Motors DIYers - Tooling advice

Dup

Dup

Dup

Soldato
Joined
10 Mar 2006
Posts
11,500
Location
East Lancs
I think it's about time I worked on the car myself. I've done it before on other cars but only small bits and always borrowed tools.

Basically I have one task in mind to start with and that's my front wheel hub but I noticed my front discs and pads are looking tired so I can do those at the same time.

My current requirements are:

Torque wrench - For the hub nut really, not so necessary on the other stuff but useful for future endeavours.

Breaker bar - For getting the hub nut off.

Socket set - Needs to have 29mm socket for hub nut, 6 sided preferably due to 15 year old car.


Can any recommend anything I can get without spending a fortune? There's 1/2", 1/4", 3/8" etc. which I assume are fitments but I don't know which is the ideal for working on a car. Obviously they all need to be compatible with each other.

Sorry if this is a simple question, I just user other peoples stuff but it's not all available to me now and it would be nice to have my own. Cheers :)
 
I got a torque wrench for £20 or so from Screwfix - should be fine for higher torque settings.

You could probably get away with using the torque wrench as a breaker bar as they're pretty big and sturdy (or is this a bad idea? Anyone know?).

You could buy a single socket from Halfords. The breaker bar should have a couple of adaptors.
 
I wouldn't use a torque wrench as a breaker bar because you can potentially put much more torque on it than it is rated to - and you'll damage the mechanism, affecting the reading you get - so you'll get innaccurate torque ratings!

They ain't designed to be bounced up and down on, they are precision bits of kit effectively :)
 
Halfords Pro range is highly regarded and it comes with the easiest lifetime guarantee in the world.

As for socket size it's good to have 1/2" and 3/8" or 1/4". 1/2" for good solid stuff. Smaller one for more delicate job. and a good range of extensions and joints

I don't know what your budget is but Halfords Advanced Professional 120 piece Socket Set £89.99
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_177693_langId_-1_categoryId_165572

Gives you all 3: 1/2", 3/5" and 1/4"
 
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What's the car? Chances are you're going to need access to a press if you're changeing hubs/bearings. Non-driven wheel bearing you can usually get away with.
 
3/8 is fine for most things, a 1/4 set can be handy occasionally. 3/8 -> 1/4 adaptors, long and short extensions in quarter, 3/8. A decent ratchet, a t-bar and a good set of complimentary spanners should have you sorted to begin with. A good set of allen keys and torx-keys are invaluable.

Additionally long nose and a heavy set of pliers, good couple of screwdrivers, and a set of bits and socket adaptor is useful. For a breaker bar I use the t-bar with an axle stand tube on it or a length of scaffolding, always works well enough so far..


In the future, a second set of sockets in 1/2 can be handy for larger things and a couple of 1/2 -> 3/8 adaptors and the required extensions etc. And a second ratchet.

I find using the same tools over again e.g. I have a set of cranked ring spanners but I only ever seem to use the 18/19mm one.

Once you have the basic set up just buy only the addtional tools you require as you need them, it's cheaper than buying a whole set at once and you don't end up with loads of tools you paid for and don't use.


The other month I needed a deep socket so I bought the halford deep socket set for I think £20, turns out it didn't have a 16mm it's goes 15,17,19 iirc. Went back and bought an individual 16mm deep socket for about £4 or something which was exactly what I needed.
 
NickXX said:
You could probably get away with using the torque wrench as a breaker bar as they're pretty big and sturdy (or is this a bad idea? Anyone know?).
.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't.


Get yourself a torque wrench and one of the Halfords Pro toolkits to suit your budget, theyr'e decent quality. You can improvise when you need uber purchase - I have a reasonably sized breaker bar and when I need more I slide on a bicycle saddle post ;)


I read up on changing the MX5 hubs yesterday for no reason whatsover (www.miata.net/garage is a great time waster) and it looks fairly simple, as are disks and pads but DO NOT use a G-clamp to wind back the rear pistons, only the fronts :)
 
Dup said:
Torque wrench - For the hub nut really, not so necessary on the other stuff but useful for future endeavours.

Breaker bar - For getting the hub nut off.

Socket set - Needs to have 29mm socket for hub nut, 6 sided preferably due to 15 year old car.

Can any recommend anything I can get without spending a fortune? There's 1/2", 1/4", 3/8" etc. which I assume are fitments but I don't know which is the ideal for working on a car. Obviously they all need to be compatible with each other.
Click to expand...


torque wrench. make sure it has enough range to tighten up your hub nut after. most 1/2" torque wrenches go upto 210nm or so, some hub nuts need to go higher, so just check.

for normal use though, a decent 3/8 drive torque wrench is more important as those smaller fasteners are more critical when it comes to being over tightened.

breaker bar.... and a length of scaffold or a length of exhaust pipe, youll need a lot leverage

you can get through life with a 1/4 drive set (six sided with plenty of deep ones) and a 1/2" set too
 
I use 3/8" drive now. My socket set goes up to 22mm and I can put 120ft-lbs through that without it complaining. I use my torque as a breaker bar. Wind it up to max torque and it'll undo anything I've put under it. I think it's different to some though, because it clicks and bottoms out, so there's no way you can overload it. I wouldn't hammer it though.

The torque wrench is 1/2" drive and I've got a couple of hub nuts with 35mm and 39mm sockets which it can undo no problem.
 
Thanks for the responses. Hmm, lots of differing opinions on which drive to use.

The front bearing on the MX5 is part of a whole hub so no need for splitters and presses, so I'm just swapping the hub on one side + discs and pads on the front. Rear pads aren't that old and when they're done the rear discs will be so they can be left for now.

For £10 a 1/2" drive breaker bar should be fine for getting the nut off. I'm sure I can find some old pipe or something for leverage if I need it.

The hub nut needs 150 ft-lbs according to this guide but I will double check with Mazda if its not in my service manual.

The Halfords sets look like good value but they're all 12 sided which puts me off a bit. I'll end up getting the 29mm socket separately anyway as not one set the poor side of £100 comes with one!

I think I'm going to go for this torque wrench. I can use a 1/2" 29mm socket for the hub and it has a 3/8" adaptor with it for whichever socket set I get. Size wise it should be OK working around the wheel arches. I'm not all that concerned about torquing the caliper bolts

I've already got some stands and need a trolley jack. The long reach Clarke is meant to be good enough so will pick one of those up if I go to Machine Mart (one in Preston for me).
 
DUP. for total value for money, get the draper torque wrenches. they cost buttons and are very accurate. i have one, a friend of mine has one, we both send them in for calibration and they never need it. he works at some military place so id expect their equipment is pretty spot on
 
The reason I don't use 1/2 any more is because the 3/8 drive tools are so much slimmer and can fit in tighter places with just that little bit extra room to crank. 3/8 used to be wimpy and weak compared to 1/2 but these days there are some very good strong sets. I already had the torque wrench so I just use the adapter in my socket set.

Sealey AK692 for example. Can be had for £45 delivered if you shop around.
 
I have 1/2 for large accessible bolts requiring fairly high torque load, i have a 3/8 for light load stuff and for those in accessible places. One thing i will recommend are ratchet spanners saves a lot of time especially if you havent got room to move.

I also have 2 halfords pro torque wrenches cant fault them.
 
thedazman67 said:
I have 1/2 for large accessible bolts requiring fairly high torque load, i have a 3/8 for light load stuff and for those in accessible places. One thing i will recommend are ratchet spanners saves a lot of time especially if you havent got room to move.

I also have 2 halfords pro torque wrenches cant fault them.
Click to expand...

i have a 1/2 set for practically everything and then a 1/4 set for the fiddly stuff and i get by just fine with that
 
I'll vouch for Halfords pro range.
I've had a socket set of there's for 15 years now, cost me about £120 back then.

I've only ever had to replace a couple of items. The 1/2 inch rachet broke a couple of years ago,
& one of the screwdriver bits snapped.
 
does anyone know if the Halfords Professional Torque Wrench comes with the lifetime warranty? i know the moving parts are not under the warranty but bit unsure about the Torque Wrenches they sell.

Thanks
 
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