Car mechanical tools needed

[Memmeddu]

Hi everyone I'm working on my car .
Managed to remove the air intake manifold, starter motor , axle, complete wheel hub on the gearbox side.
I'm currently working on my car to remove the gearbox and replace the fusion caps .
I'm actually proceeding well apart from the weather which forces me to stop .
Anyway the topic is which tools I do still need?
Here's a list of what I have, and what I want to buy.
2 complete 6-32mm spanners sets
2 screwdriver sets , regular and the ones with the hammerable end (Philips,pozidrive,flat,Torx )
Varios pilers ,2 Seeger pilers, knipex cobra, front cutters.
Driver Bits , wheels sockets.
1/2"-1/4" exagonal sockets and ratchet set 4-32mm , dedicated 1/4" sockets set with 270° swivel head ratchet.
Chiesels, drifts, punches, a variety of hammers (always a good thing to have around) pry bars .
Tee handle Allen an Torx set , regular sets .
Poligonal spanners , jack stands
Pipe wrenches etc
That's what I've found myself using those days.

What I'm willing to buy
A good car jack, a 12 pieces Seeger pilers set ,a 3/8" sockets set, a 3/4" sockets set,fuel line pilers, plastic hose bleeding block pilers set,spark plugs pilers , 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" torque wrenches covering from 5 up to 220Nm .
An oil change pan , and the other are specialized sockets for various things I'll buy when I'll need.
Obviously another tool cart .
An oil filter wrench
What I should buy first and what I'm missing ?
I'd like to be independent from the mechanics because I've found myself paying them to do things the wrong way or not doing them at all .

 

[tom2207]

Think you have most things covered ,, 3/4 drive is seldom used on cars , having said that 1/4 is seldom used either ,, so save those for the end , a couple of decent work lights would be high on the list .

Whats a fusion cap?

 

[Cobbler]

Whats a fusion cap?

I think it’s a core plug, looked on googley thing & that’s what it looked like

 

[AVI_8]

You’ve quite a shopping list there, you‘ll not likely need them all at once so I’d advise to increase your tool collection as you go along to keep your initial costs down, January sales springs to mind.
A box of assorted penny washers is something i use regularly they come in handy for many applications.
A box of assorted nuts and bolts, sods law you’ll remove a bolt only just and if you don’t have a new replacement might be tempted to re-use what came out.
A set of triple squares, needed for German cars to remove certain items like flywheel bolts.
A set of inverse torques, think they’re called E torques, again needed on German cars not sure about Italian.

 

[p0689109]

Do you mean e torx?

 

[8ob]

Whats a fusion cap?

Perhaps he has something nuclear going on under the bonnet.

I have looked at the list and reckon its about two roll cabs worth of tools short.

Bob

 

[mr haynes]

3/4 breaker bar plus appropriate hub nut sized socket is usually a good investment. Snapped a few 1/2 heads through the years but never a 3/4 on cars
I've hardly ever used a 3/4 ratchet, always swapped to the 1/2 and convertor once cracked with breaker

 

[mr haynes]

Wouldn't bother with 3/8 torque wrench, use convertor on 1/2 and 1/4

 

[Memmeddu]

Wouldn't bother with 3/8 torque wrench, use convertor on 1/2

Taking the different sizes for the accuracy ranges
Most bolts are in the 3/8" torque wrench range between 20 and 110Nm at least on my cars .
Ídem for the entire engine of my 126P

 

[Memmeddu]

3/4 breaker bar plus appropriate hub nut sized socket is usually a good investment. Snapped a few 1/2 heads through the years but never a 3/4 on cars
I've hardly ever used a 3/4 ratchet, always swapped to the 1/2 and convertor once cracked with breaker

That's exactly why I'd like to buy the set , it's cheaper and make easier to break some bolts loose

 

[Trevorleach]

1/4 socket set a must, I use them on trucks so car guys must use them more.
Torx screwdrivers very useful.
Sadly the list is endless, every new job means more tools, but you will be surprised what you can fix with pretty basic tools.

 

[8ob]

Unless you are going high end/decent quality breaker bars/ratchets and extension 1/4" drive gear should stop at about10mm, 3/8" drive at 19mm , 1/2" drive at 24mm and then move up the the 3/4" drive gear.

Bob

 

[Bornfree]

I think it’s a core plug, looked on googley thing & that’s what it looked like

I heard them called core plugs , frost plugs , and freeze plugs but never fusion caps

 

[Cobbler]

Buy a halfords set

Original poster is in Sardinia, don’t think they have Halfords over there.

 

[Blobber]

It doesnt matter how many tools you have there will always be one you dont have on a sunday afternoon when the shops are shut!

 

[Memmeddu]

Think you have most things covered ,, 3/4 drive is seldom used on cars , having said that 1/4 is seldom used either ,, so save those for the end , a couple of decent work lights would be high on the list .

Whats a fusion cap?

I already have 1/4" stuff because my sockets set came with 1/4" an 1/2" sizes, plus yesterday I've bought the upmentioned set for the swivel ratchet .
3/4" as said I'd like to have it for axle bolts , crankshaft pulley and such .
But I've found it useful to have around , because at work we use them frequently to break loose even M12 bolts which are particularly stuck

 

[MetalMonkey]

What I'm willing to buy
A good car jack, a 12 pieces Seeger pilers set ,a 3/8" sockets set, a 3/4" sockets set,fuel line pilers, plastic hose bleeding block pilers set,spark plugs pilers , 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" torque wrenches covering from 5 up to 220Nm .
An oil change pan , and the other are specialized sockets for various things I'll buy when I'll need.
Obviously another tool cart .
An oil filter wrench
What I should buy first and what I'm missing ?
I'd like to be independent from the mechanics because I've found myself paying them to do things the wrong way or not doing them at all .

A good jack and axle stands are a must. A foam kneeling mat too for us oldies.
3/4 socket set isn't needed for cars, I wouldn’t bother. 1/2" is fine even for axle nuts in 99.9% of cases.
An impact gun (battery or air) will be very handy though, and a selection of impact sockets - you can save money and buy thin wall impact sockets instead of chrome and use them by hand as well. I’d strongly recommend one.

3/8 is not really needed if you already have 1/4 and 1/2 but can sometimes be handy for tight spaces. You need both deep and standard length sockets and a selection of extensions and universal joints etc. Consider buying a good set which has everything in.
You are unlikely to need a 1/4 torque wrench, most stuff on a vehicle is not that critical to torque and in well within the range that one decent 1/2" drive torque wrench will cover - or if you really want, just get one 1/2 and one 3/8 to cover a range of torque.

Spark plug sockets would be a good idea, it is unlikely you will need any spark plug pliers.
e-Torx sockets are a must on newer vehicles

Ball joint splitter (and possibly an air hammer) if you intend to do any suspension work.

For most jobs you will only need basic hand tools, more tools makes life easier but you can usually get by with quite a minimal toolkit.

 

[Memmeddu]

Do you mean e torx?

That's on the list not for my punto but for the 126P which I'm slowly forging the engine and ARP bolts on the connecting rods are E-torx , which requires 30Nm of torque

 

[Memmeddu]

I heard them called core plugs , frost plugs , and freeze plugs but never fusion caps

My fault translating.
We call them tappi(caps) di fusione (melting) so misspoken them .
And yes we are talking about the same thing.
I'm replacing them with endless and surprisingly cheap 2mm thick brass ones

 

[Taylormade100]

I would add a impact driver, a big set of pipe grips, chisels & pin punches and a ball joint splitter.