Good 'all in' tool kit?

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

ScarySquirrel

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Hello,

After paying someone £50 to fit some Eibach springs to my car at the weekend, and seeing how it was a relatively easy thing to do, if you have the tools, I'm looking to get a tool kit which gives me everything I could need to do simple things for myself, such as changing brake pads/discs, etc.

I've had a look on Halfords and this looks pretty good for the money - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_728767_langId_-1_categoryId_165572#dtab

I don't really want to spend any more than about £75, so just wondered if anyone could offer any advice. As above, I'm not a mechanic, I just want to be able to follow the guides that are on the owners club forum to do some of the more simple tasks that would cost a lot to get done at a garage.

Thanks.
 
Get down to Machinemart, the clarke tools are a little cheaper than halfords and they do 6 sided sockets in the pro range.

That said, the halfords stuff isnt bad at all for us semi pro home mechanics!
 
Check for a lifetime warranty - Halfords tend to do them on tools without moving parts (i.e. ratchets excluded), not sure about Machinemart. Sometimes you need to put a fair bit of force on them so a lifetime warranty means a) they can probably take whatever pain you give them, and b) if they can't take it, you're not out of pocket so you don't have to worry about taking a lump hammer to that spanner/rusty nut.
 
ScarySquirrel said:
I've had a look on Halfords and this looks pretty good for the money - http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_728767_langId_-1_categoryId_165572#dtab
Click to expand...

These tools (including the hammer) are made of cheese, soft cheese to be exact and will be fine right up until the moment you need to use them. Treat them as disposable.

Wicksta said:
I'd be tempted with this, although it's a bit over your budget at £99.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...165572_langId_-1?cm_vc=IOV4PDPZ1&iozone=PDPz1
Click to expand...

Whereas pretty much everybody here who likes to have a fiddle (fnar fnar) has this kit. It's bomb proof. Lifetime warranty give peace of mind too, i've only broken 1 piece in mine and that was putting the full weight of my cuddly frame onto a siezed 5mm torx socket.
 
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Machinemart's clarke tools also carry a lifetime warranty,they are better tools for less imo.
 
Thanks for the links. Will perhaps wait until I actually need to do something and then pick up the £99 set, rather than getting the £49 one. I have other 'things' that are demanding that sort of money right now :(
 
Several socket sets, just about every 1/4" bit ever made, impact sockets, torx bits (male and female) impact drivers, electric drills and various other tools and power tools accumulated over the years and I still find myself frustrated with my lack of tools.

I've given up these days, make use of what I have at home, but if I'm doing anything big then I generally head over to my mates garage to use his tools and ramp.

In fact, I have this issue right now preventing me from finishing the HG on the Strada - no torque wrench. Trivial tool, but I've simply never had a need to own one myself before.

Its a dangerous, downward spiral to get involved with :D
 
hes right. youll start with a basic this and that then the machine mart catalogue because a permanent fixture in your bathroom

ive been singing clarke's praises for a long time on here. i absolutely wont go without six sided sockets, love them so much over 12pt.

you will need pliers, screw drivers, pry bars, breaker bars, torque wrenches (plural) to do stuff right, hell im doing a clutch job for a guy on another board this week, from what i learned from the last clutch job, youll even need to bring an angle grinder! youll never have enough tools on you
 
I'd agree with the majority of the above posts. I had exactly the same situation recently with doing some basic work on my car. I looked at the Halfords 235 piece tool kit as a one stop shop but came to the conclusion that 1) the quality was not all that 2) I would end up once again with a mish mash of bits once I lost/broke things 3) I had half the stuff in one form or another anyway - I also realised half the attraction was the look of the red box holding it all in :)
The best thing to do IMO is to start buying quality pieces as and when you need them and building up a tool kit that way - the £99 piece set looks like a very good starting point.
From what I saw, a good socket set is the base -then adding in specialised tools as each job comes up (spark plug spanners, spring compressors and so on) means that you aren't paying for stuff you don't need, but you build up little by little. Then when you feel flush you can get the red box/cabinet to keep it all in ;)
Also, if you are serious about working on your car yourself consider spending on things such as a good quality jack/ramps and so on - you won't see them in a one stop tool kit, but they are will be far more useful than half the bits in it.....
 
That halford set looks cracking.

However in my experience, that type of wrench are really flimsey.

Get that kit, and a decent torque wrench.
 
Oh and, you'll probably need a spring compressor to fit springs safely to a car.

Many jobs require a 'special' tool for that job. Be it a brake wind back tool, a rear spring plate compressor, a hub remover, an oil pump remover or a case splitter etc. I buy the tool I need when the job needs doing, or try and borrow one.
 
dwarf said:
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p...ece-diy-tool-kit-with-cant/path/tool-kit-sets
Click to expand...

Plastic handled hacksaw should give you a hint.

physichull said:
Well it looks good, I was looking at that one too, or maybe http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cht548-300pce-home-garage-repair-kit but I just don't know if the quality is upto it. Don't want to have screwdrivers made out of cheese etc!
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Looked at the pic, the handles on those screw drivers are designed to leave red welts on the palm of your hand when you use them for more than 5 minutes.

300 piece set? It's got over a hundred screwdriver tips and drill bits!

Cheapotat ratchets will be a bit loud.

wohoo said:
This the one i'd look at http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/p...c-socket-s/path/socket-sets-sockets-tool-sets
Click to expand...

Nice looking kit, with warranty. But a lot of the sockets are AF sizes which only get used once you've lost the metric equivalent.


150 piece Halfords kit is still winning!
 
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