Equipments needed for DIY

[Roadblock]

Brudders, I am inspired by you guys here to DIY my own car

- oil change and

- filter change and

- plug change.

 

So what are the equipments that I need to buy?

 

1. Torque wrench

2. Oil filter wrench

3. Correct sized key to unscrew the oil nut

4. That thing we use to unscrew the spark plug (dunno what its called)

 

Do we need an extra jack so that both front or rear wheels are up for an oil change?How abt wheel choke? Is it a good accessory for safety?

 

[Turbobrick]

Here's my recommendation:

 

- A good branded set of sockets and ratchet (I broke many no brand sockets )

- oil filter wrench

- Spark plug socket (there are two common sizes, look for rite one)

- A set of 12-edge spanners.

- Wheel stands (important! Don't use the car's jack to support while U work!)

- Hydraulic Jack up to 2tons

- Wheel choke

- Floor mat to lie on (straw mat also can)

- DIY oil catch pan (use large containers and cut up one).

 

[Roadblock]

Tks v m Turbobrick!

 

TurboBrick...

 

You wrote:

- A good branded set of sockets and ratchet (I broke many no brand sockets )

Any brand you recommend?

 

- Spark plug socket (there are two common sizes, look for rite one)

Any idea what is the right size or what do I look out for to find out what is the right size.

 

- A set of 12-edge spanners.

Pardon my gong-ness, what is the 12 edge spanners for? More imporatnlyt, what is it? Heee........

- Wheel stands (important! Don't use the car's jack to support while U work!)

Isnt it very "tin teh" - waste of space to keep wheel stands... and btw, whetre to buy?

Edited January 3, 2002 by Roadblock

[Myfocus]

Good starting list from Turbobrick snipped

 

Here's my suggestions. Not all bought at one time though :-)

 

For ratchet drivers I've been using this Taiwanese brand, "King Tony" with some success. None have broken, but they lack the "slimness" and lightness of the more expensive ones (I used to use Snap-on in my old co).

 

For spanners, I suggest a set of open and closed ones. For the closed

ones, I recommend the 6 face vs 12 because they are less prone to slippage and rounding of the nuts/bots. For this set, invest in a good brand (mine is a mix of Asahi, Snap-on, and some German ones which I can't spell). The advantage is the thinner thikness which sometimes is all you need to access some really in-accessible part.

 

Disadvantage of the 6face spanners is the turning angle in limited space. Personally, my spanners include both 6 and 12face.

 

Same argument goes for the box spanners (the ones which go onto the ratchet drivers.

 

For your ratchet drivers, invest in extension arms (straight) and flexible with a universal coupling. Enables reaching for really odd places. Long ones help when you are changing brake calipers and/or CV joints.

 

For spark plug socket, the easiest is to bring a spare plug to try out.

 

Invest in car stands. I cannot emphasise this important point enough. Imagine you are lying under the car and the jack slips. At best an expensive tow and repair, at worst your life! You can get the stands at Sungei Road (eg row of shophouses along Kelantan Road next to the police post, or the blocks of flats behind it) or many other places.

 

For catching oil, cut out the sides of an old oil pack. PLEASE DISPOSE OF THE USED OIL IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER. You can donate it to your mechanic (but he may charge you a nominal fee - imposed by the company which subseuently picks up the oil). PLEASE DO NOT POUR IT DOWN THE DRAIN OR ONTO THE GRASS

 

Get some anti-seize.

 

Get hand-cleaning gel.

 

Get a set of screwdrivers, + and -, different lengths.

 

May need to get allen key for your ratchet drivers (depending on your car)

 

Vise grips are useful

 

mallet (rubber or plastic head) optional

 

If you do electrical stuff, get proper shrouded crimp-on connectors (round, spade etc) with appropriate crimper. Widely available at Simlim Tower.

 

Cheap DVM (Fluke 88 or portable oscilloscope much nicer, good for troubleshooting strange electronics problem)

 

Work light, fluorescent, usually powered from cig lighter or battery

 

continuity tester (home made, omit if you prefer to use the DVM)

 

vacuum gauge (esp if running a carb car)

 

compression tester (for the siow-on)

 

Leak down tester (home made, only for the really siow-on)

 

gadget to change brake fluid (either positive or negative pressure, I use the positive pressure type)

 

strobe lite with inductive pickup (can be modified to become a tacho, useful for tuning)

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

Tks v m Turbobrick!

 

TurboBrick...

 

You wrote:

- A good branded set of sockets and ratchet (I broke many no brand sockets )

Any brand you recommend?

 

- Spark plug socket (there are two common sizes, look for rite one)

Any idea what is the right size or what do I look out for to find out what is the right size.

 

- A set of 12-edge spanners.

Pardon my gong-ness, what is the 12 edge spanners for? More imporatnlyt, what is it? Heee........

- Wheel stands (important! Don't use the car's jack to support while U work!)

Isnt it very "tin teh" - waste of space to keep wheel stands... and btw, whetre to buy?

[Turbobrick]

Wow!

 

MyFocus has summed it up! Great effort bro!

[Myfocus]

No problemo, just trying to help. Hope others can benefit from my trials and errors.

 

Yah, I left out the part about all the need to do bodybuilding if you intend to haul all the tools out for a weekend job - or else all the multiple trips to get more tools (mobile phone with voice dialing is good - get family members to fetch tools. why voice dialing? well, greasy hands and handphones are mutually exclusive :-) )

 

Oh yah, accumulate tools slowly, so wife/parents/SO won't notice that half (or more) of the storeroom is purely car tools & parts/consumables :-P

 

Wow!

 

MyFocus has summed it up! Great effort bro!

[Turbobrick]

Hauling the tools is also a thinker......I bought one of those HUGE Stanley tool boxes to house "most" of my tools inside. Another alternative is to get a tools cabinet with rollers to trolley around

[Myfocus]

That is the preferred solution, but my house/apt layout won't allow that. Settle for multiple tool boxes, stack them on hand cart. that allows me to just take whichever tool box is needed (eg electrical, chim-electrical, simple mechanical etc).

 

 

Hauling the tools is also a thinker......I bought one of those HUGE Stanley tool boxes to house "most" of my tools inside. Another alternative is to get a tools cabinet with rollers to trolley around

[Roadblock]

Wow, Myfocus, that is a detailed list for me to digest. Just printed it out and I will probably go shopping for those stuffs you mentioned. Sungei Road & DIY stores, here I come!

 

I am still trying to grapple with some items you got there which I have no idea what they are. Dont want to trouble you with the explanation (mabe some other time). But I am eternally grateful for your help already.

 

Thanks again. Good to have you here!

[Yeobh]

Go to my homepage -http://web.singnet.com.sg/~yeobh, you can view most of the diagnostic & specialty tools for professional techs.

Email me me if you need advice on auto diagnostic and specialty tools

 

 

Happy wrenching !!

[Myfocus]

No problem, contact me if you need help. I'm just another shadetree mech, but less time for car now with 2 kids and lotsa travel with new job.

If I can help, I will, but I do apologise if my replies are erratic. usually dun check email/'net over weekends and during travel.

 

Beware though, once you get started you end up with too many tools and spares. Best if you can find someone to share with.

 

Have fun!

 

Wow, Myfocus, that is a detailed list for me to digest. Just printed it out and I will probably go shopping for those stuffs you mentioned. Sungei Road & DIY stores, here I come!

 

I am still trying to grapple with some items you got there which I have no idea what they are. Dont want to trouble you with the explanation (mabe some other time). But I am eternally grateful for your help already.

 

Thanks again. Good to have you here!

[Sparkler]

Turbobrick,

Where do you get rid of used engine oil and gear oil?

[Turbobrick]

Contain them back to the emptied oil containers after refilling, seal the containers up tight and toss them at the trash dump or petrol kiosk trash point.