Tools you can't live without
 

Here is one of mine. If you work alone it's handy for sure.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

You got a plan on how it was made or where you bought it? I am alone alot and could use something like that also.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

LIKE!(a lot)
I last used my engine lift to pull and replace the heads and intake on one of my 454's in the car.Sure is easier on my old back!
Mike.:chevy:

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Great Idea.











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Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I bought the plans from board member Rokcrln. Do a search for cab & bed lift and it should be the first result that comes up.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I've really loaded up on tools due to my project truck, but my favorite tool remains a good shop blower/vac.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

My favorite tool is one that I can find when I need it.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I've heard of "third hands" before, but that's an extra pair of arms! I work alone . Makes me think of that George Thorogood song :alky:.

My answer to the title is "All of them". I buy them because I need them and tools are one thing I would never sell no matter how broke

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I have a MityVac vacuum pump I use a lot. Has a pump like a bicycle pump and a body that hold 2 gallons of liquid. I don't like to get it dirty, so I will take various containers and drill 2 hoes in the lid. Hook one side to the pump, and the other side to whatever fluid I am trying to pull. Makes moving fluids around a lot easier. Some examples of great uses I have found.

Draining the radiator by vacuuming the fluid from the fill hole. No more dumping all over the place and trying to catch it.

Draining fluids through dip sticks when I don't have a drain plug. Worked really well sucking out a bunch of trans fluid before pulling the pan. Works good with lawn equipment also.

Useful for bleeding brakes.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

At my age (68) I find that my lift and transmission jack are my two most valuable "can't live without" tools.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

That damned 10mm! Has anyone seen it?

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I have trouble finding an 11mm. Doesn't seem like they are regularly included in metric combination wrench sets. Only have one use for them in spring and fall as the bolts that bolt my cab enclosure to my Kubota require 11 mm.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Hammers ;)

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I have noticed that also they have eliminated some sizes.
There is only 0.005 inches difference between 7/16" and 11mm. if that helps you.
Here is a Link below that has a chart for the sizes.

Link: http://www.csgnetwork.com/wrenchsizetable.html









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Re: Tools you can't live without
 

My Bobcat is still my tool I use most and could not imagine being without it for any length of time

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Bobcat 863
Two post lift
Top side creeper
several CNC lathes and mills
Band Saw
Welders
Pecker

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Well apparently the new tool that I cannot live without is a large (maybe 5/8 or 3/4 ?) allen wrench to check the oil in the five speed of my 1989 K1500 :(

Everything else I've ever seen is either hex or square head plug, or else a square hole for a 3/8 or 1/2 ratchet extension.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

That would be a 17mm. I have onenthat fits either a 3/8 ratchet or 17mm box wrench

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

forgot the more important one nowadays


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Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Thanks :)

So about 11/16". Now I have to drive 50 miles round trip to town in another vehicle and see if the only parts store in town has one. I better call them first so they can order one. It's only been about 1000 miles since it was serviced but quite a bit of time as I don't drive it much, and you never know with old pickups.


Yeah, I had cataract surgery and lens implants a year ago. Great distance vision for the first time in ~55 years but can't see much of anything within about three feet without glasses - actually can't see that much with them. Mechanic work is hell because nothing is ever the right distance for either the main or add lens.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Seriously I think it’s this one. Home made. Lol!

I really like that one man hood removal idea!

Attachment 1965842

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

This one comes to mind, but there would be a big ol list if I really thought about it.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I’ve had this kicker pick for close to 32 years.
I could live without it but, it’s handy. I think that I’ve had it longer than any other tool.
I’m pretty sure the duct tape is holding it together. I don’t remember when I put it on.
Been through a few knee kickers, power stretchers, straight edges, seam irons and trackers.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

We all recently got emergency kits for our cars, in case of an evacuation (why we would evacuate from where we are is a continuing mystery to me- anything catastrophic enough would have killed us first). My wife told me that I had to put medication in that kit, sufficient for some amount of time. I don't have any condition that would be life-threatening in less than about 20 years. Go figure.

As far as any tools I can't live without, there aren't any. I use all kinds of tools. I cross-train those things for multiple use. It's amazing how well a crescent wrench will substitute for a hammer, for example. It's all I use them for, damned knuckle-busters, anyway!

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I would be lost without a welder
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https://www.rentalex.com/wp-content/...art-500500.jpg

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I do have a small tool that has been my backup for many many years when working for construction company's or working for myself.. I still use it ..

My kids bought this for me some 25 years or more ago $89.00 now on Ebay about $15-$20 w shipping



Attachment 1966877

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

go to hardware store and buy a 12mm bolt and nut. They are 17mm hex. Cram the nut on bolt real tight then use a wrench to get plug out.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Or …

It turns out you can take a long 11/16" nut and file a bit down on all six faces of one end to get it down to 17mm ;)

Thanks for the idea! :)

Oil level was fine, BTW. But the SOB at the last shop must have used a 3/4" breaker bar to put it back in :devil:

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I had one of those. If I remember right they were very expensive when they came out.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I would be lost without my 5-20 lift , cant tell you how many times I have used this to get me done , cabs ,beds, frames , are just a fraction of what I have used it for , it will reach 22 ft high .

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

A lift like some of you have shown above would of been a great help when I lifted my 402 engine up to put in big block motor mounts,, instead I used a hydrolic jack and ropped the motor and in the process I was told I warped my frame by losing the motor off the jack.. anyway sold the truck when I moved and will never know for sure if I did it or it was done before I got the truck ..

As for the calculator ,,one might not believe this ,,but I do not remember ever changing the lithium battery out for a new one "ever' it is solar and it shuts off after each use with in minutes ,,so after 25 years one would think I had to change it more than once and like I said ,, I do not remember changing it even once .. let you all decide about this statement ,,except I am not one to BS about it,,

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

When I worked as a mechanic it never ceased to amaze me how tightly guys seem to have to make the oil pan drain plug, or any drain plug, for that matter. I had a regular customer come in for an oil change, and the other guy did the oil change that time. He was surprised how easily the plug came loose, and commented to me about it, because he knew that I was the last one to change oil in that car. I just said, "Was it leaking? That's all the tighter the plug has to be." I've NEVER had one fall out, and also never stripped one.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Yeah, and this was just the side fill/check plug on an aluminum transmission! Not even the drain plug on the bottom of the gearbox.

I used a 1/2" ratchet and socket on the "tool" that I made, and still I had to get the handle horizontal and lay on my back underneath and pull down with both hands for all I was worth (not so much anymore, I guess :lol: ).

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Did you try to loosen the plug while the trans was hot / warm? Can make a decent difference.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

No, it was about thirty degrees and a miserable wind blowing :(

Though I suppose that I should have driven a pickup that I suspected might be low on oil in the transmission (it wasn't) until it got good and hot. Plus there would be the added advantage of burning myself on the exhaust pipes. OTOH if the transmission did get fried then I would have saved myself the effort of having to check it :lol:

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

Power Probe.
https://img.letgo.com/images/5e/20/5...policy=img_600

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

My phone. Call someone else to do it. I'm retired.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/gallery/...mart_phone.jpg

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

When I get in a jam this is my must have tool

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

M18 impact driver. I use that tool all the time. From light mechanic stuff to carpentry work. It's one of those tools that has made things so much easier and faster. I see people all the time use drills.. a drill is only good for one thing. An impact driver can do so much more. So you need both.

Re: Tools you can't live without
 

I noticed a lot of people said their Bobcats. I ran across this and thought it would be interesting for some.


https://ironsolutions.com/news/the-f...i-dVeLZgHb_-TU