what snapon tools should i buy for 50% off?

[shorestiva]

I'd go crazy without it. The dealership I work at has a hard on for GMs and its a royal pita to bleed the air out on the 3.4s and 3.8s unless you have that.

[yunvmyegt]

really i never had a problem with air in gm's its always the imports with the to many hoses and thermostat on the lower hose.... while im thinking about it, find one of these on the truck, i got 2 of them, one for work and home...lol... theyre cheap like 25 bucks a piece....

http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24610-Spill-Free-Funnel/dp/B001A4EAV0

[me19875]

hmm, lots of good advice so far. i'm gonna hold off on the standard stuff and get the non flex ratcheting wrenches instead. what do you guys think about the 3/8 ratchet? standard or locking flex head? and standard length vs long? i'm definitely getting a 1/4 and 3/8 ratchet, but should i really get a half inch? i figure, most stuff that you need a half inch for you can usually just use an impact gun for instead. (i also already have a set of craftsman ratchets).

i'm definitely not getting a snapon box. and i definitely need some air ratchets, any suggestions on those? they have like 5 different models. i haven't used them very much.

80 tooth ratchets are a must, get all the sizes, you can.... i probably have about a grand in ratchets alone.....lol.... but they last sooo much longer....as far as metric and standard ratcheting wrenchs, unless you need standard dont waste your money, i have a very very limited selection of standard anything. why not get the gear wrench sets tho sears had them on sale a few weeks ago way less than on the truck.... and snap on will warranty them.... save where ya can, but get what ya need... another thing to get is the half deep socket sets in 1/4 and 3/8 theyre very nice to have, i almost dont even use my normal sets anymore.... as far as a gun, go to sears and get the one that resembles the ir 2835 or what ever , its like 200, buy the 3yr warranty and turn it in every year, i throw mine across the floor under the lifts all day long, for the past few yrs, its very durable.... and lighter.... besides that, buy anything you can thats in the repo bin on the truck, i do every time they come around and always get a hell of a deal....

snapon warranties gearwrench tools? i already have a nice IR 1/2 impact, and just need a 3/8 impact. i just realized that the snapon one is cheaper than the IR one i want with the discount so i'll prolly get that.

[FazdaBoy4ever]

the snapon MG line impact guns are amazing, with the muffler on (cotton in the exhaust) its a decent volume and it blows a co-workers IR out of the water... as far as speed, comefort, and power.

I find a 1/2" ratchet is very useful, I like to use it on things like brake caliper bolts, I once grabbed my gun every time I needed to do brakes, but Ive found by the time I got the right socket setup on the wobble and I fight to get the socket on the bolts I could have done it just as quick with a ratchet, but with a ratchet I know how tight the bolt is back on, and brakes are one of those things I like to know they are together right.

my only 3/8ths ratchet as of now is a locking flex head... its nice, its not perfect at all... when you have it in the unlocked position its really easy to bump the lock into the locked position, which can be irritating, but its an amazing ratchet that I have never had a problem with. it is one of the reasons I only have one, I havent felt the need to get a different one. I believe my ratchet is a standard length for the flex head and it does awesome.

One thing I have fallen in love with are 1/4" drive shallow wobble sockets. They are on the top of my list, there are so many places that you cannot even get a shallow socket on let alone a ratchet on the socket. not something you will use super regularly but when you do it will save you ALOT of time and frusteration.

[me19875]

hmm, now i'm thinking interchangeable snap ring pliers vs fixed?

[yunvmyegt]

the fixed sets are fine, you can warranty them anyways...... something else to get, is a powerprobe, get the one with the digital read out i think its a powerprobe 3..... but if your goin to do electrical anything its a good tool, i use mine every day...

[FazdaBoy4ever]

above all, this just hit me, make sure you dig the distrubutor at the dealership your working at (if your still at one i remember hearing about difficulties you were having).

for myself I absolutely love matco's website, you can order off the website and see the discouted price on the website unlike any other manufacturer... BUT my matco distributer is a total douche bag and I dont want to have ANYTHING to do with him, even if its just warranty stuff.

I started my tools with a huge 3000 dollar (my cost) order of snapon stuff only to find my snapon distributor was kinda flakey and the mac guy I have found to be awesome, good guy all around. So now I have given him the rest of my buisness.

[SgtRauksauff]

I think you should grab some tools from different vendors besides just snapon, in their truck if need be, and figure out which ones fit the best. I really don't like certain MAC wrenches, as they have a very sharp edge to the grip area, which puts pain in your hands when wrenching hard.

some ratchet handles just feel wrong in my hands, while others feel great. For this kind of investment, don't get something that's going to annoy you for years, just because you can get a deal.

--sarge

[yunvmyegt]

sunex is good and cheap, i have thier crows foot sets and line wrench set. the guy i work with has their wrench set and impact set, theyre like 10 yrs old and great shape for everyday use .... and hes more abusive on stuff than i am...lol... im buying a new set of impacts so i can bring mine home for good, those will deffinatly be sunex too, the price and qualitys just worth it

[me19875]

yea, i'm not at the dealership anymore. i got laid off right before christmas break last year. and i'm glad. i actually just stopped by there the other day to pick up some wiper blade inserts for my car. (toyota wipers are the **** and the replacement inserts are dirt cheap) and i guess they are still doing shiitty and there's just no work.

i'm currently at a les schwab. which is in reality way cooler than it sounds. a great place to start out getting paid hourly to become an expert at breaks and suspension. and they treat their employees well.

the only vendor that visits our school more than once a year is a snapon guy. there's also a different snapon guy that visits my work. i just want to buy any snapon stuff i think i'll ever really want right now, cause i probably won't be buying much of their stuff in the future. it just won't be worth it. they give us a much larger discount than any of the other vendors that deal with our school. once i'm out of school i'll likely start buying stuff from companies like sunex, sk, proto etc. they have really good stuff too, and cheaper than snapon.

edit: i actually just now signed up for the matco student discount. i'm gonna spend some time looking through their stuff.

[sweetmeatz]

IMO i would grab a 1/2 inch "TECHWRENCH" with the torque-angle!!..