Car service tools – essential info How to choose tyre service and car repair tools

Long story short. The more you work at car repairs, the more tools you need. We won’t even try to provide a full listing of the essential equipment. However, you need to start with something anyways. So that you will be able to do the most basic repairs when a car comes up to your garage. Read the article, even if you already run a car repair service. There might be some things that may come in handy and let you repair even more cars. 

What hydraulic press?

Can you imagine suspension jobs without a hydraulic press? Well, it’s possible to do these but why bother? Imagine replacing bearings or rocker arm bolts without the workshop press. 

So, just a few of the things you need to consider while looking for a workshop press: 

• type: manual, hydraulic
• capacity

What type?

The presses with a manual pump come with a special handle. This is designed for setting the press’ actuator at the right position. 

There are presses operated with a foot pump. In these units, you can set the actuator using your legs. 

There are also hydraulic-pneumatic presses. They have a manual pump but you can also connect them to a compressor. 

Hydraulic press capacity 

The capacity of each press is the value that determines whether a particular press is the right choice for you. Most presses have the following capacities: 

• 10 tons
• 20 tons
• 30 tons

What value would be the best for you? It all depends what parts you are working on. If this would be the only press at your garage, better get a model with as much capacity as possible. If it is just an assistant unit, you can consider getting one with less capacity. 

Should you get an oil drainer? 

Get to know the most important advantages of oil drainers:

• time saving – it takes only one minute to remove even a few liters of engine oil
• no risk of damaging the oil pan bolt 

To put it shortly. Oil drainers will let you change the engine oil much quicker and much more comfortable than you would do it the traditional way. So, you would waste less time on this. Changing oil that way is way better for the environment – there is no risk of spilling the oil all around the place. 

What impact wrench?

This is one of the most essential tools for every car mechanic. Get to know the 5 most important factors you need to keep in mind: 

• max. torque 
• number of torque settings
• wrench’s air demand 
• noise levels 
• casing type 

What torque in impact wrenches 

At a glance – the more, the better. But – honestly – would you really need an impact wrench with 2200 Nm of torque if you deal with passenger cars? Frankly, just choose tools that really fit your needs. 

What else do you need to know about impact wrenches? Learn more here: https://redats.com/blog/2019/07/22/how-to-choose-an-impact-wrench/

Compressor – essential for the wrench to work! 

Another thing that you need to consider is the compressor. Without it, you won’t be able to work with impact wrenches, grinding stones, and many other tools. 

What to look at while searching for the perfect compressor? The blow efficiency is an important parameter. It tells about the amount of air produced during one minute and distributed to the tools. 

Air jack vs hydraulic jack 

For car repairs, both are useful. It goes without saying, though, their applications are just different. 

To put it shortly:

• hydraulic jacks are great for low-clearance vehicles (e.g. Peugeot 407, Mazda 3 BK)
• hydraulic jacks are great for cars with rusty body (e.g. Mercedes cars from hte 1990s and older car-derived vans)

Air jacks are perfect for heavier vehicles. Anything else you need to know – click here : https://redats.com/blog/2019/12/30/trolley-jacks-and-air-jacks-what-to-consider/ 

Two-post lifts – what you need to know? 

How to choose a two-post lift for your car repair needs? First up, check the capacity. It needs to fit the type of cars that you mainly work at. Overall – the 4-5 ton units are your safest bet. They are great for both regular cars, as well as some vans. 

Automatic or semi-automatic

The difference lies both in the price and the way that the safety pawls are activated. What does that mean for you? 

Two-post lifts – semi-automatic

Here, you have to release the pawls manually. To lower the vehicle raised on the unit, release the handle and the locks. And you have to do that separately for both posts. 

Two-post lifts – automatic

In these units, you have to do it automatically. There is a separate control panel – a box mounted on the post. After raising the arms, you have to press the LOCK button.