Amber Gramps

most of my tools came from my grandfathers and are craftsman. I am lucky and have a orchard supply store about a mile away and often end up with 2nd 3rd and 4th boxed speed wrenches that I figured my kids had lost. I'm thinking power tools for home depot. ie grinders and the like.

my best tool is a 3/8 drive mini swivel that fits into every little spot. that, and the 3 foot galvanized pipe I use on my chevy.

douglas

'88 porsche I'm takin' to olive garden with the top down tonight.

SeanR

Didn't see this suggested, but a good repair manual would be a great starting point. It will help you get familiar with what's what and some of the how too's.

When I have some free time, I grab my 928 CD manual, pop it in the computer and just read it. If I see something that I don't know what it is, I'll go take a look and compare what my car has and what the manual states it does.

Good time waster and you learn as you go.

Ed Hughes

Actually, Sears is having a tool sale now, but not 1/2 price......

This is kind of the sort of set I was thinking of, a pretty good array or sockets, combinations whenches, etc. IMO, $350 is 1/2 the price you'd pay putting an assortment together. Then, of course, you need a toolbox. I've got Home Depot's roll arounds, but Lowe's has'em and Costco may be a good source too.

If HD or Lowes has similar tool sets, they'd be fine too.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Ed Hughes

The 101 Projects for 911s was mentioned earlier, but the Bentley book is great too, and much more detailed for larger repairs. Wish they did one for 928's too, actually.

Oshin11

Thanks! I do have both books, Bent and 101 projects. So I guess I should go for those few extra pieces and pay the $350? I will try using my jack again to lift the car but will place a block of wood to get more lift. I'll see if I can get it on jack stands today.

Oshin11

Got the rear on stands, I decided to stop being a pansy and ignore the little creaking noises (probably noises from just being an old car). My jack does tend to give up at the upper limit of its lift so I could not get the rear as high as I would like. Actually I would like to get the rear wheels off the ground but I don't think that will be happening with any floor jack that I could afford. This has given me enough room to change my oil as a starter project to give me confidence even though I don't need one right now. After that we'll see what happens!

Ed Hughes

Your call on the tools....the $149 kit would get you started, but the larger sets give you more of the accessories that you'll need when you're working in awkward positions and such. IMO, $350 is not a bad amount to spend to get a decent tool set going. Actually, there are more expensive sets that get into more specialized tools, but some of those, as well as some of the ones in this set, you won't ever use.

Shoot, I went into Sears yesterday to get a set of hooks for removing O-rings and spent $60 on a few little odds and ends. It never stops.

theiceman

Oshin

A 15" jack and a block of wood should get your car WAY off the ground.

Ed Hughes

Oil change....probably the ultimate starter project!

The first step down the slippery slope. I love it!!

Oshin11

I don't know what youre talking about the jack was almost completely vertical. I can't see how 15" is enough play to get through the shock play and get the wheels off the ground. Maybe I will just try a different jack later tonight.

theiceman

the one I just picked up on the weekend lifts to 15" and with my piece of 2*6 under the sump plate the wheels were about 5" off the ground.

Oshin11

How thick is the piece of wood you're putting between the jack and the sump? 5"? haha. With just a piece of newspaper between the sump and the jack I cant even the the wheels 1 inch off the ground I think its the jack but maybe I just need a very large, thick wood block?

SeattlePorsche

Oshin, don't max out the jackstands. Make sure when you try to shake the car when on stands that it doesn't move at all, else start over. I am kind of a scaredy cat when it comes to going under the car. If you take off the tires, stick them under the car to protect you from a jack stand failure. And I always have the jack itself somewhere under the car with the handle locked as an emergency backup.

Iceman, your hockey puck has taken on new dimensions!

SeattlePorsche

Your 2 ton jack is enough. If you ever drop the engine you will probably resort to blocks of wood on top of the jack to give you extra lift.

I agree with Craftman tools. It is almost all I buy. All their hand tools are guaranteed for life. I just bring in for instance an allen socket head that looks stripped and they just say go get a new one. No receipt, nothing. The only thing they don't cover are their torque wrenches.

Always go with their kits as opposed to a single tool. Much cheaper in the long run. I use pretty much the 3/8 metric sockets, the biggest collection of their metric wrenches with one closed head, collection of screwdrivers. Get a good tool box. I wish I spent the little extra for the roller bearing drawers, because if my pants get stuck on the non-bearing drawers they get bent and broken. My most important tool is the handle on my jack. It is hollow aluminum and comes apart in two pieces and is a great breaker bar for more leverage (craftsman). Let's see, what else? No need for crescent wrenches. Oh, a 3/8 allen head socket kit, ball pein hammer (big), big rubber soft hammer. When you get the wrenches, get the one with the most sizes because you will use them all, from removing shocks to bleeding brakes. Oh and a craftman LED flashlight that is rechargable. It has a read handle and looks like a light stick. I really found the craftsman deep offset boxer metric wrenches a godsend.

All this is still cheaper than a day's labor in the pro mechanics garage.

Oshin11

Ok so I have decided what I am going to buy. It looks like the craftsman $147 263 piece set or the $350 283 piece set. I did not like the craftsman jacks at all so I will be buying a husky jack with husky jackstands from Home Depot. The jack is $99 and the jackstands are $10 each I think. Anyone not recommend husky jacks?