Where can I find mechanic tools?

af_thefragile

Apart from Halfords.
I was wondering if there was any other place where I could get tools such as ratchet, wrenches, jacks, torque wrenches etc....
At maybe a better price than Halfords?

Cheers...

Captain Slow IRL

Halfords have very reasonably priced tools, when compared to a lot of motor factors.

If you don't want to invest a lot, discount shops usually have a tool section or you can try aldi or lidl - they can have some interesting purchases from time to time.

EDIT: Forgot about fleabay!

mullingar

For cheap and cheerful light hobby work: Argos/Halfords/Aldi/Lidl/Ebay

For medium to high work: Local motor factors/Ebay.


Avoid the really cheap stuff if you fancy keeping your knuckles attached to your hands.

For low to medium work, I find the Draper stuff fine.

Esel

Sell that shaggin' Puma!

Flesh Gorden

Check out Amazon, I got a Draper Professional set with free delvery for 38 pounds two months ago.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0001K9QEA/ref=oss_product

Excellent quality, came with a few imperial sockets too which have proved pretty handy

sockets go up to 22mm so well capable for any jobs


I bought one of these off ebay too

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380192993997&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2100wt_911

If you haven't heard of Elora have a search on ebay uk, their socket sets range from 200-1300 pounds

It has a 1/2" drive though, I'd a few sockets left over from an aldi impact wrench that failed on me
so keep that in mind if buying something similar - socket set above is 3/8" drive

analfabets

I got TengTools socket set recently. Very happy with it.
At tools.ie you can find a lot of different tools.

af_thefragile

Flesh Gorden wrote: »

Check out Amazon, I got a Draper Professional set with free delvery for 38 pounds two months ago.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0001K9QEA/ref=oss_product

Excellent quality, came with a few imperial sockets too which have proved pretty handy

sockets go up to 22mm so well capable for any jobs


I bought one of these off ebay too

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380192993997&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2100wt_911

If you haven't heard of Elora have a search on ebay uk, their socket sets range from 200-1300 pounds

It has a 1/2" drive though, I'd a few sockets left over from an aldi impact wrench that failed on me
so keep that in mind if buying something similar - socket set above is 3/8" drive

Those Elora stuff is quite pricey for me...
But that Draper stuff looks real good!!

esel wrote: »

Sell that shaggin' Puma!

€1000 and its yours!!

colm_mcm

Nothing wrong with the Halfords set, I completely dismantled a car using a 120 euro set of ratchets and spanners.

kazul

Dismantling is easy, it's the putting back togehter that's tricky :cool:

colm_mcm

Didn't have to worry about that!

af_thefragile

af_thefragile wrote: »

Those Elora stuff is quite pricey for me...
But that Draper stuff looks real good!!



€1000 and its yours!!

If what you say is accurate its only fit for the scrapped or for use as a chicken coop.i

shagman

kazul wrote: »

Dismantling is easy, it's the putting back togehter that's tricky :cool:

That depends on the age of the car ; )

af_thefragile

RoverJames wrote: »

If what you say is accurate its only fit for the scrapped or for use as a chicken coop.i

In 2 years time it'll be the cleanest Puma you can find in Ireland...

For all the mechanical faults it seems to have, the body is surprisingly rust free!
You really have to look hard to find any rust spots and the wheel arches are shiny clean (Rusty wheel arches is a common problem with Puma). Now I'm sure there is going to be considerable amounts of hidden rust I'll discover once I start tackling its rust problem next summer (which would be normal for a 11yr old car). But it shouldn't be too hard getting the body rust free.
Probably get it vinyl wrapped after fixing the rust so the ****e paint work will be hidden under a nice wrap (or if I have the money I could always go for a respray).

Then as I'll get the car mechanically sound this summer, next summer it'll be bodily sound as well and I'll have one clean puma!!!

I might look into rebuilding the gearbox and maybe the engine the summer after next if I'm feeling bold. And once I've done that I'll have a car running like new! And the Puma is a joy to drive!

Paparazzo

McQuillans, there's one in the Blanchardstown Centre near KFC. The hotwings in KFC are class too

Flesh Gorden

af_thefragile wrote: »

You really have to look hard to find any rust spots and the wheel arches are shiny clean (Rusty wheel arches is a common problem with Puma).

Same with most fords, people don't bother cleaning the muck from under the arches, it stays wet and from the sharp edge where the metal is bent it starts to rust

another rust point is where the mudflaps are screwed on,
green moss grows around the screws and starts at the hole

not sure where the jacking point is on a puma, but mondeos and escorts had a lip under the body going the full length of the car
caught my uncle out badly, he changed a wheel and two months later the lip onto the sill had started to bubble and rust

only other place to check for now are under the battery and the spare wheel well.

Probably get it vinyl wrapped after fixing the rust so the ****e paint work will be hidden under a nice wrap (or if I have the money I could always go for a respray).

http://www.carbonskin.co.uk/prices.html - and those are good prices, read a thread from a guy looking to get an Elise in matt black who was getting silly quotes over here

I'd love to do a debadged VAG car in pearl white/black roof so I can see the appeal

I might look into rebuilding the gearbox and maybe the engine the summer after next if I'm feeling bold. And once I've done that I'll have a car running like new! And the Puma is a joy to drive!

If you've the digital gauges you might be able to take one from a newer fiesta, they still use the same IB5 box thats gone into most fords 1.6 and under since the mid 90's

af_thefragile

^Aye cheers.
The Puma's got a lip going the length of the car too for jacking up.
Right now its covered in much so I'll have to clean it up to see how rusty they're.

I'll probably apply a rust protector this summer over the underside and the rust prone areas of the car. Then next summer I can strip it down properly to get to the hidden areas where rust might have been accumilating over the years...

I'm planning on covering it in matt black vinyl. As my car is black, so it should fit in with the black interior paint and I think the Puma would look quite nice in matt black..

And as for rebuilding the gearbox and engine, I'll probably take apart the gearbox at some point and give it an overhaul. Change the bearings, syncro rings and all. The 1.4l isn't a very powerful engine so I presume the gears and shafts shouldn't be too worn out.
The engine on the other hand is quite stressed and tired old lump. It might blow out or seize someday so I don't know how capable of rebuild it might be. Probably might need to find a replacement engine. Probably would need a specialist to find out the health of the engine and see if it can be rebuilt to like new...
If not I'll probably stick a 1.6l engine in it. As the Puma has the same chassis for all the engine sizes, it should be a straight fit. The bit of extra power coupled with the short ratios of the 1.4l gearbox should transform the Puma into a little rocket!!

GTE

The Draper Expert range of tools is very extensive and Im sure you can find decent deals.

The Draper Value range is value for money but dont be surprised if some tools break. Having said that if you find a good place they will replace like for like with no questions asked.

af_thefragile

amazon.co.uk has some really good deals on that draper stuff.
So I guess I'll order most of what I need from them...

Would you recommened an electric impact wrench to be a good investment?
I don't think I can afford to buy a compressor and I wouldn't really have any use for the compressor either apart from the impact wrench...

GTE

af_thefragile wrote: »

amazon.co.uk has some really good deals on that draper stuff.
So I guess I'll order most of what I need from them...

Even the Draper Expert stuff can go wrong and if it does I would wonder about your warranty situation.

Call up a place and say you got a drill or something as a present that broke and ask he could take care of the repair or replacement of it. Though, it would be a tricky area.

Btw. I sold the stuff for about 5 years but I dont have first hand experience on using it nor the real knowledge of what equipment you should need and things but I have to say I never really had much Draper Expert things come back aside from the odd power tool. Draper Expert garden tools were coming back as quick as they went out one day in particular however.

af_thefragile

Warranty would be an issue ordering stuff off amazon.co.uk
I don't know if I'ld send the broken part to draper's office or amazon if they'll send me back a replacement...

I might look around if I can find the tools somewhere in Dublin for a better rate. If not the amazon rates are pretty good and I wouldn't feel too bad if any of the tools broke as they're not that expensive.

GTE

af_thefragile wrote: »

Warranty would be an issue ordering stuff off amazon.co.uk
I don't know if I'ld send the broken part to draper's office or amazon if they'll send me back a replacement...

I might look around if I can find the tools somewhere in Dublin for a better rate. If not the amazon rates are pretty good and I wouldn't feel too bad if any of the tools broke as they're not that expensive.

PM me a set you are interested and Ill try to remember to see what my Draper contact can do for it. It wont be a "ahh sure you know bbk Ill give you a discount" but it will be a genuine price from a dealer who in all respects is very good. He always gave direct replacements on the spot if it was in stock while I worked there and let Draper deal with the crap.

af_thefragile

These are what I was looking at:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0001KA0CM/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
Like for £20 I really wouldn't mind if it broke...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0001K9QEA/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
That's not very expensive either...

And I was looking at a couple of jacks and axle stands and stuff like that I might find useful...

Fishtits

Snap on are good stuff, the problem is that their back up is piss poor.

Its easy to offer a lifetime guarantee.

It seems to be dependent on your local rep.

He may or not visit you.

I buy cheap & cheerful, toss it when it fails and buy a new one.

Snap on stinks of screw me in my experience.

If you want lifetime tools I'd endorse Britool.

corktina

LIDL/ALDI
EBAY
and those nice friendly guys who call you Boss at car shows (with lifetime money back guarantee)

benny_cakes

I have being using Sealey tools for years and they are really good & are widely available from a lot of outlets in Ireland. Just get the catalogue & order what you want! They also always have lots of special offers with discounted prices.

www.sealey.co.uk


this lad in cork also does tools at good prices

http://www.sjebbandsons.com/