Mechanics Tool Supply

The best way to know, to really know, that your fleet or service shop is ready for the winter charging season is simply to make sure that you have the highest performing wheel chargers on the market sitting right there ready to go. That’s the 6002B Heavy Duty Commercial Charger manufactured by Associated Equipment.

This jump starter Goliath of Wheel Chargers is Made in the USA and features automatic reset circuit breakers for both AC and DC and works as well outdoors as in. It’s powerful 500 amp clamps are fully insulated to make sure current goes exactly where you want it to go and it’s big 7-inch tires make sure the unit itself goes where you want it to go. It also has an automatic timer that takes the waiting and watching out of charging as well as a stop/go light that makes it even easier. Get this Battery Service equipment on your mechanics tools short list when considering what you need to have the shop up to date for the coming season.

If you haven’t yet invested in good mechanics tools for todays tire pressure monitor systems, you’re in the dark ages. These things have been mandatory for a couple years now and smaller shops are beginning to see the need to deal with them. For the first year or two it was ok to let the dealer shops take care of it since there was still a warranty on the systems but now those first cars are beginning to age and have more and more miles on them. They’re finding their way to independent shops and too many of those shops aren’t ready. The ones that are ready will get the business; even the business beyond TPMS because customers simply want it all.

The 3833TQR from OTC is an ideal place to start looking for that update. It comes with all the latest information you’re going to need and a software subscription as well as CDs of the latest training manuals. Experienced mechanics shouldn’t have a problem with this professional unit from one of the leading automotive tools manufacturers in the country and delay is costing you money.

Owners can save money with a simple, inexpensive code reader. Fact is, cars just don’t get to technicians as often as some of us would like in order to keep it running all the time. Hey, it’s expensive and time consuming so it’s understandable. But, that means that when something begins to go wrong, it usually isn’t until much later that car owners know there’s a problem that needs attention. By the time he gets it to his technician, the “patient” is all too often in need of an amputation instead of a couple aspirins and call in the morning.

That’s where a modest investment in a consumer-level code reader can pay off. There’s a number of these units on the market and many are priced in the middle and even lower double digits. They’re easy to use. Just plug the cable into your car’s outlet and let it take a look at all the possible trouble spots that might be lurking in the car’s future.

It makes even more sense in service costs too. Some of the smaller, less-expensive units don’t have all the information that the big diagnostics mechanics tools and scanners that your mechanic has on hand, but they’ll at least alert you to trouble brewing and you can get that car into the shop before major problems have materialized and that’s a cost savings any driver should appreciate.

There’s also a degree of comfort to be had in having a good idea what the problem is “before” the car goes into the shop. Nothing wrong at all with knowing a little about the problem “before” somebody tells you what they want to do.

A good candidate to start looking at for a code scanner is the CP9125 code reader from Actron. It fits into the palm of your hand so that means it fits in the glove box with ease and for the money it does practically anything you could want a scanner to do.

I can’t remember the last time I heard a mechanic tell his customer that he’d just checked the charging system and they’re ok for the forseeable future. Select the right words and do a quick system test and you save your customer a breakdown on a cold winter night and probably save yourself the loss of a customer.

The PBT-300 Battery/Starter/Charging Tester from Midtronics bills itself as an “advanced” system tester that meets the full testing requirement for automotive manufacturers for warranty work at dealerships around the world. Needless to say, that requires state-of-the-art capabilities. If a technician works in a dealership it goes without saying that his mechanics tools “must” meet those needs. BUT, those working in the aftermarket service sector also need to compete with the dealerships and need to be up to date and this is the unit that accomplishes that in a reasonable price range. It’s generally recommended that the battery/starter/charging systems should b checked at every oil change in order to catch problems that could later lead to breakdowns on the road. The ease of use afforded by the PBT-300 coupled with it’s advanced capabilities make it a must have for professionals that want to make sure their customers stay happy - rather than find themselves standing in the snow beside a car that won’t run. (remind your customers of that possibility - you’ll win a loyal customer with a quick check of their system) Was surfing the web a while back and came upon a graph that said that almost 20% of all on-road breakdowns was because of battery service problems and those problems are almost all preventable. Take a look at this diagnostics business builder from Midtronics and consider the ways you can keep building customer loyalty.

The latest thing from OTC into the Pegisys diagnostics family is the OTC 3828. It called Pegisys PC Diagnostic System reprogramming and scan tool.

It’s targeted to meet the needs technicians that prefer to use a PC as opposed to a hand held scan tool. It’s still a wireless setup so you’re not going to be stumbling over wires and cables and it does everything the regular Pegisys unit does except it’s limited to OBD II (1996 and newer cars). That limitation doesn’t seem to be much of a problem, those older cars are at least thirteen and fourteen years old now so you’re  going to see fewer and fewer of them. Not much these mechanics tools won’t handle for you.

Putting the PC on a service cart is easy and with the larger monitor on most PCs you have “both” hands freed up to work. Just a glance at the monitor and you’re there and if you need the keyboard while working, it’s just a step away.

One of the biggest advantages with the Pegisys 3828 is that you don’t have to pay for the cost of the scan tool. If you already have a PC (check to make sure your laptop meets requirements - not all do) you can save a bundle and still have the most up-to-date and sophisticated scan tools on the market.

Seems that most of the time a few screwdrivers is about all you need.  You keep going back to those same few over and over again because they meet the need at hand. But, there’s always those special times when you need a special bit, or a ratcheting driver, a T-handle or a stubby handle to speed everything up.  That’s the time to add an actual “set” in a case to your toolbox selection of mechanics tools and hand tools. That set that has everything you’re likely to need out of your normal day to day work.

An excellent one to look at is the KD8940 by Gearwrench. It’s a set of screwdrivers in a case that includes three handles, 30 popular bit configurations and six shafts ranging from 3-1/2 inches up to 11 inches long and even a shaft that allows you to combine shafts for even more specific length selection.

Being in a case, it fits easily into toolboxes or service carts so it’s out of the way while you’re doing normal work yet it’s right there the moment you need to step up from the normal selection of drivers. Doesn’t cost much, doesn’t use up much space and saves a lot of time fishing around for exactly the right screwdriver when special needs arise.

Add to all that, the fact that it carries the Gearwrench name and it’s a must have for professional technicians and serious amateures everywhere.

Sometimes the most simplistic way is still the best and detecting problems by listening is one of those ways that deliver the goods. It’s simple. If it doesn’t sound right it probably isn’t right. If it doesn’t sound right at a particular place, that’s probably the place that isn’t right.

When the people at Steelman developed the Wireless ChassisEAR (part number 97202) that’s obviously what they had in mind. It’s a great way to pinpoint the source and location of problems from bearings, gears and suspension components. It finds faulty fuel injectors based on sound (or the lack of it), if can detect faulty CV joint problems, transmission problems - in fact if there’s a sound to be listened to, the ChassisEAR will hear it and speed up your diagnostics efforts. That’s what professional-quality automotive tools and mechanics tools in general are supposed to do.

 Titan Tools has a new offering in the welding helmets classification that deserves attention. It’s the TI-41260 Solar Powered Auto Darkening Welding Helmet and delivers all the features most welders are looking for in an economical package.

It offers UV and infrared radiation in shades ranging from DIN 9 to DIN 13; the lense changes automatically when an arc is present and then goes back to normal when the flame is extuingished. It also is solar powered so there isn’t a battery problem to worry about. It just works when you need it to work and doesn’t create a bother for you when you don’t need it.

As with top quality mechanics tools manufacturers, the people at Titan Tools have a history of value priced automotive tools that have established a name for dependability and availability.

When you’re ready to upgrade or add welding helmets to your selection of professional tools, take a close look at this Titan product. It might prove to be a perfect fit for your shop and your budget. The Titan offerings include air tools, hand tools and lighting.

Nothing guts the profit on a job like doing it over the second time at no charge because you messed up the first time. Finding automotive tools online is a time and money saver!

We all know that lighting is the name of the game. Nothing we see is anything other than a reflection of light off of it and the more lighting situations we can see something in the better off we are. Ok, nothing’s going to be exactly like sunlight on a newly painted car but you can cut the odds of error way down with a simply spotlight; a bright one. A million candle power is going to find those flaws! It’s just that simple. They’re going to jump right out at you and considering the cost of NOT finding those flaws until the car is sitting in the lot waiting for customer pickup, you’re foolish not to have some sort of bright light, a really bright light, on hand that will highlight color screw-ups and quality problems while the car is still in the body shop; still in the paint process. That simply light is going to give you a view different than everything else in the paint room and it isn’t going to cost you hundreds of dollars either.

Try the Sport Spot cordless rechargeable spotlight from Vector (Vector 127Y is the part number). It’s dependable; it’s simple; it’s affordable. Having this spotlight in the body shop all the time will pay for itself countless times even if it saves you a redo only once - and it will if you use it every single time. You can move it around and get a good look at every single inch from every single angle.

Besides, this spotlight is so good and inexpensive that it can be used for practically everything you do that needs light - even finding that runaway dog that has the kids crying. Take a good look at it and think of the value of it. It’s really kind of amazing and you’ll see why you need it with your mechanics tools and wherever you are personally.

It packs 725 ft lbs of honest torque, has three forward speeds and it’s just barely heavy enough to keep it from floating into the air if you lay it down. It’s the CP7749 1/2-Inch Impact Wrench by Chicago Pneumatic and will be making it’s official debut on September 1. It’s a real one-hander due to it’s remarkably light weight and its ability to switch from forward to reverse with the flip of a finger near the trigger.

The primary purpose of these Impact Wrenches is to meet the needs of tire service professionals and others that have to frequently go from forward to reverse and back again over and over. That’s where the S2S feature (side-to-side) comes in. The control switch that changes from forward to reverse is right there by the trigger so there’s no need to use a second hand to change directions. Just a flip of the finger.

 Weighing in at less than five pounds, the CP7749 is sure to win a loyal following almost immediately. For a 1/2-inch drive impact wrench this unit is so light that at the end of the day, technicians will feel the difference in the lack of forearm strain. That means less exhaustion and less time off to rest up after using these mechanics tools.

These impact wrenches also feature a full-tease trigger for ultimate control that raises productivity even more. Chicago Pneumatic appears to have a winner at the starting gate. Take a look at it.