When Tools Go Bad

[EricTheCarGuy]

I’ve had lots of broken tools over the years but most recently my AC manifold gauge set let me down. What are your experiences with bad tools?

Topic

[Axel DominatoR]

Confidence in your tools is a common problem, no matter what you do.

I spend some of my time dealing with electronics and a multimeter is one of the essential tools. By having at least two of them I can immediately check if what’s causing an out of range reading is the component or the multimeter. I compare my multimeters every week or so between themselves and against a few precision references to make sure they are both acceptably accurate.

I think my advices for any kind of measurement tool are:
– always have some kind of quick reference that allows you to check if your tool is still reliable
– possibly have a second tool, even a relatively inexpensive one (but not the cheapest, awful quality ones), just to make sure the problem is with the part and not with the tool when something weird happens
– quality tools are generally more reliable and that saves you time in the long run. If they are too expensive, buying two mid-range, decent quality tools can give you the same confidence at the expense of a little time lost comparing the results.

I think this is important for everything, from torque wrenches to gauges.

[Rereonehundred]

When it really really matters, tools are frequently calibrated and certified by external agencies. How often do you think the torque wrenches at NASA are calibrated?

[Its me]

FWIW

When I could not find a tool truck guy, I mailed mine off to the following addresses… Always got new ones in a week or two… MAC was always the fastest (even when I was not in Ohio). I have personally used this to get tools replaced from Snap on, MAC, Cornwell, MATCO and Wright… I have never tried S-K…

I just put them in a USPS flat rate small or medium box (priority mail) and included my name, address and phone number. One time, MAC tools called me to let me know the ratchet I sent them was obsolete and if I would be OK with a slightly different version (which I was :))

I believe if you call Snap on, they will send you a sticker to ship the bad tools back (they cover shipping costs), but I have never done it that way…

Snap On – 1 (877) 740-1900
Snap On RPC ARS
2801 80th ST Dock 8
Kenosha, WI 53143

MAC Tools
Consumer Warranty Returns Department
Mac Tools
4380 Old Roberts Road
Columbus, Ohio 43228

Cornwell tools
Cornwell Tools
667 Seville Road
Wadsworth, OH 44281-1077

MATCO – Have to go to website and manually put in information…
http://www.matcotools.com/CustomerCare/warranty.jsp

Wright Tools
Wright tool company
1 Wright Drive
Barberton, OH 44203 -2798

SK – Never have sent any back… I believe they charge $5 “processing/handling” fee…

SK Hand Tool LLC
1600 South Prairie Drive
Sycamore, IL 60178
 

[Andrew Thompson]

I think one has to have a feeling for the tools being used as well as the thing being repaired.

I had a “cheap” compression tester and nearly condemned a perfectly good engine. The manufacturers had used a tyre type of Schrader valve which has a very much stronger spring in it that takes about 100 psi before it will let air in! I only felt I had a problem when I observed how it pumped up.

To confirm my feelings on the compression tester I turned to my cheap leak down tester. Well that was an even bigger waste of time. I ended up having to modify that as the way it was set up it was never going to work at all…

On the other hand I learnt a lot and after modifying both tools I am now happy with them..

[SpawnedX]

I have the Mastercool set and I am very happy with it Eric.

[dan]

ooh yea… very furmilure subject, when tools go bad… i think we can all tell stories about this, you use something it wears out, and i guess it also depends if the tool is abused or if the tool may be some off brand pile of junk bought because its some cheep bargain tool! all sorts of factors determine the life of a tool, but at some point, its a object, nothing is invincible, it breaks… just like the car you are using that tool too fix, just another reality and yea it sure can put you in a pinch too. 🙂

[EricTheCarGuy]

Thanks for the info ToyotaKarl!

I think this topic boils down to 2 things. Confidence in the tools you’re using, and the quality of the tools you’re using. I think both things feed off of each other. Some of it is perception, but I think most of it has to do with the build quality of your tools. I feel that you truly get what you pay for in most cases and my experience with my Harbor Freight gauges proves that to some degree.

[dan]

yep, harbor freight is cheep but there is a reason why… wasn’t trying too sound like a basher because it seems a lot of people like harbor freight but i just have experiences with them as my grandfather also frequents there because the tools are so cheep, there Voltmeters SUCK! my instructor got us a set of voltmeters as a reward for passing our electrical Certifications from harbor freight, i used it maybe on a couple of cars too check battery voltage and well the wires fell out of the connectors that go into it, yea… he told me too just use the shop voltmeter because those ones where junk cheep o voltmeters from harbor freight :silly: i didn’t want too look a gift horse in the mouth but my thought process was then why did you vet voltmeters from harbor freight?

my theory on harbor freight is unlike professional tools people typically use them once too fix there cars and once they have used them they just sit somewhere for a long time until they are dragged out again years later, while a technician like for example me with the Voltmeter use them too FREQUENTLY test and work on cars and after the 5th car or so they just break. i think this is why a lot of the tools and stuff that is sold at harbor freight get away with being so cheeply made… this could be a interesting ETCG1 Descussion now that i think about it :huh: anyway glad this topic came up, it reminds me i have too pick up a belt tensioner from Orellys that i bought 😆

[asetoftools]

What a coincidence! I have 3 or 4 tire pressure gauges (they are gauge dial type) and none of them agree. They span about a 10psi range.

I have been thinking for weeks how I could know which one is correct… Any ideas? I don’t have any air compressor but i have access to one. It doesn’t have a valve stem like adaptor though…

[Glenn]

Maybe my post is more pertinent to weekend warriors and DIYers as opposed to some of you career mechanics. One has to be extremely careful when renting tools or obtaining them through a loaner program from an Auto Parts store. Recenty, my son drove in with his 2.4 Cavalier running extremely bad. We had replaced all ignition components within the past 10k miles or so. We decided to start with a quick health check on the engine since it has high mileage by doing a compression test. The gauge was obtained from Autozone. A couple of the cylinders showed no compression and a couple others very low compression. We almost condemned the engine! I decided to pull a plug on another vehicle nearby that is in good health. The rental compression gauge was bad. We purchased a new one and it showed the 2.4 engine was fine. So use rental/ loaner tools at your own risk.

Eric this was a great video. Thanks also for being honest about Harbor Freight tools. As a non professional it isn’t always financially prudent to invest in expensive tools. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have a tool box full of Snap-On tools. But I don’t use those tools every day like a career mechanic.

One additional Harbor Freight tool thought….I would definitely steer clear of their torque wrenches. I’ve had them fail after only a couple uses and cause me to over-torque things.

Thanks Eric

[Kurtis]

For me when it comes to tools I go with what I like, then cost, application of the tool, and how hard is it to replace it. Reviews help a lot. I might want that $5,000 snap on scanner. But it’s not practical for the weekend warrior. For sockets, I know I will likely loose them or break them. So a $60 Stanley set at walmart has done me fine. Though I will likely upgrade to Kobalt soon. For my torque wrench I use on lug nuts I bought a Kobalt. I have a Lowes across the street and the warranty is great. I couldn’t bring myself to spend $140 for a torque wrench that I will likely only use a few times out of the year on a not as critical application. Now if I was doing heads or manifolds I will spend that kind of money because I’m paying for peace of mind.

The most aggravating and could have been life threatening failure I have experienced was when I used a laptop based program called OBDWiz and a USB based adapter. I was dealing with a intermittent sticking throttle issue two years ago. I plugged in and started monitoring O2 readings, engine load, ect. Suddenly the car started to have an erratic idle that would shoot up to 2,000RPM and the check engine light was on. I disconnected the software and it stopped. I realized it ran fine with another laptop. I hadn’t had this laptop long so I read up on my laptop and noticed that there was a power saving feature that was enabled for USB on my laptop, it was likely reducing the power to the USB adapter and that made the car mad. So uninstalling the power saving program made it work again. I also reinstalled the drivers to make sure it was good to go, and reset KAM on the car by disconnecting the battery. The sticking throttle, turned out that the throttle body needed cleaned.

[Frank]

Great video ETCG, I have a feeling this video will spark a lot of discussion and debate.

Personally I’m am not to professional tech., just a culinary graduate and a DIY’er who from time to time will pick up a few bucks working on friends cars. And I do believe that if turning a wrench is how you provide for your family then it would be foolish not to invest in quality tools. As a chef I need my knifes and it wasn’t easy to save up 3 grand for a 4 knife set, but boy did it pay off. At the same time I have had a 6 month old half inch snap on sock split in half trying to break a lug nut free, but my el chepo from HF which I still have did the job. Here is what I learned about HF tools they are a hit or miss and what I do is once I break the HF tool then I know I used it enough and its time to invest in something of better quality. BTW can’t tell you how many professional shops I see using their HF 3 ton jacks 😛

[Jonathan]

I’ll chime in on this one.
I’ve seen this happen in Aviation a few times. Not so much with tools, but with test equipment.

1: Aircraft need annual checks on their altimeters and airspeed indicators. These tests are done with a test set that applies vaccume and pressure on rubber hoses to the aircraft’s air pressure sensors. Most the time when there is a problem we spend at least an hour figureing out if the problem is the aircrat or the hoses.

2: The navigation radios also need preiodic checks. We use a test set that simulats a ground beacon to aid in runway alignment for landing. On night at work, we had this aircrat that showed that it was off centere on the gauge. We tried another test set, and same thing. Tried a third test set and all was well. The older test sets that we had, would loose their calibration after only a few weeks. The cal sticker says its good for way longer then that. The one that worked was a newer style test set.

3: Once trying to calibrate a stabalizor I couldn’t get it to adjust properly. I thought the amplifier controller was faulty, until the next day the guys on the next shift showed that it was just a bent pin on the connector on the test set we were using.

A Few times when these test sets break, you know they are broke right away. Either they won’t turn on, due to a dead battery or some other kind of fault that’s obvious. Other times its been subtle. Normally when we suspect this we can swap out the test set. I’ve actually started putting the Serial number for the tester into the fault writeups when I do find a fualt so that if some one tests it with a different one, and cant see the fault they know it was just the tester.

In military aviation we arn’t allowed to use our own tools. All the tools we use are supplied by either the US Army (Or the Air Force when I was active duty) or by our employer. For a short while I worked for an airline, that let us use our own tools. Of course torque wrenches and test equipment was provided by the employer so they could keep track of calibration dates ect. It worked so much better when we could have our own tools though. But that’s a rant for a different thread.

[EricTheCarGuy]

Keep the posts coming. I may not respond to all of them but I am reading. It’s nice to know this video has sparked a nice discussion. Thanks to everyone that’s participating. It makes for a good read and in many ways confirms my suspicions about this topic.

Thanks again.

[Author]

Replies