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I got hired on as a C tech, but for the most part it’s all oil changes and tires, and for this reason I tend to keep double-ended box wrenches in my back pocket, a set of four of ’em covers drain bolts from 12 to 19, along with two torque sticks, a valve stem puller, and in my side pocket my wheel weight hammer. It’s a bit bulky but I prefer it to leaving them on my box.
It seems to become a bit of an issue when you start going to pull a customer car into the bay though, what happens if you put a hole in their seat or drop a tool or two in there getting in and out? Still though, knowing this, I find myself forgetting to empty my pockets before I go to pull the car out of my bay or if I have stuff in my pocket when I grab a job from the counter.
Anyone else have this issue? Any solutions like a small tool belt that’s not too bulky that you wear throughout the day?
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In all my years in the auto service industry, I have never seen a technician with a tool belt. Nor would I suggest one. You are always getting in and out of vehicles, leaning over fenders, etc… I own a body shop and when I get to work, the first thing I do is remove everything from my pockets and put them in my desk. I don’t want to lose anything in the customers cars and I also don’t want to damage any new paint. Just get in the habit of cleaning out your pockets and not putting tools there. Plus, all the solvent and other chemicals that are on your tools will eventually wear a hole in your pockets. Since we are talking about things getting in the way, I would like to make another point: Sometimes it is cold in the shop and you might want to wear some kind of hoodie or sweatshirt. If it has drawstrings for the hood, pull them out! I make all of my techs do this the first day they come in with one. Imagine leaning over a running engine to inspect it and your dangling strings get caught in one of the pulleys! Ouch! I hope this helps.
I would just keep the most used things in the top shelf of the cabinet. That way it is easily accesible.
Many years ago I adopted a nerdy pocket protector just because a tech put a pen thru a car seat. One of my tech friends always takes off his belt before doing anything in the shop. The best bet by far is an empty pocket.
Remove your jewelery too. I know of a guy who lost a finger by jumping of the running board of a parked semi…
I don’t know of a perfect answer to the problem but it seems to me that your current method could lead to problems with oil stains, torn seats, etc.
One customer losing it over a problem like that could mean unemployment.Back when I worked for dealers and wore a belt I would even place the buckle on the side of the pants and leave the shirt tail untucked so as to cover any snaps or zippers. Also no rings and no watches.
Just go buy a cheap no frills tool cart. Or a used one. Keep the tools you use repeatedly in it. They really make roaming around the shop way easier. And later on when your doing other stuff, like doing rear brakes you can just use the cart as your workbench and keep it right beside you.
The dealer I work for is a Ford dealer but we treat EVERY car like a BMW. We would get reemed for sitting in a car with tools in our pockets. We HAVE to use cloth seat covers and fender covers on EVERY car.
Before things changed there we had no asigned bays and had to lug our tools around. I have a bigger box and it got old quick. I bought a 3 drawer mac cart off the tool guy for 100 bucks. Made 4 payments on it and a month later I owned it. Buying a small cart is a lot cheaper than buyng a seat cover or a console due to scratches or tears!
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