Must Have Specialty Tools Every Mechanic Dreams About

Every mechanic has a wish list, and I’m no exception. So here is a list of must have mechanic specialty tools that every mechanics toolkit needs to have in 2022.

• OBDLINK MX+ Bluetooth Scanner
• Power Probe 3
• BEATIT 2200A 12V Compact Jump Starter
• Dual Lens HD Borescope
• Piston Ring Compression Tool
• Automotive Stethoscope
• Vernier Calipers
• Door Trim Removal Tool
• Brake Flaring Kit
• 52-in-1 Custom Bushing Driver Tool Set
• Feeler Gauge
• Parts Washer with Electric Pump

Save Money With a OBDLink MX+ OBD2 Bluetooth Scanner

No mechanics tool kit is complete without an OBD scanner tool. OBD Link is the best DIY diagnostics tool on the market for the price.

The beauty of the OBDLink MX+ is that you no longer need to waste money paying to have a garage turn off check engine lights and clear fault codes every time you need a service.

With this scanner, all you have to do is download one of many compatible apps, connect your phone or tablet (compatible with iPhone, Android & Windows) to the scanner tool via Bluetooth, and walla your in. It really is that simple.

The cool thing about OBDLink is that it can be left plugged in while your driving to give you live data feedback on how the car is performing.

Unlike most of the other scanners out there, this one actually reads and clears ABS and SRS codes without having to buy any extra software.

The only downside I found is that it took about five minutes to pull up two fault codes on my DC2, but other than that it’s the best scanner tool iv owned to date.

OBD Solutions have excellent customer support and will 100% get straight back to you with any questions you might have, plus they actually resolve the problem instead of passing you down the line.

Fault Finding Made Easy Power Probe III Clamshell

The Power Probe is hands down my favorite tool. Finally, the days of testing relays circuits with a dodgy wire and a car battery are gone.

A Power Probe will save you hours of time fault-finding bad grounds or broken connections. This is also a perfect tool for bench testing starters, bulbs, and motors without having to install them in the car first.

The thing I find the most useful with this probe is the ability to make sure I have a circuit wired correctly without needing to start the car, by injecting 12v DC into the circuit with the probe.

All you gotta do is connect both leads to your car battery and carefully touch the probe off the connection you want to test then press the power button.

There are fancier testers on the market but this is the one I have and it never missed a beat so I thought it deserved a mention. I paid $130 for mine three years ago but you can get it on Amazon for $112.

BEATIT 2200A 12V Compact Jump Starter

This compact jump starter really is a no-brainer. If you are anything like me, you know the pain of being stranded in the rain with a flat battery.

This BEATIT jump starter fits in your glove compartment, and with a single charge, it can start your car up to 30 times which is pretty impressive for how small it is.

The thing that puts this jump starter ahead of the rest for me is that it has a 110v AC inverter built-in.

That makes this the perfect accessory for camping or fishing trips because you can plug in a light, radio, or basically anything up to 100W plus it has high-speed USB ports for charging your phone or tablet.

DEPSTECH Dual Lens HD Borescope

A boroscope is one of my favorite must have mechanic specialty tools. This is used to inspect the internals of an engine, drains, or pipes using a camera.

This gives you visual access to the cylinder walls, pistons, and valves to inspect for damage without having to completely strip down the engine.

Depstechs boroscope is the best out there for this price and has loads of features including a Dual Lens side-facing camera along with a front-facing camera allowing you to inspect both the front and sidewalls of the cylinder or pipe easily.

Features:

• Waterproof
• 5″ LCD Display
• Dual Lens
• 16.5 ft Camera Cable
• 3 Mode Inspection Light
• 7 Hour Battery Life
• Video Recording

Piston Ring Compression and Extraction Tool

This tool is for the hardcore petrol-head who isn’t afraid to take their engine apart from time to time. If that sounds like you, your definitely guna need this tool.

A piston ring compression tool ensures your piston rings slide into the cylinder smoothly with no twisting or catching when you’re installing the piston.

This is critical if you get it wrong because you could damage the rings or cylinder wall, so don’t even attempt to replace piston rings without using one of these tools.

This kit also comes with extraction pliers that spread the rings apart to slide them off over the pistons which is handy because if the old rings snap when you’re removing them they shatter and very easily get in your eyes. You can get one on Amazon for $13.85.

Diagnose Whining Problems with an Automotive Stethoscope

Many times iv had customers look at me weirdly when they see me with a stethoscope around my neck. But a Stethospoce is used on cars the same as it’s used on people.

Have you ever heard a knock or whine but can’t quite put your finger on the exact location?

With a stethoscope, while the engine is running, all you gotta do is carefully move around the engine touching the probe off of the area you think the noise is coming from and you will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the fault in seconds.

Vernier Calipers

A vernier caliper is a must-have if you’re doing anything other than general maintenance. I literally carry one of these around in my pocket every day in work.

If you’re doing any type of specialist engine work you’re going to need one of these for measuring bore and port diameters and even for the simpler things like bolt and hole diameter.

Never Break a Clip Again with Door Trim Removers

Sadly door trim removers are always the tool that is forgotten about until you need it. There is nothing worse than trying to remove interior panels and trims carefully without snapping every clip out of the panel.

Unfortunately, all the clips never survive. With this trim remover, you will never need to buy another clip again or spend hours trying to carefully remover them only to beak most of them anyway.

With this you just slip in the tool and pop it out, it’s that simple and for the price of $26.99 on Amazon it’s not even questionable.

Brake Flaring Kit

If you live in a damp climate your inevitably going to need to replace brake lines at some point in your life. If you are unfortunate enough to have to do this oily job your guna need a flaring kit.

This is used to basically form the end of one brake line into a mushroom shape and the other line into a concave female receiver that the mushroom sits into.

This is done by clamping the brake line in the tool and pressing a dye into the brake line. The kit comes with a range of sizes of dyes to suit all sizes of brake lines. Don’t forget to put the nuts on the pipe before you flare it.

Orion Motor Tech 52-in-1 Custom Bushing Driver Tool Set

Replacing bushes or bearings is one of the most stressful jobs you can do if it starts going wrong especially if you have no car lift.

With a bushing pulling tool, you take most of the hassle out of it and there should be no need to try to get your rear axle into your bench vise to squeeze in a bushing (like iv had to do).

This set has discs ranging from 18mm to 180mm and is made of high carbon steel so it won’t bend like the cheaper versions. The kit includes 50 interchangeable discs and is on Amazon for $58.99 which isn’t bad for the quality of the tools.

Get Your Rocker Right with a Feeler Gauge

A feeler gauge is for the mechanic that knows his way around an engine.

A feeler gauge is used to set the gap between the rocker arm and valve stem. The gauge has precisely measured strips of metal, usually between 0.05mm and 1mm, that you place between the rocker arm and valve stem, you then adjust the rocker arm until the rocker arm starts to touch the feeler gauge.

Lose rocker arms is the usual cause of that slight ticking noise you hear coming from your engine. So for $5.99 on Amazon, this is a really good tool to have in your arsenal.

Automotive Parts Washer with Electric Pump

A parts washer is one of the best things you will ever buy for your shop and 100% the number one must have mechanic specialty tools. There is nothing worse than trying to clean greasy parts with a wire brush and diesel, or worse again, replace the parts without cleaning.

With a parts washer, it takes all the mess and hardship out of the job leaving you with fresh shiny parts with no spillages or greasy everywhere.

This washer has an electric pump for pressure washing and a 20-gallon water capacity which is perfect for a DIY shop.

A few years back I made the mistake of using diesel in my parts washer instead of water. The pump lasted about 1 hour of run time and has never worked since, so just a heads up, NO DIESEL.

This washer is very reasonably priced on Amazon at $239.95, when I bought my first parts washer I paid $500, luckily these things get cheaper over time.