Powerbuilt

[young_buck]

Looking for reviews on powerbuilt specialty tools. I can get them at the local Canadian tire, I've bought a tube bender there but haven't been able to use it enough to develop an opinion on it.. They will see a fair but of use as I am a mechanic by trade and do my own work and work on my friends vehicles. Will they hold up? Or should I spend the extra on OTC or lisle?

 

[3rdbuttondown]

Advance Auto Parts uses them as their "loaner" tools.

Ratchets got a pretty good review is a recent "shootout" in one popular magazines.

...but, no personal experience.

 

[unslow1]

They are hit or miss. They can strip/gall pretty easy if you don't lube the threads. I really like the serpentine belt tool kit. I think I got it for about $30.

 

[young_buck]

I was looking at their serpentine belt kit and the master disconnect kit but wanted to see if anyone had some experience with them I might just spring for the lisle kits

 

[Farmall450]

The Gearwrench serpentine kit is quite excellent, many brand rebrand it as their own.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I've used some of their specialty tools. No complaints on cylinder hones (engine & brake), pullers, and a bunch of stuff I can't remember off the top of my head. Haven't broken anything yet.

 

[dankicksass]

The Powerbuilt tools I have used all performed the job adequately. The Gearwrench serpentine kit is great. Master disconnects are all the same.

 

[young_buck]

Well, the real world experiences are better than I expected! Usually when it comes to specialty tools the only brand people will recommend to me is snap on but my equis stuff does the job for me, just wanted opinions on another brand I can get locally, thanks!

 

[rmsg0040]

I own their:

axle socket set -- pass
slide hammer kit -- pass, used this pass Wednesday to remove rear bearings and seals on my Trailblazer

I used their spring compressor and give it a pass, borrowed from partsource
I used their ball joint kit and give it a pass, borrowed from partsource

Most of their stuff is made in Tawain and I suspect their stuff is made by a common manufacturer.

Look locally or on ebay and you can get kits for a fair price.

 

[young_buck]

I was just looking on their website, they've got a few kits I wouldn't mind having.. Hearing positive feedback has convinced me to pick some of them up

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I also have their Valve spring compressor and compression test kit (almost 10 years old now) that have been great.
As stated before, they're good quality (especially for the price). Equal with Lisle, OEM, and OTC on many specialty tools. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

[Gregg33]

They are fairly low quality imo. When I worked at China Tire years ago, many of the loan-a-tool Powerbuilt pullers were returned stripped. At least 2 or 3x I had to order the replacements for them, I'm guessing other employees had to as well. The other tools, like the sockets seemed to be ok. They did have nice cases though. FYI you can actually order the loan-a-tool style tools from Cdn Tire, you aren't limited to just the regular Powerbuilt stuff on the shelf. We always joked that Powerbuilt and All Trade were the crappiest tools, but sold the best.

 

[woodstockva]

I bought a set of their Honda ball joint adapters for my ball joint press & they worked fine.

 

[Super Sport]

I used one of their pullers on loan from the local auto parts store, and was pretty impressed, so I went and bought my own. Thinking of it now, one was a different brand than the other, but they were identical and came in the same case with the same part #.

I'm just a DIYer so it doesn't see much use, but I can't complain. I also don't use an impact with it, so can't comment on how well it would take the abuse.