They usually have a life-time warranty. These companies rebadge tools from other sources. Some of them are good and some of them are bad. The Craftsman miniature screwdriver sets are from Wiha and are just fine. Their boltcutters from China and are not fine. >When I was taking apart engines in high and college for my dad, who >rebuilt engines, I used mostly SK tools. They made high impact sockets >for the air ratchets that almost never failed. And the regular sockets >and stuff were good enough for what I needed. And dad was an SK dealer, >so getting replacement tools wasn't a big deal. Some of the SK stuff is excellent, some is not. I'll also say that I buy the crappy quality Taiwanese high impact sockets... which I would never dare use on an impact wrench, but which are dirt cheap and well-enough hardened to use with hand tools. They are cheap, and if you use them for something they can handle, they're fine. If you actually put one on an impact wrench you might well get injured. >For professional mechanics, Mac and Snap-On are even cheaper. They let >the mechanic work faster. And the mechanic doesn't have to return the >tools for new ones under warranty. Time is money. Mac and Snap-On let >the mechanic spend his/her time working on vehicles, not replacing >tools. Saves money in the long run. For the most part this is try, but WHY don't either one of these guys make small box wrenches with really long handles? Why do I have to go to the airplane tool guys (which charge a LOT more than Mac and Snap-On) for such things? Also, the Snap-On flexible socket wrenches are kind of poorly made compared with the German ones. >I am curious how good the new Colbalt Tools for Home Depot are. They are cheap, not very well finished, but seem okay. I have a couple breaker bars from them which have held up okay to abuse. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
From: Built_Well on 23 Oct 2007 21:09 Today, I saw the best "lower price" floor jack yet. It's a Husky at Home Depot for $40, and it lifts all the way to 22 inches! It supports 3 tons, not like the 2-and-a-quarter or 2-and-a-half ton jacks. In this price range, I thought I would have been limited to 15.5 inches of lift at the most, but Home Depot and Husky came through with 22 inches! Nobody lifts that high for that little. I would have preferred buying the $65 3.5-ton Michelin floor jack at Sam's Club, but that sucker is big and heavy. I need something transportable since I'm living in an apartment, and can't work on the car in our parking lot, according to the contract. I guess I gotta be like a guerilla mechanic and find some place out of the way to work. Where have my fellow guerilla mechanics found are good places to work? Parking lots of neglected shopping centers? Deserted, dead-end streets? I'm wondering about this $80 Craftsman torque wrench I picked up from Sears. How often do you all get your home wrenches recalibrated? Never? Once a year? Is it cost-prohibitive to get'em recalibrated? If not, where would you go to get'em recalib'ed? This Craftsman only has a one-year warranty, but I'm sure re-calibrating is not part of the warranty. The Husky torque wrench at Home Depot (made in Taiwan) has a lifetime warranty, as does the O'Reilly wrench with the brandname "Precision Tool." The AutoZone torquer only has a 3-month warranty.
From: Built_Well on 23 Oct 2007 21:58 Forget answering the question about recalibrating torque wrenches. I just read Tegger's informative FAQ on torquers. $75 to re-calibrate one! Like Tegger, I'll just buy a new one. Tegger, a lot of people have spun loose that model 44595 from Sears. So I don't think it's your fault for damaging your original. Read the reviews for that wrench at sears.com. Whole bunch of folks complaining about that torquer.
From: Mark A on 23 Oct 2007 22:32
"Built_Well" <Built_Well_Toyota(a)hotmail.com> wrote in message > Mike Romain, you are now playing rhetorical games like Mike A. You said you did not understand why the Toyota manual recommends lowering the car completely before final tightening of the lugnuts, while another source said to tighten when the tires are barely touching the ground, but still on the jacks. I explained the difference, and why each made the recommendation they did, and you say that I am playing rhetorical games? No, I am explaining the difference to you in a most logical manner. Hopefully you will try a bit harder to understand the differences and move on to another subject. |