This article is called a car repair tool, but it will also be useful for motorcycle owners.
Tools for car repair can be very diverse, but one thing is clear - having the necessary tool in your own garage to repair some part of the car allows you to forget about a car service and will allow you not to spend money on specialists and do everything yourself. After all, even the most competent master cannot do anything with his bare hands. In this article we will look at what tool or equipment will help you repair many components of a modern car or motorcycle with your own hands. This will help novice repairmen decide on the choice of tool for repairing some component or unit of the machine.
Any vehicle has several thousand parts that gradually wear out during operation of the vehicle and need to be restored or replaced. And for each unit, when disassembling and repairing it, an appropriate tool may be required. And since there are a lot of parts in any machine, you may need quite a few tools. But to disassemble most of the parts, the same tool or some kind of device may be suitable, but more on that below. Let's start in order.
Tool for repairing engine, gearbox, etc.
Engines, modern cars or motorcycles, require the most tools, fixtures and a variety of equipment. But the first thing that both a novice repairman and an experienced professional needs to have is a tool for disassembling and assembling the engine. After all, in order to restore or replace worn parts, they must be removed from the engine.
Socket, hex and sprocket sets. The first thing a novice repairman needs to buy is a set of socket heads, which in addition to them also contains bits for hexagons and sprockets. After all, most foreign cars are assembled using bolts with hex or asterisk heads.
A must-have tool for the owner of an imported motorcycle and car.
Some sets also contain several more open-end wrenches. But I advise you to buy open-end wrenches separately, and purchase a set (suitcase) without open-end wrenches, but with heads not only with short ones, but also with additional elongated heads (the set is like in the photo on the left), which allow you to tighten the nuts even on long studs. The elongated head will allow you to unscrew and tighten and, and some sets have a special head for candles.
Screwdrivers.Also in many sets there are bits - screwdrivers, (both Phillips and regular) that are put on a pin with a handle. These bits will replace a whole set of screwdrivers. In addition, instead of a pin with a handle, you can put a ratchet with a cardan or a flexible shaft on such bits and unscrew the screw in a hard-to-reach place. Well, of course, bits with a hexagon or asterisk can be used instead of a screwdriver if the screw is for a hexagon or asterisk. Such sets are very versatile, but regular classic screwdrivers of different sizes would also come in handy in the garage.
Tool for removing small circlips.
And some units, for example the pump of some cars, cannot be disassembled without a device that presses out the locking rings. I wrote more about such tools.
Pullers. To disassemble the engine, gearbox or rear axle gearbox, in addition to wrenches, you may need pullers (for example, the universal puller described here in), which will allow you to pull pulleys (for example, a crankshaft or camshaft pulley), and all kinds of gears (for example, when replacing gearbox gears) from the shafts gears).
When removing pulleys, gears and other parts using a hammer and drift, even if you manage to dismantle something, it is quite possible to injure the part or your hands. But most pulleys or gears have a fairly tight fit on the shaft (with interference) and you can’t do it without a puller.
Of course, it is quite difficult to describe many devices in one article. But several pullers and various devices that help in repairing machines are described in the section of my website “Workshop, machines and equipment” and by clicking on the section in the site menu, or on, you can find quite a few useful things in the list of articles. (you can read about different options for bearing pullers, and specifically about the wheel bearing puller).
Torque wrench . After boring the engine cylinders and grinding the crankshaft, the engine, of course, should be reassembled with a restored block and crankshaft (and with new oil seals, gaskets, a new piston, new liners). When assembling the piston group, you will need the devices described here. And to tighten engine fasteners (especially its head), and indeed any unit, you cannot do without a torque wrench.
Belt tensioning devices . After assembling the engine, the pulleys and belts that drive these pulleys should be returned to their place. Putting on a belt correctly or replacing an old belt with a new one is not at all difficult (more on this), but correctly tightening the belt on the eye is not at all easy.
But you can make a very simple press without hydraulics, for example, as described in. And although when pressing out parts you will have to use physical force to turn the steering wheel, such a press can be made completely free, from scrap materials lying around the corners of the garage.
Tool for repairing chassis (car suspension).
Parts such as worn ball joints, steering rods and various silent blocks are very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to replace without special tools. And such a tool for a driver who decides to repair the chassis himself should, of course, be present in the garage.
Ball joint pullers , steering rods, I described in detail in, it is also written there which are better and which are worse. And how to press out silent blocks and with what help, it is written. And although it describes how to replace the silent blocks of a Volga car, the replacement principle and pullers for other cars are the same (well, the dimensions are slightly different).
Their choice is now huge, and the variety of models and shapes can confuse novice drivers. What kind of jacks there are and which one to give preference to, I advise you to read here.
Tool for repairing car body (motorcycle attachments).
The car body is undoubtedly considered the most expensive part of the car. This means that body repairs are not cheap. Of course, high-quality painting of the body after its repair cannot be done in a regular garage; you need a special chamber that is dust-free and equipped with an exhaust hood (and a heater in winter).
Electrical equipment repair.
In conclusion, I would like to advise many novice craftsmen: if possible, buy a more expensive tool from a reputable European, Japanese or American manufacturer. And although it costs significantly more than cheap Asian ones, it will serve faithfully for many years. And in the end, it turns out that you, on the contrary, will save money, and most importantly, your nerves. It’s not for nothing that the proverb was invented that the miser pays twice.
And yet - in general, a car or motorcycle from a master who likes to do everything himself - this is a device that constantly requires the purchase of new tools or equipment. After all, a lack of something can force even the most handy craftsman to go to a car service center. But what you already have in the garage allows you to save significant amounts of money on DIY repairs, and these amounts can be spent on purchasing a new tool.
And buying new equipment is always a holiday for a garage mechanic. But describing all the tools and equipment that may be needed when independently repairing any vehicle is not so easy.
In addition, every day the instrument is improved and something new and interesting appears on sale. But still, I hope that I have described the main tool for car repair, good luck to everyone and as few breakdowns as possible.
There is less and less free space left under the hood of a modern car. The manufacturer strives to use every square centimeter of space around the engine. For a car mechanic, these are additional problems, since it becomes more and more difficult to get to dismantle a part, and there are more and more hard-to-reach places.
Here, I have put together a very interesting list of 19 special professional tools and devices that can help solve this problem.
Of course, some tool may seem very exotic and rarely used in work, but there are some items that every auto repairman who is more or less involved in professional car repairs would want to have in his garage.
So, let's take it in order.
Comfortable bright light
LED lamp, made in the format of a “police baton” with magnetic mounts.
It is very convenient to use when working under the bottom of a car or under the hood. Strong magnets will hold the flashlight in place without any problems, and the tube, which rotates along its axis by 200 degrees, can be turned exactly where you need bright light. It can operate both from the on-board network and from its own battery.
The ability to switch brightness up/down and its own rechargeable battery allow the lamp to operate autonomously for up to 8 hours. And as a bonus, this is a great option for lighting the garage during a power outage.
Wrench for hard-to-reach places
When working under the hood in the engine compartment, sometimes you have to face the problem of unscrewing and tightening a bolt, especially if it is in a hard-to-reach place and is tightened with a decent torque.
And this is where a special wrench that works in ratchet mode can come in handy.
Metal stripping and stripping tool
A very interesting hand-held pneumatic tool, one might say an impact one... It somehow reminded me of sandblasting, only it’s much simpler.
By connecting it to a compressor, you can easily remove rust, welding scale or old paint.
The principle of operation is simple - steel needles (options from 12 to 19 needles are possible) at a speed of 4000-4600 beats per minute (depending on the model) will tap out corrosive areas to clean iron. It is especially convenient when used in hard-to-reach places that cannot be reached with a brush.
When working with this tool, you should use personal protective equipment: thick gloves, goggles and headphones.
Nut breaker
Using this special tool (I call it a nut) you can break any nut if it is impossible to unscrew it.
Surely any of you have encountered rusted nuts, especially when overhauling the chassis, tearing off the splines and swearing.
Now everything is simple: put on the ring, bring the hardened “tooth” to the nut and twist until it simply breaks the nut. The big advantage of such a tool is that the threads on the bolt or stud are not damaged; all that remains is to remove the broken nut and run a new one with oil along the threads.
Kiwi pliers
You probably have a lot of pliers in your arsenal of tools, but you definitely don’t have these!
Have you noticed that when you try to grab a small part in an inconvenient place with ordinary pliers, your hand interferes with your view of the process, blocking it?
“Kiwi” pliers, so called for some resemblance to this New Zealand bird, will solve this problem - it will be more convenient to work.
Set of movable heads for hard-to-reach places
Having such a set, where each head has its own cord, you get additional opportunities when working in hard-to-reach places of the car. These heads have a much shorter body than normal ones when used with the stock kit driveshaft.
There is one minus, this set is not cheap.
Set of hooks
When disassembling a car for repairs, you often have to disconnect various electrical connectors.
In the latest car models, they are often combined with plastic fasteners and, when disconnected without a special tool, they can be easily damaged.
With this set of hooks, almost any connector can be conveniently disconnected without breaking it.
Spark plug pliers
If you try to pull out the spark plug cap with ordinary pliers, you can easily damage the rubber cap or the wire itself. So they came up with such an interesting gadget - special pliers for removing high-voltage wires from the spark plug terminal.
Two point jack
There are times when, when performing repair work, you need to jack up two places at once.
This problem can be solved by using a jack attachment with two independent (adjustable) saddles. This device is installed instead of the standard saddle. You can lengthen the arm to the desired size, and also rotate the crossbars around the central axis of the jack.
Digital precision tightening torque
If you tighten bolts without a special torque wrench, without taking into account the recommended tightening torques, you can cause serious damage to your vehicle.
As a rule, a professional auto mechanic who respects his client has several different torque wrenches in his workshop for different tasks. Now, this amount can be replaced by purchasing one electronic digital adapter and using it with a ratchet wrench or another wrench with a half-inch adapter. The digital display will show the current tightening torque and will indicate with an audible signal when the desired torque has been reached.
Magnetic badge
How much time can you waste searching for a part that has just been unscrewed: “I just put it somewhere here...” a bolt, a nut, and similar little things that are always lost.
A very interesting solution is a magnetic belt plaque. Just stick the unscrewed screw (nut) to it and you won’t have to look for it when you need the part again.
Tools for hard to reach places
Here are six more interesting mini sets of special tools for working in hard-to-reach places during disassembly and assembly. Here, in principle, everything is clear where and how they can be used.
- Set of four short screwdrivers.
- A set of ratchets and bits with various shaped tips: stars, hexagons, squares.
- Flexible extension with a magnetic tip that can accept a variety of bits or sockets.
- Miniature rotating gimbal with ¼ inch adapter.
- Set of three special ratchets.
- A set of a ratchet screwdriver capable of working at 90 degrees and an attachment for it.
Stand
An interesting device, I don’t even know what to call it.
The platform is attached directly to the wheel and has several adjustments, both in width and height. Very convenient when you are repairing a tall jeep or minibus. Of course, you can use, for example, a box to stand higher, but standing on the box is somewhat inconvenient and you can easily move away from the wheel at the most unnecessary moment, and all that remains for you is to brake with your face on the hood... probably familiar to everyone?
Mirror and magnets for inaccessible places
Mirror on a telescopic handle and two magnets included (one rotating).
Every auto repairman should have this set.
Imagine a situation where, while unscrewing the nut, you did not hold it, and it fell somewhere on the engine or gearbox. How to find and get it?
And here, a mirror and a magnet will come to your aid.
Get maximum force in hard-to-reach places
Looking at this set of special keys, it is immediately clear what it is intended for.
Using an extension and a ratchet from a standard set of sockets, you can tighten almost any “inconvenient” nut in the engine compartment. Perfect for dismantling the steering mechanism or brake system.
Achieving the ideal tightening torque
This special torque wrench will prevent you from accidentally stripping threads on modern aluminum engines. If you have not decided to purchase an electronic device for monitoring the tightening torque, which was mentioned a little higher, then this very inexpensive wrench will be quite accurate and just what the doctor ordered.
Two models of this tool (almost full coverage of all meanings) will undoubtedly be a good purchase for your garage.
How to unscrew a bolt if the head is broken?
Undoubtedly, everyone has encountered this “nightmare” - when unscrewing a rusty old bolt, its head breaks off (breaks off) and that’s it...
Dancing with a tambourine, drilling, restoring threads with a tap, etc. begin.
With this set, in the photo below, you solve the whole problem in one complex. It has everything you need to accurately drill out and remove what's left of a bolt with a diameter of 5mm to 16mm from the housing.
Digital Safety Tester
If you still use an analog tester to check electrical circuits, then there is a very high probability of damaging the car’s on-board computer.
The digital tester is safe because it does not use a ground cable. You simply stick it into the socket to test or pierce the wire insulation (the stainless steel tip is quite sharp), and with the other hand touch any metal part of the car to complete the circuit.
The test works from 3 to 24 Volts DC. It is possible to set a sound signal or turn on an LED to indicate the presence of voltage.
Saving hoses
A very useful tool for removing antifreeze hoses. After several years of operation, the antifreeze hoses, where they are tightened with clamps, become firmly attached to the pipe. If you don't want to cut the hose when dismantling and save it for later installation, then this special tool in the form of a hook is what you need.
Simply insert the pointed end under the hose and pull it around the pipe.
This cool tool will help you save a lot of money.
You can buy these and other sets on the largest portal amazon.com, just look, some keys can be in both the metric system and inches.
It is not yet so easy to purchase such an instrument in Russia, unless you look in online stores.
If you think that homemade crafts are for kids and bored housewives, we will quickly dispel your misconceptions. This section is entirely devoted to making homemade products from car parts and rubber tires. Almost anything can be made from a tire. From garden shoes to a full-fledged children's playground with swings, fairy-tale characters and elements for relaxation. Finally, ever-busy dads will have the opportunity to show their creative talents and create something useful and beautiful in their own personal plot or backyard.
Car tires tend to deteriorate, especially considering the quality of our roads and sudden temperature changes. Instead of sending an old tire to a landfill, you can slightly transform it and give it a new life on the playground, in the garden or vegetable garden.
We have collected a huge number of examples of how to do car homemade products using tires for various household and aesthetic purposes. Perhaps one of the most popular ways to use a used tire is to create children's playgrounds. The simplest option is to bury a row of tires halfway and paint their upper part in bright colors. The architectural element created in this way will be used by children as a device for walking and running with obstacles, and also instead of “furniture”, because you can lay out sand products on the surface of the tire or even sit on your own, relaxing on a quiet summer evening.
You can aesthetically diversify the exterior of the site by using tires to create fairy-tale dragons, funny bears that will greet your guests at the entrance to the yard, crocodiles and other animals lurking in the garden. For flower lovers, a car tire can replace a full-fledged flowerpot, and plants planted in it will give the yard a well-groomed look.
You can please children by creating a comfortable swing from the best preserved tires. You can leave the shape of the tire in its original form, and, spending a little more time and effort, create an unusual swing in the shape of horses.
Whatever you choose to create a car craft, your children will in any case be delighted to see a homemade car craft in the yard. Inventive children will be able to play new games, and will definitely be proud of their folder, showing off your creation to their friends. And the mixture of happiness and pride for you in the eyes of a child is perhaps the only thing for which you can step on the throat of a long-awaited day off in the company of a sofa, TV and beer.
It is advisable to have this device in the garage, and on some trips in the trunk of the car. It will help out and protect you when repairing your car.
We use two pipes with a thickness of 57 and 48 mm as the material. Steel plate. The master took 8 mm thick. We cut a piece 23 cm long from each pipe. You can use a trick to mark the pipe using a sheet of paper. At 57, at a distance of 3 cm from one end, drill a hole (both walls of the pipe)
under the bolt.
We take a 6 mm drill. We finish with a step drill. We make a support corner at the end of a thinner pipe. We drill holes in the pipe at a distance of 2 cm from each other.
The result is a compact mobile clamp with a telescopic design. This is a safety stand installed under a car during repair work. Acts as an additional clamp when lifting the car on a jack. The device copes with its task. 
Comments.
A very necessary tool! Be sure to make one for yourself! A friend of mine’s husband was crushed when the jack flew off, and he was under the car at the time...
Nothing unreal. An ordinary dangerous collective farm stand, although made with high quality. The soft bolt will shear and the telescope will move at the worst possible time - when the serviceman is under the car and there is no one nearby. Don't forget about turning out either. Can only be used when working next to a car or as additional insurance for a rack-mount hydraulic jack (roller jacks have insurance). I have 2 similar ones in the garage, but the threaded ones will definitely never come off. Once made by my father in a factory. But I still don’t climb under a car suspended on them; there’s a hole for that.
Vladimir Erokhin
3 month ago
new - well forgotten old... About ten years ago I also made such racks, but with a slightly different configuration... but the principle is the same... I use it with pleasure, it’s very convenient and safe... And under the car on the rack I put a beech block, and the body doesn’t get scratched. If there is anything I can provide a photo.
Citizen Igrek
3 month ago
In my opinion, one of the most useful and simple devices, because if there is no lift, and your hands are in the right place, such a stand is needed. Well, as always, done carefully, beautifully...
From the point of view of practice and experience of self-repairing a car, I can’t imagine it being safer (and cheaper) than a stand in the form of a pyramid of 50*50 mm bars. Exactly for passenger cars. Again, if I made a stand out of metal, what would my dog then chew on?))) Modify and strengthen the bottom with gussets, I understand that the metal is thick, once a year the stick still shoots, and if the support starts to bend, the car will not stop sliding onto its side!
ALEX SIBERIAN
3 month ago
An absolutely useless device. Lots of movement. I jack up the floor of the car at once and change two wheels...immediately, I have to lift (jack) one wheel, substitute (support), lower (jack) again raise (jack) on the second wheel, then substitute (jack) to the first wheel, again lift (the jack), remove the support and only then lower the jack... if only this device could lower the car itself...
Konstantin Morozov
3 month ago
Drill more holes perpendicular to those you have already drilled, but 1 cm lower or higher from the drilled holes. Thus, the adjustment step will not be 2 cm, but 1, so it will be better to adjust to the height of the raised car, and it will be better to adjust to different types of roads: asphalt, dirt, etc.
A carefully made harmful thing. The flanges of the thresholds, namely for them the lifting of the car is required, do not work here until the ends of the corner are washed through the threshold and the bottom connector. The thrust platform must be made with a T-shaped cut, this will ensure the absence of the specified deformations and lateral displacement. Well, the metal of the platform itself (in this case, the corner) is not the best solution for contact with the body; a thick wooden block with a cut is better, and ideally a thick rubber block with a slot (that’s what I have).
serg serg
3 month ago
You can bend the protrusion in the place where you placed it. Because it is not reinforced. And that's not what it's intended for. In addition, with a jack like yours, on a good flat plane like yours, a small car like yours can be lifted by this point, hanging the side completely out, and change the wheels. i.e. If it’s not clear, just raise the jack higher and the rear wheel will also be suspended.
Alexander Chicherin
3 month ago
Everything is good. But! It is necessary to make scarves or side supports. This type of stop is best used when the surface underneath is flat. If someone is going to do it, it’s better to do a three-legged thing. And also, instead of a pipe, use a profile pipe, because... it does not rotate and the holes for fixing do not go to the side (more convenient).
Danil Kharitonov
3 month ago
I would also think about this: make the place where the car rests on the rack with the possibility of changing the angle of the supporting part of the rack at the point of contact with the car, so that if you need to hang the car, let’s only allow the front part and so that 2 wheels are in the air at once then if you lift the car higher and install it on these racks, the car will not be completely adjacent to the rack itself, thereby there may be a risk that the car will fall from the racks!
Grigory Krinitsky
3 month ago
1) check the hole a little higher/lower but on the other side (turned 90 degrees)
2) for reliability - weld to the base not only directly, but also with a piece of metal in the form of a right triangle (on 3-4 sides) for greater reliability)
3) weld an eyelet somewhere on the body and attach a pin with a cable/chain so that it doesn’t get lost. There was also the idea of a collapsible safety stand, but then reliability and safety would decrease.
John Doe
3 month ago
Be sure to make stiffening ribs - weld triangles on 4 sides. There is a lot of controversy about the safety of racks on car forums - this is not such a simple homemade product as it seems at first glance.
Don't throw away the old Zhiguli jack. Idea for a car mechanic
Good day, dear readers. The Zhiguli jack is such a popular thing that I even found it in my garage. After interviewing neighbors in the garage, I found 4 more, even though I walked half the floor and looked into 9 open boxes on Saturday evening. 
Photo of an old jack from a Lada.
I remember how at the beginning of the not-so-distant eighties, I helped my father tinker in the garage, at that time there were still moderately new Zhiguli cars, I learned the basics of the mighty Russian language and developed straightness of hand. However, I will no longer hold the reader’s attention with memories, and let’s get down to business. The homemade product is quite simple, and at the same time very useful for those who repair their car themselves, or earn money by auto repair. For it we will need the jack itself, a steel plate, a section of 25mm profile pipe, an angle grinder, and a welding machine. Let's start the process, and first use a grinder to demolish the base (patch) from below. Let's cut a piece 30 centimeters long from the 25 profile pipe and weld it to the jack, thereby increasing it. Now we attach the base to the end of the pipe. 
Refinishing the frame. We go around the neighbors and find the old flywheel. We will weld the jack patch to its center. The result is a tall contraption with a strong and stable base. 
We increase stability. After that, we cut off its original hook from the jack, the one that is inserted into the groove under the threshold of the car. 
We cut off the excess. We weld a U-shaped structure from the same pipe and fix it by welding perpendicular to the moving part of the mechanism. You will get such a moving fork. 
Stop number one. Cut a flat fork from a metal plate, as shown in the figure below, and weld it to the top of our device. 
Stop number two. Our powerful shock absorber strut spring remover is ready. 
Schematic representation of the puller. We squeeze the rack between the forks, turn the jack up, and with minimal effort, and quite safely, we disassemble the rack and remove the spring. 
Image of practical application of the device.
Don't throw away the old shock absorber unless you have a return hammer. Useful homemade product
An old shock absorber strut can turn into a very useful thing, so you shouldn't throw it away when replacing it. Today I will talk about how to make another homemade product that can make life easier for a car owner in terms of repairing his vehicle. Namely, how to make a reverse hammer. 
With its help it is very convenient to disassemble parts, remove bearings, CV joints or press-fit. Even a simple dent can be pulled out, but if such a hammer also comes with a powerful magnet.
Dismantling the shock absorber strut.
In order to be able to make a useful thing from the rack, you need to disassemble it correctly. The VAZ stand is best suited for this purpose. The upper part and the rod itself will be useful. Clamping the stand in a bench vise, use a grinder to carefully saw off part of the tube down to the plate where the spring is located. Saw carefully, remembering that there is oil inside! Therefore, it is better to substitute the vessel. You need to remove all the elements from the rack, disassemble it and leave one rod and the top cover (removing the oil seal and bushing from it). 
Making a reverse hammer.
To make a full-fledged reverse hammer, you need to attach a handle, a movable weight and attachments that will be used to the shock absorber rod.
How to make a handle.
It is most convenient to attach a handle clamp from a drill or hammer drill, but if you don’t have one, then attach any clamp that resembles a handle. The main thing is to be comfortable. 
This clamp must be secured to the part of the rod where there is a threaded connection. To do this, put on two nuts - they will act as bushings. Then you need to weld them well. Then weld the top cap of the rod to those nuts. To make the look neater, you can use a grinder to grind off any excess drops left over from welding. After which you can screw on the handle (clamp).
How to make a moving weight.
To make a movable weight, you will need the cut off upper part of the rack, and you also need to select a pipe of the required diameter. In such a way that it fits into the tube of the rack part and leaves room for filling with lead. After all, such a design will be light, and the weight should weigh at least a kilogram. 
Clean the surfaces, center them with nuts and connect the bases of the two cylinders, you can weld them at the bottom. After welding, you also need to clean everything (for an aesthetic appearance). To increase the weight, fill the free space with lead (I think there is an old battery lying around). I won’t teach anyone how to melt, probably everyone has this experience, because at least once in childhood they melted lead plates from a battery in a tin can. 
Since all the guys have already matured, instead of a can you can use the housing from an old oil filter, and in order not to start a fire, take a burner. Carefully pour the lead into the available space, let it cool, and then you can clean the resulting weight with a grinder. It should turn out to be quite a beautiful thing. Now you can install the weight on the rod. 
So that such a hammer can be used to the maximum for various purposes, make attachments that can be screwed on. These can be either hooks from bolts for removing bearings, or an attachment for the head. As a result, it will be possible to remove the bearings, press them in, tighten the CV joint and halve the generator. Therefore, instead of throwing away the old stand, it is better to make such a necessary device out of it.
