Garage Essentials?

[fireLt.]

Along with all the tools and the well stocked beer fridge I find a good stereo and XM is a great thing to have.

[stewie]

my essentials are:

portable swamp cooler (im in phoenix after all)
fans
radio
beer fridge
microwave
multiple sets of work lights
large breaker bar
220 near garage
good jack and jackstands
3 grinders- 1 grinding wheel 1 cutting wheel, 1 wire wheel
2x4s and 4x4s- good for spacers and softeners
i use the heck out of my black&decker work mate
sawsall

but the above is for what i do in my garage. the list for someone who is more into just minor mods and regular repairs would be far less. for that i would suggest:
socket set
breaker bar
pb blaster
jack
jackstands
work light(s)

[MT Mike]

Two important tools everyone has been leaving off of their lists:

1. A good quality torque wrench.

2. Common sense (probably the most important tool of all).

[avnsteve]

Originally Posted by MT Mike

Two important tools everyone has been leaving off of their lists:

1. A good quality torque wrench.

2. Common sense (probably the most important tool of all).

brilliant, couldn't agree more. I would like to add, I recently bought a compressor, and wonder how in the world I ever got along without one. I use an air hammer, with a chisel bit to remove most of the spot welds on the floors of my MJ. Had to do it this way because the rust was so bad, one couldn't find the spotwelds to cut/drill them out, I had to chisel until I found it...

compressor and air tools, definitely would be on my short list if i were starting over again...

[kastein]

assortment of cheater bars... absolutely required. I bought about half a dozen odd lengths from the bin next to the pipe cutter/threader in the pipe aisle at home depot. A 4 foot long piece of 2" black iron is GREAT with a large monkey wrench when you're putting a pinion nut on.

Full torx set.

This really neat rechargeable LED work light that home depot has in the work light section in one of the electrical aisles - comes with an AC charger and a lighter plug charger, I keep one in each Jeep now because I'm tired of crappy chinese flea market flashlights dying on me.

Keep a random bald tire on a crappy rim around, great when you need to take the nut off a stub shaft + unit bearing and don't want to put the thing in the vice, I just thread a couple lugnuts onto the studs most of the way, sit on the tire, and crank away with my breaker bar and a cheater bar. Works every time.

An engine hoist or a sturdy hook in the ceiling and some rope + block/tackle are great. I use my engine hoist to lift things out of the back of the MJ when I'm too lazy to do it by hand now - great for unloading axles alone, etc.

An assortment of mallets and hammers is good too, I used to be the guy who only used a small carpenters hammer on everything, then I got a 6lb hand sledge (actually a blacksmith's hammer) and found out just how much easier it is to knock a unit bearing out with a hammer of the right size.

EDIT: oh yeah, the OEM brand pitman arm remover at AutoZone is great, well worth the $15 it costs. I use mine to pop the tie rod off the drag link without mushing up the crown nut or the TRE threads. A good gasket scraper (the kind that uses a straight razor blade) and a set of brass and steel punches are also required. Drill press is great to have, I use mine for way more than drilling, I made all stainless screws for the bezels on the front grille by taking panhead screws, putting them in my drill press, spinning it up and using a file till the heads were the same size as the rusty OEM fasteners.

EDIT2: ... safety glasses (and if you wear glasses, a face mask) are REQUIRED! My insurance company has paid at least 1500 dollars to the ER so far and the bills are still coming in... all due to a 0.1mm fleck of metal that found its way past my glasses on new year's day while I was using an angle grinder. It would be at least 6k out of my pocket if I didn't have insurance. Learn from my mistake on that one.

[stewie]

Originally Posted by kastein

EDIT2: ... safety glasses (and if you wear glasses, a face mask) are REQUIRED! My insurance company has paid at least 1500 dollars to the ER so far and the bills are still coming in... all due to a 0.1mm fleck of metal that found its way past my glasses on new year's day while I was using an angle grinder. It would be at least 6k out of my pocket if I didn't have insurance. Learn from my mistake on that one.

X2!! i wear safety glasses religously when doing metal working- anytime when drilling, grinding and welding. of course i wear a welding hood when welding but i also wear a face shield when grinding. even when taking those precautions its possible to get debris in your eyes. dont take chances with your eyes.

on that note, a small box of disposable foam ear plugs is a good tool to have as well. what did you say??

[kastein]

Agreed on that as well, forgot to mention it. The first time I spent most of a day using an angle grinder I didn't use ear plugs and couldn't hear anything for quite a while. The next time I did, it's an amazing difference...

BTW, if you have the same "I wear polycarb lens eyeglasses and it'll be fine, and safety glasses throw my glasses at a wacky angle" excuse as I used to, you can get a full face shield for like 3 bucks at Harbor Freight. No excuses... unless you like wheeling blind/with no depth perception?

[61scout80]

Originally Posted by kastein

assortment of cheater bars... absolutely required. I bought about half a dozen odd lengths from the bin next to the pipe cutter/threader in the pipe aisle at home depot. A 4 foot long piece of 2" black iron is GREAT with a large monkey wrench when you're putting a pinion nut on...

Really? I have a breaker bar that is about 30" long, I prefer that over a cheater bar. I like using the right tool for the right job...

[crimsondragon]

Originally Posted by kastein

assortment of cheater bars... absolutely required. I bought about half a dozen odd lengths from the bin next to the pipe cutter/threader in the pipe aisle at home depot. A 4 foot long piece of 2" black iron is GREAT with a large monkey wrench when you're putting a pinion nut on.

Full torx set.

This really neat rechargeable LED work light that home depot has in the work light section in one of the electrical aisles - comes with an AC charger and a lighter plug charger, I keep one in each Jeep now because I'm tired of crappy chinese flea market flashlights dying on me.

Keep a random bald tire on a crappy rim around, great when you need to take the nut off a stub shaft + unit bearing and don't want to put the thing in the vice, I just thread a couple lugnuts onto the studs most of the way, sit on the tire, and crank away with my breaker bar and a cheater bar. Works every time.

An engine hoist or a sturdy hook in the ceiling and some rope + block/tackle are great. I use my engine hoist to lift things out of the back of the MJ when I'm too lazy to do it by hand now - great for unloading axles alone, etc.

An assortment of mallets and hammers is good too, I used to be the guy who only used a small carpenters hammer on everything, then I got a 6lb hand sledge (actually a blacksmith's hammer) and found out just how much easier it is to knock a unit bearing out with a hammer of the right size.

EDIT: oh yeah, the OEM brand pitman arm remover at AutoZone is great, well worth the $15 it costs. I use mine to pop the tie rod off the drag link without mushing up the crown nut or the TRE threads. A good gasket scraper (the kind that uses a straight razor blade) and a set of brass and steel punches are also required. Drill press is great to have, I use mine for way more than drilling, I made all stainless screws for the bezels on the front grille by taking panhead screws, putting them in my drill press, spinning it up and using a file till the heads were the same size as the rusty OEM fasteners.

EDIT2: ... safety glasses (and if you wear glasses, a face mask) are REQUIRED! My insurance company has paid at least 1500 dollars to the ER so far and the bills are still coming in... all due to a 0.1mm fleck of metal that found its way past my glasses on new year's day while I was using an angle grinder. It would be at least 6k out of my pocket if I didn't have insurance. Learn from my mistake on that one.

I actually been thinking about getting a sledge. I had a really hard time knocking a wheel hub/bearing out of my other car with the 6 ouncer. Is 3lb good or would you prefer something heavier/lighter?

Safety glasses is another thing I need to get into a habit of. I started using them more when I changed over to glasses instead of the goggles. Fogs up waaaaayy less and doesn't facerape me. I'm using them anytime I feel shit is gonna go flying or if I'm on my back and shit will drop down.

[kastein]

All depends on how good an arm you have... or want to have I've been having pretty good luck on hubs with my 4lb Stanley blacksmith hammer, but it kinda sucked popping a knuckle off a 30, I dented it pretty seriously. In general, I like to use the biggest hammer I can without losing controllability, because impact energy = mass * velocity squared, so you can get the same "oomph" out of a bigger hammer with less velocity.

[Jeff in VA]

add to all of the above at least one ABC fire extinguisher (at least one.....)

Jeff

[Art Triggs]

Fire Extinguishers (more than one)
First Aid kit
Compressor & some air tools
2 angle grinders
Small welder
Sawzall
wrenches,sockets,screwdrivers,hammers,torque wrenches
6 or 8 jackstands
couple floor jacks
Engine hoist
Engine stand
Bench vises
automotive tools (vacuum gauge ,fuel pressure gauge,compression tester,etc.)
That's the cluttered half of the garage, in a separate room I have a 10x22 lathe, 5x12 lathe, drill press, grinder,small belt sander, measuring tools,etc. (these are for business and don't leave that room though.)

[beakie]

I've been very happy with an electric (corded) impact wrench, for the quick tire changes I don't want to air up the compressor for.

bags of rags are handy

an old beat up ghetto blaster, with a mish mash of speakers attached via various wires gathered over the years.

multi meters, a couple of them

a vernier caliper, & plenty of tape measures of various lengths

grease pencils, chalk, and coloured markers

and a Drill Dr, which has paid for itself over and over again, I bring it with me to buddies places if I know there will be some drilling going on.

[FlexdXJ]

Two of my favorites are my Dremel and soldering iron. Along with a soldering Iron you would want a good selection of connectors, shrink tube, wire cutters, a GOOD set of wire strippers, other misc electrical goodies and of course A Digital Multimeter is a must!

[FlexdXJ]

Originally Posted by beakie

an old beat up ghetto blaster, with a mish mash of speakers attached via various wires gathered over the years.

One of the ones with a CD player that you gotta smack the hell out of to get it to play?