My boyfriend just rebuilt the engine for his '88 CRX SI & I'm trying to buy him some tools for christmas so he can work on it if he needs to.. without him knowing. lol.. I just need some help figuring out WHAT tools to get him.. I'm a chick, I'm not ignorant about tools but I want to make sure he can actually use them! The engine is an '89 Acura Integra D.O.H.C. any ideas would be extremely helpful! if you guys can just point me in the right direction as to what will actually be helpful for him. Thanks in advance!

 

craftsman tools from sears are on sale right now...!!!

 

x2 great quality for a great price. And are you looking for basic tools ex. sockets/screw drivers/pry bars/wrenches/ect. Or specialty tools ex. feeler guages/ stud removers/ multi-meter/ nut spliter/ ect.

 

Craftsman tools are good quality and have lifetime warranty on ratchetts and others. Make sure you get metric stuff as most bolts Honda uses. The bulk sets are usually cheaper than buying individual and it is always nice to have doubles.

 

crapsman is junk, they claim they are USA made, but they sell the same tool at Ace and it says made in China, do you really think they make two completely separate lines of crapsman tools? one made here, one made by cheap pheasant labor in China? I have old craftsman stuff, the quality difference between the old stuff and new stuff from them is unreal, look at Lowes for the Husky screwdrivers, I got a set and discovered they were USA made and were exactly like original craftsman, they may me chinese made now, you'll have to check

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/tools.html

armstrong is still made here and are great tools, look for older blawhawk or proto sets, better to buy a quality used set then a new junk set. I spend a lot of time looking for decent tools and usually I end up searching out older American made tools, avoid the new visegrip brand , the only way to get one now are used, they took a quality tool, started making it in China and turned it into complete junk. Fortunately the older ones are indestructible so they are around.

 

get a good set of tools. wrenches, sockets, 3in, 6 and 12in extensions.
ball joint seperator. tap and die set.
hammers.

 

i don't care if the tool was made by a caveman...with a craftsman lifetime warranty i could just walk into my local sears store and exchange it with no questions asked...beats having to track down a snap on or mac truck trying to get an exchange and with the cost difference between them all its a no brainer...!!!

 

LOVE THE WARRANTY. I dropped a wrench down in a tractor tranny and mangled it. They replaced it no questions. Ive used them my whole life as has my dad. Ive never broken a wrench and never stripped one either and i am very hard on tools. The cost of mac and other brands is ridiculous if your just gonna be doing work at home. She said for her boyfriend to work on his car not start his own shop. And sorry but the only places you can buy true craftsman tools is at sears or k-mart.

 

you don't need to go to snapon or mac, there are other brands still made here that are decent, my tools are my life, without them I wouldn't be able to do my job, there is a difference, most tools at lowes and home depot are now also lifetime warranty, I've been watching the quality of craftsman get lower and lower over the years, it's getting hard to find decent tools at all. I started buying tools when I was five with birthday,Christmas money, and I've been buying them for 35 years now. It's really sad about the quality of the ones sold today. People don't care if they are good, just cheap

 

with the major surplus in my bank account and not one broken craftsman tool in my home supply i think im pretty satisfied with the results...sears is only 10 blocks away if i really need it...if i really wanted cheap tools then i would buy harbor freight but i don't feel like returning hardcore chinese made tools if one breaks...!!!

 

Granted craftsman isnt as good as they used to be but they are still better then home depot and lowes tools. Lowes DOES NOT honer kobalt warrenty even though its right on the package. I got a set for Christmas and broke a socket and they tried to tell me that they dont even warranty them at all. I had to fight with them for 30 mins to get them to do it. You can take in a 25 year old rusted out craftsman socket and they will give you a new one at sears without batting an eyelash. Hands down they have the best warranty ive ever dealt with on tools. Crappy tools would be such as task force, mechanic pro, and brands like that.

 

craftsman is fine for your weekend wrencher

if your a professional then you buy professional grade tools (snap on mac etc)

i have alot of craftman tools and a few snap on/mac things always looking to add

op go to sears and get the 154 piece set its like 80 bucks comes with what he will need

also grab him a nice size mallet (32 oz) and a 19 and 21 mm wrench he should be good

to go with that and can grab specialty things as he needs them...good luck my ladys

buying me a compressor for xmas


edit here you go http://www.sears.com/craftsman-154-p...p-00935154000P

 

if you can find a good older used set of blackhawk or proto, grab them, I've been beating the hell out of a set for over 20 years, I always dig through the assorted tools bins at pawnshops looking for old proto stuff, it's pro grade just like snap on. I've collected hundreds of their sockets in the last few years, wright tools are also made here and are pro grade stuff.

 

Listen to the man!

 

 

i agree with everyone, craftsman is a great tool set to buy w/ lifetime warrenty. i have alot of craftsman rachets an everytime i break one i just walk in an they replace it with no problems. i also have a 150 peice Husky tool set that i got from home depot with a lifetime warrenty and i love them. set came with 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 in. sockets w/ rachets. 6 metric wrenchs and 6 standard, swivels and more for only like 120 i think. (got it free for payment of a job so i couldnt say no lol) if he uses air tools you could also get him guns and those things too. GL

 

his dad got him a socket wrench set with extensions and stuff but I mainly just wanna get him whatever else he will need to work on it. I know craftsman is good that's mainly what we use. I'm looking for specific tools that he will use besides the basic sockets. Like locking pliers and things that don't come in your average 150 pc set. but things he will use, not things that will sit in the tool box forever.

 

Lost for a while is correct. Craftsman quality has gone down A LOT in the past few years. When I compare my Dad's old craftsman wrenches to the new ones there's a noticeable difference. However, I also agree with everyone else that it's probably the best bang for your buck. For precision tools shop elsewhere. Sockets and wrenches and such, craftsman will be fine for the average person.

 

it just dawned on me my daughter is now 19, I have become the dad with the old craftsman tools.

 

get him a set of these http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=30-13828321-2

and a mallet like i said

maybe a setof picks http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...22-186832429-2

hes gonna need a 19 and 21 mm wrench if his dad didnt get that already

 

air compressor does wonders, i dont know how i worked on car without them before.

 

LOL yea, if you work on Crx's/civics tho at least you're a cool dad.

Here's my list of kinda off tools that I usually use but don't come in any basic kits:
Vice Grips
Impact (screw)driver
Crescent wrench
Snap Ring Pliers (possibly not necessary if he's only doing basic stuff but handy)
Tap and Die set <--Very useful with old cars
EZ out/ Bolt Extractor set <-- Very useful with old cars

Some of this stuff he'll probably be like "oh thanks..." when he first gets it, then when he needs it "OMG you're a lifesaver"

 

look for used pre Irwin tools visegrips, they took an icon of a tool that was unbreakable and turned it into cheap chinese junk, we used to use the real ones for making welding jigs etc, and the chinese ones where it didn't matter if they tore up, now they are one and the same, I have some original ones that are over 40 years old and still work perfectly, the new ones, the jaws don't line up, the teeth strip, and the threads strip out. If they say Peterson on the handle, you are good to go, if they say Irwin, forget it. you will have to get them used, but searching for them is worth it.

 

This made me lol.

 

A good torque wrench, one that goes from 10/20 ft-lbs to at least 100/120 ft-lbs should cover most stuff on the car.

And get him a copy of the Helms manual for the car so he can check what to set the torque wrench to.