Everyone has tools they use when working on their cars. Outside of the regular stuff like sockets and wrenches and certain screw drivers, what other tools do you all think are absolutely mandatory when building your collection and adding to your tool boxes? Anything unique that people should have, but alot of people may not?

 

eh... a 10mm ratchet and ratcheting screwdriver accomplish 90% of the tasks on a Hyundai. Add a floor jack and risers/stands/ramps for another 5%. A voltmeter may pick 5% with the wonderful electrical gremlins

anything else I would just borrow from AutoZone

 

fixed

if you want to be able to actually work on the engine youll need a 12mm, 14mm and 17mm

i think a requirement to work on our cars, or any cars for that matter, is a good breaker bar/cheater pipe

ive been using a piece of gas line for YEARS

 

Yes, 12, 14, 17, and 19 are mostly in the engine bay. Alot of 10mm parts in there, too (air box, valve cover, spark plug cover, alternator). I keep a 10mm ratchet in my car at all times. Engine, transmission, and suspension will of course need the larger sizes.

Mandatory list of tools:
full ratchet and open end wrench sets in metric and standard
ratchet extensions
regular and needle nose pliers
vise grips
ratcheting screwdriver
several rolls of electrical tape
proper male/female connectors and solder/iron
breaker bar
kegerator
good floor jack that goes low & high along with jack stands and wheel ramps
good oil drain pain with a container to transport
fast orange
pack of 250 latex gloves
designated blankets/towels to protect body panels (removing hood/panels, protecting fender/bumper while working on top side of engine)
multimeter with good understanding of how it works
extra electrical (speaker) wire for use when testing connections, grounding, etc.

 

I'll 2nd the multimeter, and i'm surprised no one has mentioned a test light yet. That is pretty much mandatory

A BFH is always your friend aswell smile.gif

Everything else has been covered in the posts above