Maintaining and repairing your car can be a daunting task, but with the right tools, you can do it yourself and save a lot of money. To ensure that your next DIY repair goes as planned, it's important to equip your workshop with these essential tools for car maintenance. A vehicle jack is one of the most important tools for completing automotive DIY tasks. Without this tool, it's incredibly difficult to access several key vehicle components, including the oil filter, transmission oil pan, and brakes - all of which are essential for any brake repair shop.A lift, such as the Liftmaster 3-ton floor lift, typically slides under the chassis of the car or truck to gradually lift the vehicle off the ground.
This allows the tires to be removed without damaging the rotors, axle or driveshaft, and elevates the vehicle enough to relatively easily access the underside of the car. A tire pressure gauge is also an essential tool for the vehicle to function properly. Underfilled or overfilled tires can reduce control and increase vehicle wear, so it's important to have a tire pressure gauge in the home workshop to closely monitor the vehicle's tire pressure. Even if you only have a small, inexpensive tire gauge like this tire pressure gauge from Drive Auto Products, you can routinely check tire pressure and add or release air as needed. Wheel chocks are made to help keep DIYers safe during repairs and maintenance. Simply slide them under the rear wheels of the vehicle to prevent it from rolling.
These solid rubber chocks from ROBLOCK grip concrete and pavement, ensuring that the wheels don't move or roll while you work. Pliers can often reach tight spaces that are inaccessible to other tools. This is especially true with fine-nose pliers, although angled pliers are also useful for circumventing obstacles inside the engine. Take a look at this 4-piece plier set from Husky to better equip your tool box. A work light is an invaluable benefit that helps ensure that you're performing repair and maintenance tasks correctly. A simple work light that can stand on its own, such as the DEWALT 12V MAX LED work light, is a great addition to complete any tool kit. A set of ratchet sockets and socket wrenches are used for a wide variety of automotive repair and maintenance tasks, as they can effectively fasten nuts and bolts for easy removal and replacement.
A screwdriver set is also essential for completing automotive DIY tasks. Get a complete set that includes a larger flat head that can work like a small lever, and very small screwdrivers, delicate enough to work with electronic devices. A dead blow mallet is often the only solution when it comes to removing stuck screws. A few blows with this hammer and maybe a little heat will loosen up just about anything. Working late at night is common during the winter, and you need good working light to prevent pieces from being lost and make your project stand out. This LED reflector from Milwaukee Tool is powered by its M18 battery and can be rotated 240 degrees. Latex gloves are better than regular work gloves, as they are disposable and you work with clean gloves every time you start a project.
Reusable work gloves get greasy very quickly and there's no easy way to clean them. An impact wrench or cutter bar should be used instead of a torque wrench when removing nuts; otherwise, you risk messing up the torque wrench settings. A spark plug separation tool is also necessary to ensure that the space between the center and side electrodes meets manufacturer standards, reducing efficiency and increasing spark plug wear. Finally, an oil tray is made to collect oil, transmission fluid and other liquids that may need to be drained during basic maintenance or repairs.
