Mechanics Tool Supply

Floor jacks are one of those pieces of shop equipment that never change. Oh yes they do. OTC has a new line of service jacks that have made some real improvements over grand daddy’s lifting machines. First off they’re lighter. The 6-ton OTC 5206 only weighs 181 lbs compared to upwards of 250 lbs for many older jacks of the same and even smaller capacity. The OTC 5210 ten-ton jack offers similar weight savings.

It doesn’t stop there though. The wheels on the 5206 are new and tougher but they’re not metal. No more difficulty moving this big work horse around the shop, no more rust, no more noise. They’re not going to tear up your shop floor either. These super-composite wheels make an already light jack seem even lighter and more manuverable.

 The whole jack and especially the handle is more ergonomically designed so technicians can get it where they want it with the least difficulty. In fact, the minimum clearance is under seven inches - try that with grand dad’s jack.

The foot pedal on both versions gets the jack to the load fast and is otherwise conveniently out of the way.

There’s also a 10-ton version, the OTC 5210 that features all the advantages as 6-ton floor jacks except of course it lifts more. These are the kind of mechanics tools that give you an advantage and you need to take a look at them.

If your job is to make cars look good, look really, really good you’re already familiar with the 9227CX3 by Makita and you know it’s one of only a few that really meet the requirements of real buffing and polishing pros and body shop pros that need the best electric power tools to deliver the best job and win the customers they need to prosper.

 With the 9227CX3 you select the variable speed you want from 300 to 6000 rpms and it’s built-in control features maintains that speed regardless of the load it’s under. That means you get the results you expect every time. So if you’re a professional or an amateur looking to get to-drawer results this sander/polisher from Makita needs to be at the top of your list of options. It’s a choice made by pros over and over again and because of that you can know out front that you’re getting on of the best body shop tools on the market and just one of the many professional mechanics tools on Mechanics Tool Supply.

While you’re looking for the right air conditioning diagnostics tool, the LS3000 by CPS deserves a serious look by automotive air conditioning professionals seeking to get the job done right and get it done now. Fact is, if you don’t even look further, you will have made a good buy.

This professional electronic leak detection tool is sensitive all the way to a quarter of an ounce per year (HFC) and is accurate with all HFC, HCFC, CFC, SF6 gasses & blends.

The POWERSHIFT software by CPS automatically monitors, controls & adjusts all critical instrument settings to make sure you get maximum leak detection results in practically any job environment. Two separate visual LED displays enables technicians to pinpoint the exact location of leaks as well as approximate leak sizes.

You can set the audible alarm to either of two options (high and low) to meet the needs of your particular shop so even if there’s a lot of background noise, it won’t interfere with your search. See this and other mechanics tools at Mechanics Tool Supply.

Right now - through the end of June 2010 air conditioning service shops can add to their diagnostics mechanics tools in a big way while upgrading to Recovery, Recycle, Recharge machines that keep 20% more R-134a Refrigerant to bump profits and speed up work.

 Robinair, the maker of the 34288, 34788 and the new 34988 RRR machines is giving an Infrared Refrigerant Leak Detector  with each unit purchased - FREE. That’s right, a Robinair 22791that often sells for four or five hundred dollars is free. ADD that to the greatly improved efficiency of the new RRR machines and you’re looking at air conditioning profits taking a jump up in the profit column.

Gearwrench is manufacturing a new mechanics tool for tire pressure monitoring systems that’s a must have for technicians that do (or want to do) a significant volume of TPMS work. It saves time and of course that converts to money but it also assures that valve stems are torqued properly so the system works correctly and you won’t end up with an angry customer waiting at the shop for you to arrive in the morning.

As you tighten the valve cores down an audible buzzer and a visual light let you know when the proper torque is achieved. No guessing involved on a system that doesn’t tolerate guesswork.

The 85075 from Gearwrench is a complete turnkey solution to proper installation of valve cores on today’s tire pressure monitor systems and the use of the 85075 demonstrates the difference between the real shops and those that want to be real shops.

Ingersoll Rand is giving rebates and premiums each month for the rest of this year on some of it’s most desired mechanics tools.  Each calendar month is a different deal so it’s well worth keeping an eye on what’s happening. For example, if you buy their 1/2-inch 231HA or 231HA-2 Impactool™ in the month of March you’ll get a $15.00 rebate in the mail directly from IR. In the next nine months, depending on what the offer is you take advantage of, you can earn rebates up to $40. Right here on Mechanics Tool Supply you can check each month to see what the special deal is offered on high demand air tools - it’s right on the first page of the site. Be sure to check each month so you don’t miss out on automotive tools you need with a cash saving rebate attached. It changes on the 1st day of each month through December 2010. Make a mental note and check regularly.

Every now and then a new mechanics tool that’s really simple comes along that makes you wonder why it hasn’t been around for the last 50 years. It’s a natural and it seems like there’s no way to work without it. How did we ever get anything done before?

VIM Tools has come up with a simple magnetic tray that fits that niche. It’s nothing more than a magnetic tray attached to two magnets with hinges on each arm. That means that you can place it anyplace and the hinges make sure that the tray is level while the surface it’s attached to can be at a dramatic angle - like the inside of an open car hood. The hood’s about 45 degrees and of course there’s no way that a plane magnetized tray could be used that way - all the tools would fall out. BUT - with hinges, the surface is 45 degrees while the tray is level with the ground.

The part number for this item is simply MT1 and it was just introduced to the industry a few weeks ago and it already is finding a place on technicians’ service carts and ready to attach to wherever mechanics are working. No more few stepping and stretching back to the service cart while you’re working in a confined area. It’s just a movement of the arm to get the small hand tools or the part you want.

It’s a nominal investment and you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it after the first couple moments of use. Check out the MT1.

Robinair has introduced the newest in it’s line of Automotive Air Conditioning RRR Recover, Recycle, Recharge machine with the 34988. It’s a fine tuning of the 34788 and has the additional leak detection capabilities of automatic injection of dye into the system. It also injects the proper amount of oil into R-134a automotive air conditioning units.  But what continues to be the real advantage of these units (the 34288 is the semi-automatic model) is that they recover a whopping 20% more refrigerant than earlier units.

Nobody has to tell an air conditioning pro what’s happened to the cost of referigant in the past few years so you do the arithmatic to determine the value of 20% more refrigerant. You’ll soon come to the conclusion that even if your present equipment is “working fine” that doesn’t mean it’s working efficiently and making you money.

So, put the pencil to your current A/C shop equipment and, for that matter your mechanics tools, and see if it isn’t time to take a close look, a very close look, at the new Robinair units.

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.