mike9186

In the almost 2.5 years of 964 ownership I have slowly acquired a modest set of garage tools. I discovered a Harbor Freight close to my office and now I'm hooked! Even though everything is cheap as chips I never leave the store spending less than $100. I am a weekend warrior who doesn't need FaCom or Snap-on quality/precision/performance/cost and to date nothing I have bought from HF has failed me.

In a few weekends I plan on doing the Cam housing gaskets, oil return line (Which means dropping the heat exchangers) and the power steering pump gaskets. I'm fairly certain I have all the tools I need but my question is:

What things have you bought from Harbor Freight that have worked well in maintaining your car?

ECS Tuning

At one point in its serviceable life, every Harbor Freight tool in existence will be used as a hammer.

Laker

Not a fan to be honest. 98% is Chinese junk IMO. Buy nice or buy twice. My buddy says, if it works out of the box, you are ahead of the game.

Our friends at GarageJournal have kept a running log:

p5th

^lmao,so so true. Or thrown across the yard while knuckle is bleeding.

Richard Curtis

To be perfectly honest, I've never had a HF tool fail, although I admit that have all that many and I don't use them often. Most (all?) of what they sell is very cheaply made.

chris951

I've had mixed thoughts about HF tools. My 1/2" deep impact sockets are awesome, not impressed with any of the 3/8" or 1/4" stuff. I like their aluminum jacks, and their die/tap sets. I bought an airbrush with compressor and it works really well. If it is a tool you use all the time , get a good tool, but if you just need it once or twice, HF is the way to go

MKS_Performance

Many-O-Time we need something from them in a hurry. It helps that they're a mile away.

Gator996

I bought some duct tape there once. Of course theirs was "Duck" tape. It didn't stick worth a damn. But, my screwdrivers have held up.

96740

A friend of mines wife is the main accountant there. She tells a cool story about going through the process of ordering a Gulfstream G5 for the owner a few years back. How fun would that be?

FeralComprehension

Torque wrenches are ok, believe it or not. Mebbe not for engine assembly, but ok for wheel install.

Dead-blow hammers not so hot.

AVOID the spring compressors; had a set get stripped threads in the *compressed* position (that was fun).

Blast cabinet only ok. Leaks, crap light.

Press ok for as often as I use it.

Rocket Rob

I too have had mixed successes. I will buy something there if its a special thing that I only need once and if it fails, it won't be a big deal. Anything critical, I spend the money and buy quality tools.

LouZ

I have 2 classes of tools:
Good and expensive for my high use tools
HF for the rarely used ones

I also have tools that I got from HF that I have yet to use...however, if I need one in the middle of a job, I don't need a 2 hour delay while I run out for a one time use.

The Porsche gets wrenched with their 32 and 36 mm open ends when I have to break the big oil line. It works perfectly, and didn't cost a million bucks!

ja78911sc

Torque wrench story:

I work in the heavy duty truck industry. We have 30 professional techs that do engine and transmission work.

Twice a year we have all of the techs torque wrenches tested. I took my Harbor Freight torque wrench to work the day we had them tested.

Of the thirty some wrenches tested, my wrench was the only torque wrench out of spec. My wrench is used for lugs only and I back it off after every use.

At 100 ft lbs. it was actually 72 ft lbs. The testing firm said this is a common result when testing china made torque wrenches. He said it was not worth re-calibrating the wrench.

I purchased a new wrench which was made in the U.S.A. It was five times the price of a Harbor wrench but always tests within spec.

Lesson learned

Silvertarga

Seems everyone has the blue floor jack, thinking about the nose hair trimmer...

axl911

Two thumbs up to HF for cheap and useful tools. Their tools worked well and last a long time in my experience. I still have the electric impact wrench that I took apart my 964 and 993 with. And it still works.

However, I have to admit that HF tools work 90% of the time. Of the 5% where things are stuck, rusted, impossible to get off you need good quality tools.

This past weekend, two pieces saved my ***. First was a Knipex Cobra plier that bit into an allen head bolt on the 993 valve cover that was rounded. I thought nothing would get it out. The Knipex was small enough to get into the space and bit (actually tear) into the bolt and broke it loose.

Second was Snap-on flank drive plus combo wrench in removing my exhaust. The 13mm nut was rusty and overtightened by me. I can feel my GearWrench combo wrench begin to slip. Out comes the snap-on. It again bit into the nut and broke it loose.

They say you get what you pay for. HF is for 90% of the time and only used once/disposable items. But when I can, I shell out lots more $$$$ for the good stuff that won't leave me unable to complete a project.

Here is the Cobra. These are the best. Even better than vice grips.


And the snap-ons.