G'day Folks,

For some undisclosed personal strife I was recently in one place and my tools were in another =>

I needed to fix the car - but the place where I was staying had minimal stuff - seriously minimal stuff (like perhaps there's something that could be utilised in this kitchen drawer...). It was obvious that I needed to get some tools.

So it was just like starting out again.

Some of us who have been about on this forum for years might have forgotten what it is like - I certainly had - it kind of made me think about new folks with new to them old cars who also want to start saving cash and start DIY home mechanic-ery.


I bought most of my tools in a different age when things were in real terms more expensive than perhaps they are these days - so I was pleasantly surprised to find that for less than 300 euros you can get yourself a pretty decent set of tools that will get you going...

{Yes yes I'm getting old - when I first started building up a tool kit things were in real terms more expensive than they are today but they weren't quite so expensive as they were for my Grandfather who saved and saved for his first Black and Decker power tool that was meant to do almost everything (but didn't)}


...So anyway - less of the blurb! Here's what I got =>



This socket set is made by BGS - a Germany company who I think is probably a re-boxer of some of its stuff.

I'm not necessarily saying "go and find BGS stuff" - I'm just saying you can get some quite OK bits and bobs these days for not too too much money that will get you going.

If you (are new) look at the contents of the kit - 1/4" drive stuff - so you don't strip the smaller threaded bolts on your car => Mungo might indeed like candy and his big 1/2" drive sockets but he probably doesn't enjoy arsing about with easy-outs all the time...

...also 1/2" drive stuff for the bigger parts...

...also a selction of bits to help you with torx and tripple squares and hex head stuff...

...and importantly deep sockets because you never know.

The range of sizes goes from 5mm to 32mm (I think) - 27mm is present (!) Very important for Mercedes vehicles...

Even has two spark plug sockets (even though a large contingent on this forum does not know exactly what a spark plug is!)



Really cheap ring spanners and open : ring combination spanners

These are a must - get two sets like this and you can tackle many jobs. I do not expect these cheap things to last forever - my attitude to cheap tools is to use them (DO NOT abuse them) but if they start to stretch or break - replace with good quality single items.


Well there you go - lecture over.

Since I bought the cheap stuff you might be interested to hear that I've since been reunited with my old goodies such as this =>



and the twenty or so boxes that look like this =>



So new folks it won't be long before you too are as tooled up as some of us who have been here for longer.

You might be surprised at how quickly it happens - so make space now!

Attached Thumbnails

       

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

As the toolset now approaches 20' long, I've considered selling it all and getting a set like that. There's just no way I actually need all this.

Tool rental programs are great. And a buddy with a shop is better.

And if you are in america and sae is more prevalent, a lot of the larger sizes are equivalent in sae and metric.

I've never got rid of any tools unless they were broken.

Some women seem to like shoes - I guess I'm the male Imelda Marcos of the tool world!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

No mityvac ??
No DVM ?

__________________
1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Well yeah and no! I kind of consider a DVM as something that I'd get after a basic tool kit not as part of (if you see what I mean?). Same for a vacuum testing kit. All kind of vehicle specific. I guess with vehicles newer than ours most people would skip both of those items and go for one of those Obi-Wan Kenobi plug in testers!

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Wait. Is that why I cant find the odb port on my 115?

Yep.. its pre Obi Wan connections..

__________________
1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

strech,what do the people call their country,the netherlands,or holland.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

Short answer: - Sometimes Holland. Some times The Netherlands


Long answer:-

Two provinces are named "Holland"



The capital Amsterdam happens to be in North Holland. And the seat of the government (The Hague) is in South Holland. People who come from that area are more likely to call the whole country "Holland".

95% or more of the tourist crap will have Holland written on it.

Arrogant people who live in the Randstad =>



Will probably say Holland because the rest of the country (in their opinion) doesn't count!

However a correct postal address here would have "The Netherlands" written on the bottom line.

Dutch passports don't use the word Holland.

When they talk about their nationality they say they are "Nederlanders" they rarely use the old fashioned French version "Hollandaise" any more...

...to cut a long story short they've had an identity crisis for many many generations.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

I think the make of car depends also, e.g. if you own a honda/toyota vehicle your toolkit will be pretty small - and rusty too as you wont use it much.

OTOH - your MB tool kit is more expanded with torx, XZN, large sockets and offset extensions. - usually shiny as the owner keeps them that way.

now - if you move to french cars your toolbox is a bit large but they are consistently shiny - almost polished because you use them that much.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Very true

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

One of us!

Bite the bullet and organize your stuff first after unpacking-I did a year out of boxes(still unpacking) and getting the tools partially sorted has been a huge help.

Do you put Hollandaise sauce on everything?

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Not seen "Pulp fiction" yet? I'm too busy with the "mayonaise" to worry about any other condiment...

...getting organised - hmmm - it took me about 20 years to get my panel beating hammers arranged nicely on the garage wall. I'm not sure if I have enough time on this planet to get the sockets and other stuff sorted.

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Oh yeah, sorted means:
Toolboxes in the same pile
Most of the sockets in one drawer
Most of the wrenches in another drawer
Extension cord + LED droplight(Best $15 spent to date)
etc.etc.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Spread it on ya chips (Yuk yuk)

__________________
1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!