Are these tool kits a good buy, and worth keeping?

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:38 am

G'day

I'd like some input on tools to use specifically on my L Series.
There are a lot of specials on now as Father's Day is coming up.

I found a $11 ring spanner set from SuperCheap Auto
this has 8, 10-17,19 and 21 mm spanners in a "heavy tectron pouch"
it has a 12 Month Warranty...
I thought I might need ring spanners for things like
removing my oil drain plug without removing my skid plate...
however at Preston Beach,
RSR 555 pointed out that it's easy to remove my skid plate.

I also picked up a 1/2" drive 40 piece socket wrench set, Stanley brand for $69.
I know this one would be usefull, as it's SAE and Metric and Lifetime Warranty
with sizes from 10mm-32mm and 3/8"-1 1/4",
a few extensions and a metal case to hold it all.
Is $69 a great price?

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:17 am

At $88 to $110 an hour labour rate by mechanics and auto elecs - you have a bargain there. Keep a log of hour mny hours the kit saves you.

Things I know helped me in the Subaru world. Some stuff can be found at farm sales, swap meets, found a 36mm cheapy socket at SCA does the front and rear hub nuts

36mm socket 3/4" drive
3/4" drive 600mm long breaker bar to suit above

22mm socket in half inch drive for crank pulley

A socket set in 1/4" drive

A good mix of 10,12,14 and 17mm spanners open end and ring, extra long rings are good too even at 30 bucks each

A heavy tectron pouch is likely to be good for the garbage bin one day.

An old mechanic put me onto O rings and plumbers teflon tape for sump plugs when I stripped or found stripped a sump plug fred. Never again. I find tight fitting fat O ring, then a few turns of pink plumbers tape and in she goes. Could almost undo one with fingers when cold as there is no mechanical metal to metal contact. Tape seals thrads, O ring holds plug tight as well as sealed

Post by **TOONGA** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:21 am

I have bought and used the 11 dollar spanner set it wasn't from SuperCheap but it still had the desired effect as long as you dont use them every day they will last a while.

the Stanley set is a good buy and alot more durable than the no name brand 11 dollar spanners

Im looking for a cheap kit to leave in the car and the one you bought sounds like the ticket

TOONGA

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:44 pm

I've chewed through my fair share of cheap no name brand tool kits! Last year I lashed out on a sidchrome set that has all metric sockets in 1/2 inch drive from 8mm up to 19mm as well as a matching set of open and ring spanners. It's got the two different sized spark plug removers long and short extension bars, breaker bar and a rachet. I've added a 22mm socket and a pocket knife for convenience. Heavy yes, but awesome. I grew up using dad's old sidchrome set and had been hunting around for the right kit as they come in so many different combinations!

This one popped up at the right price, I couldn't go past it - I even had the cash in my back pocket but that was meant to be for a mate's bucks party. I think he understood!

Cheers

Bennie

Post by **Alex** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:55 pm

i wouldnt waste my money on cheap tools, they are exactly that...cheap!

especially if you plan on using them abit. (more than just sitting in the cupboard at home)

i run a set of sidchrome open enders with rings on the other end in a nice roll up pouch. Lets say i have used them ALOT and have never failed me. Run a matching set of metric sidchrome sockets 1/2inch drive. Its a big set of sockets, this has also never let me down and has been absolutely punished. One of the best sets i ever bought was sidchrome spratchets. Ratcheting spanners basically, they are stubby so they can get into any location. Extremely handy.

id seriously think about spending $3-400 on a moderately decent setup rather than $50 on supercheap junk.

My best mate (subafury) on these boards used to work at supercheap, the amount of their tools we have broken.......

alex

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:14 pm

Better quality tools will also reduce the chance of stripping nuts/bolts, you only need to do that a few times to realise the extra money is worth it. Cheap sets are good to throw in the back of the car, so you always have tools on hand but don't havy worry about them getting stolen.

Good sockets will have a peripheral drive of some sort so they place less stress on the corners of the head on the nut/boltt. Good spanners will taper towards the ends, and shouldn't be big and bulky. For good screw drivers i use the electritians bit sets which have sort of curved flat head bits and a heap of philips head bits. That curve means they've square to the screw head and not on that slight angle. Flat head and philips head screws were invented before torque wrenches so were designed to slip out when used in production lines,that means they're easy to strip out so a good set of screw drivers are well worth the money too.

taza · Post by **taza** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:41 pm

I got a decent amount of good tools for my age. I got a Sidchrome 62piece socket set with 1/2" drive, a few extensions, decent breaker bar and both Metric and Imperial ranging from 10mm-28mm or so (Was an 18th Birthday Present)
I have a good Stanley set of Spanners, Makita 18v Lithium Iron 1.3hr (3 batteries) with Hammer, Drill, Screw and all the fruit, DeWalt Drill pieces and a few other things. I borrow grinders, saws and all the rest off my Dad whos a Carpenter and has all the top quality gear.

I do have some Supercheap stuff though like car jacks and ramps but they are easily rated to handle the Foz and other medium sized cars.
I also have a cheap 1/2" drive and few common sockets, spanners, pliers, standley knife, few screw drivers which stay in the back of the Foz. They come in handy every now and again.

Taza

Post by **TOONGA** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 1:52 pm

I have a small selection of 3/8th drive sockets 8mm-18mm 3 extensions and 2 3/8th drive ratchets all snap on, which Ive had for over 10 years now and they have never skipped a beat.I have as well an assortment of sidchrome and gearwrench spanners. I no longer want to keep them in the car because of 2 reasons replacement value and sentimental value.

hence wanting a cheap set for fixing things when I'm out and about.

TOONGA

Post by **Alex** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 2:32 pm

i wouldnt bother with anything AF either. Just get metric sizes. Unless you work with holdens/fords.

Every jap car i have worked with has been metric sizes. Never had the need for AF.

alex

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:51 pm

Don't listen to em - buy cheap junk - thats what I did.

I bought a complete toolkit - double ended ring spanners, 1/2" drive sockets, open ended spanners, open and ring end spanners (all in metric and imperial), allen keys, pliers, circlip pliers, screwdrivers etc etc - for $100 nearly 30 years ago and they haven't failed me.

But they were Sidchrome

DO NOT BUY CHEAP TOOLS !!

Post by **Alex** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:16 pm

niterida wrote:Don't listen to em - buy cheap junk - thats what I did.

I bought a complete toolkit - double ended ring spanners, 1/2" drive sockets, open ended spanners, open and ring end spanners (all in metric and imperial), allen keys, pliers, circlip pliers, screwdrivers etc etc - for $100 nearly 30 years ago and they haven't failed me.

But they were Sidchrome

DO NOT BUY CHEAP TOOLS !!

Bastard

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:17 pm

TOONGA wrote:I have bought and used the 11 dollar spanner set it wasn't from SuperCheap but it still had the desired effect as long as you dont use them every day they will last a while.

the Stanley set is a good buy and alot more durable than the no name brand 11 dollar spanners

Im looking for a cheap kit to leave in the car and the one you bought sounds like the ticket

TOONGA

The Stanley set I bought, I bought at SuperCheap,
it's just not the store's brand as the $11 spanner set was.

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:20 pm

^^ Alex, what kind of lights do you have turned on, under the bumper of "Wanky Wagon?" Looks brighter than your low beams.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:48 pm

T'subaru - if you are reading this - you will understand by now that 12mm OE ring by Sidchrome you possess - the stuff is treasured by Aussies who cannot afford the original socket set inventors Snap On's stuff.

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:58 pm

2nd Hand Yank wrote:The Stanley set I bought, I bought at SuperCheap,
it's just not the store's brand as the $11 spanner set was.

Why didn't you buy the $99 Stanley kit with spanners as well ?

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:11 am

Alex wrote:Bastard

Yeah they were bought from a friend who worked for the distributor at the time.

They are actually starting to show their age - the 7/8 socket has split (I know you can get it replaced but its imperial and I never use it anymore), the 10,15 and 17mm have gone missing, has have a couple of spanners.

So I went out and bought a Supatool (made by Kinchrome did you know) impact socket set for $30.

I also bought a Bahco go-through socket set for $70 from bunnings - I read up on them on the net and Bahco are supposed to be a quality european company (but made in asia) - pffft - absolute rubbish. They are going back tomorrow after less than a week - the spring that holds the sockets in place has become too loose to hold them tight enough........grrrrr

I will replace it with a Kinchrome set I think - can get them on ebay for not much more than I paid for the Bahco.

I am on the look out for a set of flex head ratcheting spanners. Don't need these to be super quality since the fixed spanners will be used to break the thread and then the ratchet just needs to ratchet basically - god I could have used them today - so many fiddly nuts when you are taking a dashboard out.

So basically you get what you pay for and if the tool has to work hard then get the best you CAN'T afford - if it doesn't have to work quite so hard then get the best you CAN afford - and never buy the cheapest.

tony · Post by **tony** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 1:27 am

1/2" drive stuff is so old hat and unnecessary and takes up a lot of room and weight. go 3/8" drive will do just about everything on a subi, except the real heavy duty stuff like front axle nuts and head studs.
i have an old small tool box that holds a full set of af and metric sockets nad the ratchet and extensions, its about 8" x 4" x 1" and can carry it in my pocket.
otherwise just buy the sockets you need, like for the subi you need 8, 10, 12, 14 an 17 mm. buy good ratchets as these do stuff up. if you are trying to save go to the local hock shop they have perfectly good sidchrome sockets for about 50 cents each you can afford to have a couple of them. by the way iff you find your socket is slipping off and it is the right size, try grinding about1/8" or 3mm off the end, the wear in a socket is mainly in the tip as it slips off.
for screwdrivers buy the absolute best there is nothing is more infuriating than a cheap philips head ruining the screws and making it impossible to unscrew them. i have a set of stanleys for over 30 years.
it is also handy to have a real el cheapo set to loan to your scungy mates who are too mean to buy their own, if they don't return them in good nick or don't return them at all its no great loss and you know not to lend them any more.
note.. a set spanners costing $100 30 years ago would at todays prices be around $400 based on prices doubling every 10 years or so.
but tools are a lot cheaper now.

2nd Hand Yank · Post by **2nd Hand Yank** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:38 am

niterida wrote:Why didn't you buy the $99 Stanley kit with spanners as well ?

I'll have another look, but I don't need a 1/4" drive socket wrench as I can borrow one from work if I really need it. If it's just for the spanners for an extra $30, I think I'd prefer to go for ratchet-spanners.

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:50 am

oh, yeah, flank drive sockets and spanners can also be the go. Metrinch is one brand, tools are designed to grip in a better spot like near the middle of the flat rather than the end and way less likely to round a hex head nut or bolt, in fact Metrinch sell for reason of removing rounded nuts and bolts, and are marked as both metric and imperial measures on each tool. Eg, 13mm is also marked 13mm ?

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:50 am

steptoe wrote:oh, yeah, flank drive sockets and spanners can also be the go. Metrinch is one brand, tools are designed to grip in a better spot like near the middle of the flat rather than the end and way less likely to round a hex head nut or bolt, in fact Metrinch sell for reason of removing rounded nuts and bolts, and are marked as both metric and imperial measures on each tool. Eg, 13mm is also marked 13mm ?

Thats why I decided to buy a set of impact sockets - they are flank drive but without the price of good normal flank drive sockets.

Metrinch is supposed to be good but very expensive.