Mechanics Tool Supply

Here’s an ideal refrigerant scale for the small shop that does a variety of repair work but needs to have an air conditioning capability in order to keep present customers coming back. It’s from SPX/TIF Instruments and it’s the TIF9030 Economy Digital Refrigerant Scale. It’s small, easy to carry and easy to store; it’s operated by a 9-Volt battery and sports a capacity of up to 220 lbs.  It fits most tanks you’re likely to have and it offers the high resolution and accuracy you expect from professional-grade mechanics tools.

If you’re looking to add to shop air conditioning capacity or even to start offering charging and recovery for the first time, this is one to look at.

So you have one of those bright underhood lights all set up and you can see the engine compartment as clear as day. That’s a good thing and we’re certainly not suggesting that your lighting tools shouldn’t always have a good underhood light; you should. It’s just that there’s always those shadow areas that so often are exactly where you want to go. So you can light up the whole East coast and not see sending unit because something’s between it and the light.  OR - even more frustrating, everytime you approach your target you block the light and can’t see it.

That’s the time to reach for your pocket fliplight from EZ Red. It’s small, has 18 floodlight LEDs and it’s small enough to get into practically anyplace you’re likely to have to get into yourself. Depending on the circumstances, just set it where it gets the light where you want or hand it or whatever.  It’s small, it’s a foldover and it lasts a long time between charges. The part number for ordering this light to add to your mechanics tools is EZFL1701 and it takes your underhood light from almost perfect to perfect with the flip of a switch.

Obviously it’s great for lighting dark areas all by itself. You don’t have to use it with an underhood light. Most of all you need to make sure you have one in your tool boxes and wherever you store hand tools for ready use.

Everything you’re ever likely to need to service a battery on the road or even in the shop all in one simple package. This a great kit that’s excellent for tow trucks doing service on the road or conveniently stored in the trunk of the family car.

It’s so often that we find ourselves digging around in the “loose tools” drawer of our toolboxes for that terminal cleaner, then getting into the your wrench storage area for a ratchet, then to the socket area. If you need pliers that’s still another drawer to be pulling open and pushing closed.

The people at EZ Red Tools have put together a great kit that includes the right ratcheting wrenches, pliers, pullers and cleaners in one handy, portable and convenient case. The part number is EZBMK1914

This invaluable kit is the ultimate in battery service mechanics tools and belongs in every truck and private car that you might ever be using for service on the road. One of the best places to get complete battery care and testing is your local tire repair shop. While researching we came across a Tire Tool and equipment provider whose specialty is tire tools and includes battery service equipment as well.

It’s time to take a look at your jump starting capacity now that winter is approaching again. Was there a time last year that you needed more power and couldn’t deliver? This year, take a look at the 1224 from Jump-n-Carry. Not only is it powerful, it’s extremely powerful and it can increase your capacity to jump start even off-road equipment all the way up to 24 Volts.

If you’re a heavy equipment company engaged in sales or a contractor that has to be sure that CAT™ starts and gets to work, you need to have the starting muscle to get it going when there’s work to be done or when a customer is waiting. Even if you’re only likely to be using portable jumpstarters only for automotive or truck uses, it’s good to have all the power possible stored and ready when the need arises. The Jump-n-Carry 1224 offers not just jumping power but it will run accessories for in field service and do it with the same abundance of DC strength to power electric power tools thay you’ll experience when calling on it to start the car, the truck or the big Cat. These winter mechanics tools that need to be on your list of serious considerations for the snowy cold winter season.

When it comes to having mechanics tools available in the family car it’s always a problem. Or at least it’s always been a problem.

What do you put hand tools and diagnostics and lighting in that doesn’t bounce around the trunk and sound like grand dad’s farm wagon filled with hog feeding troughs? Every time you hit a bump there’s a noise and it’s that loose tool bouncing around inside the metal toolbox. Makes you want to take the thing out and leave it out and just not have tools in the car.

That’s what is slick about fabric tool cases. Today they’re tough, arguably as tough as the traditional red metal box but they usually don’t take up as much space and they don’t make enough noise when you hit a bump that the neighborhood kids start crying.

DeWalt has a storage bag that’s almost perfect for toting around that selection of tools on the go. It’s the D6050. It’s the classic DeWalt yellow and holds almost everything you need. There’s 11 pouches and a large center area - all available to put whatever you need into it. Use the pouches to keep wrenches stationary and the large area in the middle to put the larger items. AND if you don’t fill the whole thing, it’s fabric and simply collapses to make it smaller. Try that with your red metal box.

Just a parting thought that’s obvious but too often overlooked. Keep a small diagnostic scan tool in your yellow fabric bag.

The Tech 300 Plus from Bartec USA is becoming a necessity in general service shops around the country. They’re affordable, they do the job quickly and efficiently, and it’s almost impossible to work on a late model car with TPMS sensors that need to be reprogramming after servicing your customers wheels. 

This diagnostics mechanics tool actually reprograms the cars computer to properly recognize which sensor is sending a signal from which tire and it does it without having to figure anything out. It does the work so there’s not much likelyhood that the car will come back with a customer regarding warning lights and tire inflation problems.

If your shop does significant tire service work you may wish to upgrade to the Tech400 by Bartec USA which does everything the Tech300 does plus it will actually “reprogram” those cars with computer systems that don’t have the “learn” function.  

At the very least every shop needs the Tech300 and busy shops need the Tech400.

Been travelling the world in search of the perfect set of body shop hammers? The folks at Astro Pneumatic have saved you a long trek by assembling the Astro Pneumatic 5507 set of three hammers and four dollies that will shape practically any bend into a workable shape. These are hand tools that no body professional can do without and they’re all right there in one simple storage case for convience and ease of use.

There’s a shrinking peen hammer, a pick peen hammer and a straight peen hammer. In order to make sure each strike produces exactly the right results there’s four dollies:  universal, heeled, curved and mushroom shaped. Check out the 5507 - it’s an ideal part of any technicians collection of mechanics tools. Add a few dent pullers and other basic hand tools and a good body shop tech becomes a pro.

The people at Jump-n-Carry call their JNC300XL an ultra portable jump starter and they’ve hit the target right on the bulls eye. This is one of the smallest portable jump starters we’ve seen yet and it gets the job done. It’s isn’t made to be on the tow truck but it should be in the trunk of every car that may sometime have to be jump started or have to jump start some other car. It doesn’t end there though. Because of it’s small size it’s a great lighting tool. On the front of the unit is a bright light that will illuminate any area and the unit is small enough to point it anyplace. It’s bigger than a flashlight but not by so much that it can’t do the same job as a flashlight or hand-held spotlight. Anybody that’s had to try and jump start a car at night will immediately realize the beauty of a bright light to remove the guesswork involved in telling negative from positive and finding a good place to ground a unit AND of course on many of today’s cars, you might even need a light just to find the battery.

It comes with a charger and holds a charge long enough that keeping it charged isn’t a big task and well worth it if you find yourself stranded on a cold night. AND if you have to jump start your car just to get to the shop and buy a new battery, it will pay for itself almost immediately when considering the wait time and cost of a tow truck call.

Check your trunk. If the JNC300XL isn’t there, it should be.

Nothing speeds things up in a busy tire shop like torque sticks from Grey Pneumatic and the 2805TK set is just what the doctor ordered to keep work flying out the door and into the cashier’s window.

It’s a set of five one-half inch drive torque limiting extensions ranging from 65 ft lbs up to 140 ft lbs that assure tire technicians that they have the torque mechanics tools to get practically any job done and moved out of the shop. No wasting time with torque wrenches or hand tools of any kind use them between the impact wrench and socket for a perfectly torqued lug nut in every case.

Check your tool box and make sure your stocked. This particular kit does the job for most everything an automotive technician is likely to encounter.

Code readers and scan tools today are so easy to use that even a beginner can master most automotive diagnostics in a short term. It’s just a matter of plugging cable into your car’s terminal (usually under the steering wheel), turning on the switch and the problem is identified in clear language or a code number that can be easily looked up in a book. No more wondering what’s going on in the back shop of a garage, you know what the problem is when you take the car in. That’s a lot of comfort.

 With today’s generation of Innova scan tools you know out front if you can trust your mechanic. You’re not placing yourself at the mercy of his judgement and hoping he’s being honest with you. You know and that means you can identify the good mechanics right away.

That’s why the Innova 3160-ABS is such an excellent OBD2 diagnostics tool to own and that’s why it’s a great package to open up under the Christmas tree. You’ll be giving continuing value with all the codes on the car plus even the brake service codes. Mechanics tools and cars aren’t what they used to be but the joy of knowing that favorite old classic is in perfect shape is the same as it’s always been.

If there’s an older car involved that might be older than 1996 but newer than 1982 you can take a close look at the Innova 3120 because it will go all the way back to 1982 - great for the hobby mechanic that keeps that old Camaro or Z-car in top perfect condition.