The best Tools to have and own are Snap-On! These babies are tough and if something breaks you have 100% garantee, replace for free! They are not in many stores but usually are in "truck stores" you find a Snap-On turck on the street, just stop him and buy what you need. It is expensive, but worth the money...

I used to agree with you, but after seeing the Snap-On set a friend of mine got, I've changed my mind. It doesn't seem like Snap-On's quality is what it used to be, and Craftsman has the same warranty on their tools and are easier to come by (Sears has them, along with OSH) and are considerably less expensive.

Just my opinion and don't get me wrong; Snap-On tools are still excellent tools...just, IMHO, not worth the money that older sets were...

I've been happy with the replacement attitude at Sears regarding Craftsman tools. I suspect they don't quite have the name that Snap On does, etc, but I had a 6' breaker bar on a 1/2 drive ratchet the other day. Tough stuff. A challenge to break them.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I have some Snap On tools that I bought back when mortal man could afford them in the early seventies. They are nothing short of fabulous. I think the new ones are mostly just as good.

In the past, the problem with a lot of Craftsman tools has been klunkiness. They are getting better now if you buy the right ones. For instance the plain Craftsman end wrenches have a very thick open end that will not fit in tight spots and the box end 12 points are still double hex rather than the superior Snap On Flank drive. If you get the Craftsman Polished combinations, they are pretty nice and not as wide as a battle ship on the open ends.

Craftsmans ratchets still have a LONG way to go before they can even be allowed in the same ball park as Snap On ratchets. I have a Snap On 3/8" ratchet that just has a feel to it that is not matched by anything else IMHO.

All that said, if I were a young tech starting out, I would have to think long and hard before laying out the money for Snap On tools.

Have a great day,

My approach has been to buy the things I use most often from Snap On and the lesser used things from Craftsman or S-K. Some of the Snap On tools I have purchased used. I agreee with Larry about the rachets. They can also take a beating and be quite tight whereas a Craftsman ratchet will loosen up in no time.

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Brian Toscano

I have been using KD gearwrenches with good results, but SK-Facom are what I buy when I can afford them, I believe they are superior, especially their ratchets and hex key sets.
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/MAN152.html
DDH

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

Stahlwille is excellent and their tools are lightweight and a lot cheaper than Snap-On if you buy in sets. I have heard they have Stahlwille trucks but I have never seen one. They require their dealers to be existing tool dealers so I am guessing they are being sold out of a truck with somebodys elses name on it.

For those of you out in the boonies, Grainger also carries Proto. I picked up a 14mm hex socket that wasn't available at Sears, Pepboys, Kragen etal. About half the price as a Snap-On.

Grainger ships reasonably quickly if there is not a warehouse around. Proto is a pretty decent brand. Grainger is popular in the farm belt and big cities.

I have also bought some cheap Tawain tools under the Performance brand. Very inexpensive. Needed a 1/2" drive, 3/4" 6 point socket for the wifes lug nuts on the Explorer. I had it in 3/8" but some knucklehead torqued the lugs to about 130 lbs. Bought a 24" 1/2" drive bar and socket for $20. It worked.

I also bought a Performance Brand open end that I ground down to hold the oil cooler lines in place while you tighten and loosen the 24mm nuts. Like Larry said the Craftsman wrenches are too thick. I know have a 22mm skinny open end for not much $. I also bought a 24mm open end and cut it in half to fit near the oil housing. I couldn't find a 24mm crow's foot at the time for a reasonable price.

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

Eric, where do you find the Performance Brand tools?
BTW I use Grainger for chemicals. They sell a citrus based engine degreaser that works well and doesn't stink badly like some Petro based stuff I once used. And they have the 3M high temp adhesive for hood pads, anti-sieze Moly grease (put some on your lug bolts that knucklehead rammed down for you!), RTV of all kinds and some stuff that works better than liquid wrench for loosening bolts and nuts, almost as good as Kroil. Grainer also sells a proprietary cement cleaner that removed most of the grease from my friends driveway after I parked my car there (that was before I replaced gaskets and hoses). I didn't expect it to work as well as it did.
BTW, if you work for a large manufacturing firm like I do, give Grainger the tel # for work, they usually ask for your tel# when you go to buy something, anyhow they will possibly sell to you at a discount, they did that to me once without my asking for it, maybe the computer put that sale in a wholesale category, you gotta like that!
DDH

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?postid=618296#post618296

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

It is my duty to fully test my tools! I almost challenge myself to break them! 20" pipe on 3/8" drive ratchet... have to love the warranty. (btw, you have to do this a lot of times before it ruins it) I normally get cheaper tools from harbor freight for stuff I don't use very much but ratchets I normally get Craftsman. I sort of agree with the notchiness of them, but the ones I have that are used a bit seem to flow nicely. The new tools or ones which don't get much use are very notchy. I'm hoping my new 1/2"dr 20" long flex ratchet will smooth out with a little use, I've seen worse but I've also seen better!

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Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

The Performance Brand is available at some of the MacParts places. Kragen I think? PepBoys has some, but they seem to be rotating over to the Stanley brand.

You most likely would find the Performance Brand at an independent auto parts store. They are not super high quality, but for the occasional tool that you might need to modify :-0 they work OK. Much better than the chinese Allied brand that you might find at Walmart or Target.

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84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

Craftsman ratchet broke 2 in the last year was not even using a cheater bar my knuckles now use only snap on ratchets. Craftsman wrenches are great because you can bend them with map gas and make your valve adjusting wrenches. I get nothing but grief in san Jose trying to return craftsman tools never can seem to do it at retail store always have to go downtown repair center to exchange but still I just save them up and turn them in once a year. Half are broken half are modified and not needed. You could not pry my snap on air ratchet out of my cold dead hands and it cost over $300. So in the end a mix of craftsman snap on and proto works well.
Dave San Jose CA

I believe Snap On HAND TOOLS are good, but I'm not convinced there is any reason to pay $$$$ for the red handle on their air tools. I think Chicago Pneumatic or Ingersoll Rand would be fine at a much price ?

My mech buddy had nothing but trouble out of his Snap On angle die grinder. I bought him a IR301 and he has nothing but good things to say about it.

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Brian Toscano

There's always lots of snap on tools on Ebay.........

William Rogers.........