Practical Automotive Maintenance: Required Equipment
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Required Equipment
02.31
| 00:00 | Although certain tools are required to successfully carry out the maintenance work covered in this course, it's certainly nothing extravagant, and there's a good chance you've already got most of it in your garage anyway. |
| 00:10 | Let's quickly run through what we should have on hand before we get started. |
| 00:13 | The foundation of all automotive work begins with general purpose hand tools. |
| 00:18 | This includes a pry bar and a good set of spanners, as well as a ratchet, a breaker bar, and the sockets to use with them. |
| 00:25 | Because we take our vehicles seriously, tightening by feel isn't going to cut it either. |
| 00:29 | There's just too much to go wrong. |
| 00:31 | That means a decent torque wrench is essential, allowing you to tighten nuts and bolts to the exact right torque specs as defined by the manufacturer. |
| 00:39 | C-clamps and pliers of different types, needle nose, locking, and circlip are always useful, while a set of allen keys is also useful for hexagonal fasteners commonly found in engine bays. |
| 00:57 | A lot of the work you're going to be doing in this course requires the car to be off the ground. |
| 01:05 | And if you don't have access to a hoist, you're going to need a decent hydraulic trolley jack and a set of jack or axle stands to provide a stable and safe means of support. |
| 01:14 | Wheel chocks are also needed to prevent accidental movement if only one end of the car is lifted. |
| 01:19 | For oil and fluid work, an oil filter wrench makes removal of filters straightforward, while a funnel and drain pan are essential for safe and clean handling of used fluids. |
| 01:29 | For any electrical or ignition system work, a multimeter and timing light are cheap investments that will remove a lot of the guesswork from your time in the workshop. |
| 01:37 | And if you're working with more modern cars, an OBD2 scanner is going to be indispensable, allowing you to check any fault codes that your vehicle is throwing up to hopefully pinpoint the problems quickly. |
| 01:47 | Although these devices used to be extremely pricey, and some still are, there's plenty of affordable options on the market these days. |
| 01:55 | There are also some more specialist tools that are going to make certain jobs we cover in this course much easier, including a vacuum coolant filler, a pressure brake bleeder, a ball joint separator, and a bushing press. |
| 02:06 | We'll cover the use of these tools in more detail later in the course. |
| 02:10 | Lastly, PPE, meaning personal protective equipment, isn't glamorous, but the right coveralls, gloves, safety glasses, and hearing protection make life in the garage or workshop that much better. |
| 02:21 | Although none of the tools we've discussed are particularly expensive, as with most things in life, it's always smart to buy the best equipment that you can afford. |
