Every mechanic, whether a seasoned pro or a budding enthusiast, needs a reliable set of tools to ensure precision and efficiency on the job. From essential wrenches and screwdrivers to advanced tools, having the right equipment can make all the difference in diagnosing and fixing issues swiftly. You may be looking for a sturdy torque wrench for accurate measurements, a comprehensive socket set for versatility, or a powerful impact wrench to handle those stubborn bolts. The extensive collection of top mechanic tools at Sears covers all applications you’ll encounter as a mechanic. With heavy-duty tools in your arsenal, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle any automotive challenge that comes your way.
No Weight is Too Heavy with Hardy Lift Equipment & Jacks
When it comes to handling huge weights with ease and precision, lift equipment and jacks are indispensable for care repair and maintenance of heavy machinery. From automotive repair shops to large-scale construction sites, these devices play a crucial role by providing secure elevation and efficiency. Have a glimpse of some of the staple lift equipment and types of jacks.
- Bottle Jack – While most bottle jacks are to be used vertically, some can be used horizontally while lifting. These tools provide a lift range between 9” to 18”.
- Floor Jack – These often work on all vehicle types including cars, trucks, ATVs and motorcycles, eliminating the need for multiple jacks and jack stands. Some floor jacks have a removable lift saddle and padded lift rails to adapt to multiple types of vehicle frames. A truck jack is a pick for the professionals, providing a high weight capacity that can go up 50 tons or more. It offers a lift range between 11” to 22” and has releasable parts to get any handle position.
- Jack Stands – While bottle jacks and floor jacks provide one point of contact, jack stands provide four. This reduces the chances of your vehicle tipping over.
- Engine Hoists and Stands – Useful for moving heavy parts such as axles, transmissions and transfer cases around the shop, hoists can get under low-clearance cars without having to jack them up.
- Motorcycle Lifts – Compare a lift table with a front and back wheel stand combo and decide which will work best for your motorcycle. Single sided swingarm stands have enough power as well to lift a wide range of popular motorcycles. A simpler alternative would be a triple tree stand attachment for brake repair, wheel cleaning, maintenance and storage.
- Heavy Wheel and Vehicle Lifts – Vehicle lifts provide a larger range of clearance and more lifting power than floor jacks, which are meant to only hold up an automobile for a limited time. From low-profile sports cars to heavy transport vehicles, they can handle it all.
Be it moving bulky gear, streamlining operations, or reducing manual labor, investing in the right lifting equipment can significantly enhance productivity and help complete tasks swiftly and safely.
Air Tools That Bring Impressive Torque
Air tools, also known as pneumatic tools, are essential for any serious mechanic or DIY enthusiast. These tools utilize compressed air to produce force. Removing lug nuts when changing car tires or fixing massive structural elements is a cinch with tough pneumatic tools, which are found in every auto body shop or construction spot. Automotive assembly, major construction projects, machine tool production, and heavy plant or equipment assembly and repair are common applications of pneumatic tools. Available in various drive sizes, you can have the perfect fit for any job. Let’s look at a few common automotive air tools below.
- Air wrenches – These pneumatic tools produce some serious torque to tighten or loosen large fasteners with a square driver. Also called impact wrenches, you can get up to 1000ft. lb. torque at a speed of 10,000 RPM or higher with these tools. Most impact wrenches run best at 90-100psi at 4-6CFM.
- Pneumatic ratchets – Since these provide a lower torque than an impact wrench, they’re are ideal for tightening and removing smaller lug nuts and bolts. The smaller size and lighter design of air ratchets offer greater control and user comfort while repairing small engines and doing transmission work in confined spaces.
- Air drills – Pneumatic drills are useful to produce small diameter holes in hard rock, as required in construction and mining.
- Impact drivers –These tools are used for driving screws and bits into concrete, metal or wood. Impact drivers are more efficient than drills to drive large screws that are long or wide into hard material because their torque output is higher.
Pro Tip: Refer to product manuals when working on specific jobs and understand the level of torque you need. Modern air impact tools have built-in torque control to easily increase and decrease the speed. Pick the right drive size – ½”, ¼”, ¾”, 3/8” or 1.5” – depending on the dimensions of the nuts and bolts you’re working with. You also need to choose between keyed or keyless types. A keyless connection is more secure and increases surface contact area between shaft and motor for higher torque than a keyed connection. In keyed chucks, there are chances of movement and friction between shaft and connector, resulting in fretting corrosion that welds together the internal components. It could be extremely hard to separate them, causing shaft failures. This phenomenon is rare in a keyless connection, and even so, parts can be quickly separated. Plus, keyless connections are capable of holding higher axial loads.
Further expand your capabilities by using pneumatic cutting tools that allow you to take on challenging tasks with ease even in harsh conditions.
- Rotary grinders – Also known as dremels or die grinders, these tools employ small, fine blades for cutting thin sheets of metal or plastic and other sensitive jobs.
- Angle grinders – Angle grinders frequently feature larger, rougher cutting blades or discs of silicon carbide, diamond, or aluminum oxide.
Whether you’re working on intricate detailing or heavy-duty repairs, the best pneumatic tools ensure precision and versatility, making their importance unquestionable in any automotive toolkit.
Quintessential Auto Body Repair Kits and Mechanic Tool Sets
Some tools are required in only specific situations, unlike daily-use lift equipment. These may include a car rescue kit to save lives in the midst of vehicular accidents or collapsed structures. You may also know of hydraulic frame repair kits needed for collision repair and construction jobs, which involve spreading, bending, and clamping operations. These specialty auto kits usually include:
- Hydraulic rams – Capable of spreading heavy components, these formidable tools makes it possible to extricate entrapped victims swiftly and safely. The construction of a vehicle is pushed back to its original shape by using a spreader ram, especially when a car is severely deformed.
- Hydraulic hand pumps – These are essential for lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, straightening, and spreading metal components of a vehicle. They offer a load capacity of 10 tons or more.
- Jack hoses – These are used in the automobile industry for lifting cars and other vehicles while changing tires and performing repairs under the car.
- Brake tools – Make brakes more responsive by bleeding brakes, which removes air bubbles in brake fluid. Brake bleeders and vacuum pump gauges come as inclusions in tuner kits to test automotive systems in a home garage or jobsite.
Car repair kits usually include extension tubes and other specialized implements as well to help fix various auto components. Making a damaged car look brand new again brings a thrill and satisfaction that only skilled mechanics know.
The importance of a heavy-duty tool sets is a no-brainer for any mechanic. Tool sets contain multiple hand tools, each with several size variants to fit a number of fasteners and auto parts. Let’s look at a few common mechanics hand tools:
- Screwdrivers – These are universal inclusions in a mechanic tool set, helping to drive fasteners of different sizes and groove types between two parts of a machine or vehicle. Shop slotted screwdrivers and screwdriver sets from Sears.
- Wrenches and torque wrenches – Another typical class of hand tools, wrenches speed up the tightening or loosening of nuts and bolts. Choose opening sizes in both SAE and metric systems to fit your preference. From common crescent wrenches and pedal wrenches to specialized combination wrenches and oil filter wrenches, there are tools suitable for every skill level.
- Ratchets, socket sets, and pliers – These are equally important as they provide a precise and solid grip around fasteners. Carrying a pliers sets for mechanics can prove to be handy for all kinds of automobiles.
Get all these essentials and other helpful additions like hammers, spark plug gappers and oil filter accessories at Sears. The best tool brands including Craftsman, BLACK + DECKER, Makita, Milwaukee, Powerbilt, and many others engineer their tools to deliver accuracy, power, and efficiency to make every project an exhilarating endeavor.
Embrace Technology with Automotive Diagnostic Tools
Investing in quality diagnostic tools can save time and effort by quickly identifying problems. Here are a few that’ll quicken repair processes.
- Automotive Multimeters – These handy essentials help detect issues in circuits, batteries and electrical outlets.
- Battery Tester – This tool checks the battery’s open-circuit voltage, voltage under load and high levels of sulfation.
- Ignition Testers – Ideally, a vehicle’s ignition coil should send an electric charge to the spark plugs. This function is checked by an ignition tester.
- Scan Tools – Diagnostic scan tools analyze sensor data to identify issues with the engine, ABS, transmission, and other systems. Technicians can gauge a vehicle’s performance, such as emissions, fuel economy, and drivability with the help of a scan tool.
You can also check out some specialty diagnostic tools for a more fine-tuned analysis of vehicle issues. Featuring cutting-edge technology, these nifty gadgets let you get to the heart of seemingly complicated issues.
Miscellaneous Essentials for an Eager Beginner or Adept Pro
Some tools just have to be around to make working with other tools easier. They may seem unimportant at first, but turn out to be very helpful at key moments of a repair job. Here are a few:
- Engine Auto Tools – Specialized tools like vacuum pumps, battery accessories, engine timing tool sets and other multi-feature tools get engines revving with full force and keep them in ship shape.
- Tools for Suspension and Steering – These tools perform functions like replacing steering pump pulleys and separating ball joints in steering knuckles.
- Creepers – Mechanics have to frequently view the undercarriage of a car or truck for assessing problems in the exhaust, suspension, tires, and other parts. Creepers allow you to lie down and smoothly move in and out, thanks to casters. This way, your mechanic uniform remains clean, and your back is well supported as well.
- Specialty Carts – You’ll often need to carry several replacement parts and auto components from one point to the other. Even if it’s just one vehicle at a time, you could still misplace items when moving. Carts with robust wheels and shelves lets you keep tools and parts handy in any position.
- Buffers – Waxers, polishers and buffers are key to deliver that perfect finishing touch after an intense repair assignment. Polishing and polishing pads are available for granite, marble and other stone surfaces as well.
- Magnetic Tools – Helpful to find lost lugs and nuts on the floor or under the automobile, magnetic tools are often flexibly constructed and easy to use.
- Mechanic Tool Organizers and Cases – Arranging tools the right way helps you find them quickly and save time, which could be precious during emergencies. So having an ergonomic mechanic tool case or tool bag is always sensible.
Browse more categories of auto tools from scores of categories. Find mechanic tools for DIY car repair as well as service kits for full-time, intensive auto maintenance. There’s a plethora of options out there, so you can outdo yourself in terms of perfection and skill.
Tackle Automotive Issues Head on with the Best Auto Tools from Sears
Updating your tool collection is always a good idea. As automotive technology progresses rapidly, you’ll need advanced tools to set right complex glitches in vehicles. Sears lets mechanics find the best options to tick off every item on your checklist of professional mechanic tools and DIY essentials. Grab great deals from trusted brands, such as DeWalt and GearWrench, and build the ultimate tool collection for your auto workshop or home projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I look for when buying tools?
Do your research to understand the features, including safety and storage options. Understand whether you prefer corded or cordless designs, depending on the power availability and type of applications to be covered. Consider getting compatible accessories to optimize tool performance. Lastly, it should fit your budget.
Do I need an air compressor for pneumatic tools?
Yes, you need an air compressor for most pneumatic tools. Light-duty compressors produce a pressure of 90-psi, which should be enough for using pneumatic tools at home, including nailers. You can also find heavier compressors offering up to 150psi. Setting the air pressure too high may overwork pneumatic tools and damage internal seals and bushings.
