Wrench Sets

[Cervidae]

Hi am fairly new to working on my own vehicles. I have always borrowed my fathers set of hand tools. What I interested in purchasing is a set of metric and sae combination wrenches. My question is how big of set should I realistically expect to use on my personal vehicles. How many pieces would you guys recommend for a diy. I've been looking hard at craftsman. Would I expect to use wrenches bigger than 19mm and 7/8 much what do you guys think? Thanks

 

[OxJaw]

Well that depends onwhat kind of vehicles you are working on. I rarely use larger than 7/8, or 19mm but I do occasionally and when you need one well you need it. Anyhow check out these sets from craftsman, they are much better quality than the regular ones and are very reasibaly priced

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185140

 

[fourtythree]

I've never run into a whole lot on my car where I've needed a bigger combo wrench than 19mm. I've been using an Allen usa set I got from cripe a while ago and I've been pretty happy with it. IIRC, I paid twenty some bucks for it. Run of the mill craftsman will serve you well if you can still find a US made set. The new ones are chinese and not all that special compared to the old ones.

 

[dsmnickk90]

Id get 21mm 22mm and 24mm for sure

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

Minimum 1 1/4" SAE, 22mm metric. If you can't find a set that goes quite that high, you can always buy the set, then singles. Not quite as cost-effective but beats stopping a job cold because you need a wrench 1/8" bigger.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

what kind of vheicle? For my Acura, 10-19 is just fine. however I do have wrenches up to 24mm.

 

[glenmore]

7/8" ~ 22mm which is handy for o2 sensors.

 

[otis66]

I would get a metric set up to 24mm and a SAE set up to 1-1/4 inch.

 

[General Geoff]

up to 24mm and 1-1/4" will cover 99% of jobs. The other 1% is wheel bearing retaining nuts and clutch-based cooling fans and crank pulley nuts. These I've found are typically in the 30-36mm range, and probably up to 1-1/2" on older SAE cars.


edit; the clutch fan was the only job I've actually needed a large combo wrench for, the other jobs usually just need a socket.

 

[shoturtle]

Get the largest set you can form craftsman for SAE and Metric. Their 13pc sets of each size is a good starting point. Then add the larger sizes once you determine that 19mm is not large enough.

 

[shockwave]

I would say look at a nice 7-24mm for metric and 1/4-1 1/4 for sae as the only nuts on a car you will be changing larger are egr axle nuts even your average crank bolt it not larger than 27mm/1 1/16 size

 

[shoturtle]

The other question to ask if you need larger wrenches, is how deep do you diy your car?

 

[Rico.]

All of the previous posters have pretty much nailed it. 8mm to 24mm will cover almost
everything. However I recently decided to do a Gearbox oil and filter change on my
ancient BMW and needed a 30mm open end spanner to undo the dipstick tube, so
depending on how much you intend to do even routine jobs can demand odd tools.

The best thing about DIYing, is most of the time you know what job you're going to do
in advance, so just research each job before you start it and discover if you will need a
tool to complete it that you do not have, that way you don't have to spend a squillion
dollars right away to have every tool just in case.

 

[fringeofinsanity]

As others have said, I'd recommend 24mm and 1 1/4". You'll rarely use over 19mm or 7/8 so at a minimum get those, then add as you can. Craftsman is fine for a DIY, but if you aren't in desperate need why not keep an eye out for a better quality used set? A number of people worry about warranting these, but for wrenches, I kind of find that as silly. If im applying enough torque to damage something like a 5/8 wrench, I have a bigger problem, and should be reaching for my ratchet or breaker bar before I bust a knuckle. Just my $0.02

 

[PinkLinc]

Asking this forum how many wrenches you need is like asking a bunch of drunks how much beer you should bring...

 

[AV tinker er]

a squillion dollars right away

What's the current exchange rate on that?

 

[Rico.]

What's the current exchange rate on that?

In England it would get you a Snap On F80 and a hat.

 

[Badger05]

Well that depends onwhat kind of vehicles you are working on. I rarely use larger than 7/8, or 19mm but I do occasionally and when you need one well you need it. Anyhow check out these sets from craftsman, they are much better quality than the regular ones and are very reasibaly priced

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185140

Check out the 17 piece sets available right now in this thread. They're basically the same as the Craftsman RP and are made in USA.

 

[jshtlbt22]

gearwrech standard combos! Way better then craftsman.

 

[dsmnickk90]

You can get the 43pc Craftsman rise panel wrench set for $150 and it covers everything up to 1-5/16" and 32mm for a complete set of USA wrenches you cant beat. As of 2 weeks ago the set I ordered was still USA made but I'm not sure how long they large set of old stock will last before the Chinese wrenches start getting shipped out