Tools you can't live without

[GOPAPA]

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

[68C15]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

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.

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.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by 68C15

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.

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

[mick53]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

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



Attachment 1966877

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

[Jrainman]

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 .

[GOPAPA]

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,,

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by 1976gmc20

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

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.

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

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.

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 ).

[rpmerf]

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

[1976gmc20]

Originally Posted by rpmerf

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

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

[Greasey Harley]

Power Probe.

[FleetsidePaul]

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

[4u2nv]

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

[dajn]

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.

[PanelDeland]

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

[shifty]

Originally Posted by richard2717

forgot the more important one nowadays (eyeglasses)

This one hit home for me.

Was diagnosed legally blind while not wearing corrective lenses ... in the 4th grade. All distance stuff, was in excess of -7.0 in both eyes.

Started wearing contacts in 6th grade. Wore those til I was in my late 20s and then-undiagnosed autoimmune disease made the eye docs tell me my eyes were too dry to wear them. Around 30 the FDA finally approved contact lens implants as a fully-reversible-alternative to lasers, so I was 1st in line to get that done.

Went for more than a decade after that seeing like an eagle, although the change in my focal point made close-up things like soldering less easy than it used to be, but still manageable. I used to laugh at the parents and in-laws breaking out flashlights and glasses to read menus in moderately-lit restaurants. People would always say, "Don't you worry - wait til you're 40, you won't be laughing anymore". Yeah, right.

Hit 40. Near vision is still excellent.
Then 41. Near vision is still excellent.
Then 42. Near vision is still excellent.

Then 42, 5 months, 2 days, I wake up as usual, pick up the phone to see how bad my day at work will be, same as every day, based on the amount of crap filling my inbox. But, damn, must be more eye-boogers than usual this morning, let me hold my phone a couple inches farther away...

Then 42, 5 months, 7 days, I wake up as usual, pick up the phone, and now I'm holding the phone a foot farther away.

By 42, 5 months, 16 days, suddenly my right arm isn't quite long enough for my right eye, so I'm reading with my left arm out away with my elbow at a 15-20° angle.

HUH.

I think I was more shocked at how quick it happened. I expected it would all unfold over a few years. But naw, was literally about 2wks start to finish on the worst of it, bad enough I booked a next-day appt with the eye doc because they warned me any massive changes in vision could be a retinal detachment related to my ICL surgery. Before a month had passed, suddenly flashlights were really helpful on smaller text.

And now I'm back needing glasses again. At least I got a good 15+ years out of the surgery. Most of my friends who got LASIK were in readers 5-10 years early, almost all within 5-6 years of their first burn. On the positive, I can still get mine reversed.

But I have no shortage of readers now. Just need a light +0.75 or so for close-up tasks, and keep a pair of +2.0 around for when I'm soldering or fidgeting with the super-fine stuff.

[weq92f]

Originally Posted by shifty

This one hit home for me.
<snip>...
I think I was more shocked at how quick it happened. ...

You are not alone!

This happened to me about the same time. So yes... readers are the first tool I require before using any other tools.

I'm now in the market for some 10x goggles for fiddling with really small stuff.

-klb