Mechanics: what are your most common tools?

Well, generally you get the best price buying sockets and wrenches in sets, but I believe you will find mid-range (6,8,10, 12 mm) the ones you use the most. In close quarters, a ratcheting wrench set is handy, as are socket extensions.

A good repair manual for your model is a "tool" you will use again and again.

As you start to put things back together, a torque wrench is a wise investment so that you can tighten things to specifications.

Glad to hear others' suggestions!

 

14 mm for oil changes.

 

10mm for pretty much most other things//

 

A multimeter

 

Mostly the same Park bicycle tools used on my Cannondale bike.

 

don't want to forget this one/

 

Techstream with mini VCI if we can add soft tools

 

This is the bulk of the small stuff. Also, lots of funnels, syringes, graduates, hoses, floor jack, two sizes of safety stands (4 of each), four heavy rubber wheel chocks, drain pan, drain bottle with funnel, charger, jump pack, and on and on.

 

The phone number to a REAL mechanic!

 

A 3/8" ratchet... but you need the tools for the job you're doing. Each time you do a procedure for the first time, you might need a new tool.

Oil change? Toyota oil filter wrench
Tranny oil change? A pump or a very long funnel with a tube, a beefy breaker bar and a special Hex socket that nobody has in their set. If you do spark plugs, you need a particular-sized plug socket, with the rubber insert.

In general?
A complete metric socket set with 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" short and long sockets.
A 3/8" and 1/2" breaker bars
A set of extensions
A set of metric wrenches
A set of Allen wrenches
A screwdriver set
All kinds of pliers
3/8" and 1/2" torque wrenches
A box of rubber gloves
Shop towels
Clorox wipes
A drain basin
A rolling tool chest to store it
A head mounted flashlight
Floor Jack
Jack stands

You hopefully understand that one accumulates these over a period of years as various repairs require them. I would begin with the biggest Sears Craftsman toolset you can get -- like the $150+ set. Get one with the form-fitted storage case, because that way you'll easily account for all of your sockets when you're cleaning up.

 

Oh, and a pit lamp or two.

 

If you are spatially challenged like most of us in suburbia and do not have room for a rolling chest ( I have a 2 car garage and park both cars in it), hanging them on the wall or the work bench works just fine. So add a hammer and a box of nails to the list.

I had a 3 car garage in Wichita, KS when we lived out there, but 2 tornadoes within a 1/2 mile of the house scared my wife away. I knew it was over when I saw she was looking for homes near her parents in the Bay Area .

I do miss the days of having a bay for working on the cars.

 

I miss having a garage, period

 

I gave up trying to stow all my hand tools in my (woefully small, single tray) tool chest, just lay them out on a work bench. More readily accessible that way anyhow. Some carpet samples help cushion them and keep sockets from rolling off.

 

A 17 mm for removing the windshield wiper arms, if you want to change spark plugs.
The tool to remove the oil filter cartridge, a scangauge2, ramps to run the front end up on and a jack for the rear to change oil, a good air gauge.

 

Without further ado, I present, my tool chest:
I printed the labels on one sheet of paper, cut them to size and affixed with cellophane tape. Simple, but it works:

Electrical tools, bicycle tools, and a set of lonely feeler blades.

Chisels and prying tools, lots of hex wrenches, and a bunch of unused nut drivers.

Multimeter and various electrical leftovers

Measuring tapes. Before I had this chest, I kept losing them and buying more.

Pliers. Lots of pliers.

Ratchets, breaker bars, extensions, and an oil filter wrench

No, you can't have too many screwdrivers. No such thing.

Metric sockets in all three drive sizes

British sockets, including a Prius spark plug socket I made by jamming the rubber from a different socket into the smaller socket for Prius. Without the rubber insert, it's pretty hard to get the old spark plugs out. (Go ahead: Ask me how I know).

Two torque wrenches, a drill, an impact wrench, lots of drill bits, etc.


And there are two more drawers full of wrenches (one drawer) and hammers, but there's tons of miscellaneous junk in them and I'm just too embarrassed to show them.

 

I'm thinking I need some kind of girlie picture on the wall to make it a real garage.

 

@Rebound had a nice setup for a tool chest and probably garage as well.

I do not have room for one of those nice tool chests in the 2 car garage . see attached.

With 2 cars in the garage, space is at a premium. But there is enough room for a hand made work bench and enough wood space to organize the tools. The wife also ends up using the bench for her projects, leading to additional spatial constraints. The paint on the bench is from the trim replacements.....

While nice to have a great tool chest, there are good things you can do without one.

 

Our lives are so good...