I took my wife’s car into the dealership for a warranty a few weeks ago and while they were checking stuff, they said the car needed 1300 dollars of work (piston soak and replace some transmission parts). I ended up doing the soak with my grandpa and took it to a shop for the transmission (wasnt even an issue, just a rivot replacement on a wheel well cover) and ended up saving 700 dollars after accounting for tools, jacks, jack stands, etc.
I want to start working on my own cars for things that can be done easily without expensive specialized tools, and I might be buying a house in the next year. I just want to start getting a decent collection of tools to hopefully save money in the long run.
I currently have a huge range of screwdrivers, soldering equipment, plyer set, socket set, file set, wire cutters and a small tool kit with some misc stuff.
I am mainly looking towards a torque wrench and a good spanner/wrench set, but looking for suggestions on what to get. Holding off on power tools until I wrap my head around brands and batteries.
Electrical meter
Tire air gauge
Tire patch kit
Air pump
Brake reset tool (forget exact name, I paid $10 and it pushes the brake piston back in when installing new brake pads)
Tire thread measuring tool (know when you need new tires)
Battery tester (test how many cca remain)
Battery acid tester
Radiator coolant tester
Distilled water to put in battery
Coat hangers (metal hanger can be cut and bent to hold things such as the brake caliper)
The tire patch kit saved me a few weeks ago.
Maybe it’s just a thing around here but almost every tire shop will pull and correctly patch a tire for free if you drive up and they aren’t super busy. The patch kits like you show are iffy IMO. They can last a while but I’d still err on getting it done right at a shop (from the inside of the tire, and ensuring the puncture didn’t expose any steel bands that will then rust and break).
I’d also say you don’t really need the thread depth gauge, modern tires all have tread wear markers molded into them, and in a pinch you can use a penny (the top of Lincoln’s head when inserted upside down is about the limit for tread wear on most tires).
Worth getting a multimeter and battery tester vs just a multimeter? Was planning on getting back into soldering and was thinking of just getting a good MM and using that for electric for home and car
The battery tester I have will put a load on the battery and calculate its life. It’s a bit different than a normal meter. I find it useful to know if my battery is good before I take a trip or once in a while, as it’s better to know more than just knowing the voltage of the battery. I don’t think it’s really necessary, but I find it useful and didn’t cost me too much.
A normal multimeter is great for thousands of things, even the cheapest harbor freight one is a great start. (you might find a coupon for it for free).