Doing a head gasket, front cam seals, timing belt etc.

[ems_kws]

Tools I'm glad I bought:
extra 10mm socket
serpentine belt tensioner wrench from IPD.
Dual overhead cam locking kit off Ebay. $58
mirror for seeing the un-see-able

Tool I never used:
Crank shaft holding tool off Ebay

Still need to buy if I do it again:
Quality ratchet wrenches and sockets. NO MORE STANLEY
angle gauge for head bolts

[bmdubya1198]

Tools I'm glad I bought:
extra 10mm socket
serpentine belt tensioner wrench from IPD.
Dual overhead cam locking kit off Ebay. $58
mirror for seeing the un-see-able

Tool I never used:
Crank shaft holding tool off Ebay

Still need to buy if I do it again:
Quality ratchet wrenches and sockets. NO MORE STANLEY
angle gauge for head bolts

Quality tools are important! I don’t have any Stanley ratchets, but I’ve heard they are very weak.
I recommend Klutch ratchets and sockets for high quality low budget tools if you have a Northern Tool nearby. Of the store brands I have used, I am very happy with their ratchets. I haven’t used them much, but I really like how they feel and perform. The sockets are also nice and actually easy to read.
My second choice for store brand ratchets would be Duralast. My Duralast sealed head 72 tooth 3/8” has proven itself to be very good quality.
I love my Craftsman sockets, and ratchets too, but the old 36 tooth mechanism isn’t the best out there anymore.

[abscate]

My go to sockets have been a nice set of Kobalt ( Lowes) 6 pt 3/8 drive impact sockets, with a 12 inch bar for cracking and a 6 inch ratchet for speed.

They aren't quite as convenient as the 12 pts but I round off a lot fewer heads, and hence fewer cuss words

[erikv11]

+1 on that - There is only one 12 point socket in my tool box, the one (17 mm?) for the fly wheel bots. Can't stand 'erm.

My go-to ratchet is a long-handled 3/8 flex head from Kobalt. It was cheap and it works great.

[kaneelschep]

My wrenches and rings from 6mm to 32mm are basicly all Gedore. Some even double or triple. Inherited from my dad. Who got them from a closed down technical highschool. Must be 30+ year old stuff. Never bend or broke one of those. Blead a lot on them though.. Jaja.. Second hand old stuff seems to outlive the new cheap crap.
For the same prices.
I Like to add a second hand gedore ratchet to a cheap set of sockets. And use it till you lost all the important sockets.

[bmdubya1198]

I like the Kobalt stuff, and the good thing about that is if you break anything, Lowe's are everywhere and have the best hours compared to Northern or Harbor Freight. You can get what you need quickly and easily.
My only issue is the prices on smaller sets... $27 for a basic 3/8" socket set? I can get the same thing at Northern for $8.99! I do really like their sockets though, the laser etching is nice and I like the blue stripe (because who uses US sizes?).
+1 on 6 point sockets... I can't stand 12 point. Most sockets I have are 6 point.

[ZionXIX]

I received a set of Tekton brand 6pt flex head ratcheting box end wrenches for Christmas 2 years ago. I have never looked back. The quality is unreal, I seriously believe I will be able to pass these down to my children.

https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-WRN57170 ... rds=tekton

[bmdubya1198]

I really like that those are 6 point, I don't think I've ever seen 6 point ratcheting wrenches.
I've wanted to try Tekton. They are pretty cheap on Amazon, and now that I have Prime again, it couldn't hurt to add new tools to the never ending collection!

[abscate]

I received a set of Tekton brand 6pt flex head ratcheting box end wrenches for Christmas 2 years ago. I have never looked back. The quality is unreal, I seriously believe I will be able to pass these down to my children.

https://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-WRN57170 ... rds=tekton


815DsdU7rQL._SL1500_.jpg

But for the price of 1 of these I can get a wrench set, a welder, three car ramps, and an AC charge set from Harbor freight!

Those are sweet looking wrenches..I bet they would save a lot of cussing on the P80 alternator job.

[ZionXIX]

But for the price of 1 of these I can get a wrench set, a welder, three car ramps, and an AC charge set from Harbor freight!

Those are sweet looking wrenches..I bet they would save a lot of cussing on the P80 alternator job.

They have saved me countless hours in those tight spaces for the Volvo engine bay as well as adjusting tension for drive belts on my 4runner. For whatever reason Toyota got it in their head to run power steering hard lines directly across the power steering adjustment bolt with nothing but a 1/2" gap, these wrenches can go where no socket has gone before.