Help first Mechanic Tech. job!

[Exodus_2pt0]

Snap on ratchets are the only way to go. I have a couple from WWII era that were passed down and I still use them daily. I haven't had a single ratchet I purchased new last more than 10 years of daily use.

Everything else, craftsman.

Air tools, Ingersoll Rand.

If you want to turn wrenches, get used to spending money on tools. Don't be surprised if you encounter the 3 time rule. Borrow a tool 3 times, and you obviously need to buy it. Many techs go by this, if you spent the money on a tool then you want to be the one making money off of it.

Unless you are a helper getting an hourly rate while the tech you are with gets flat rate off your work. This is the way to go starting out. It will allow you to learn and buy you time for getting a collection of tools built up.

[kickinindian]

It is more of a helper kinda deal for now dropping trannys and engines it seems mostly I get hourly pay and seems like a quiet place to work I really hope it works out

Dropped my first tranny in two hours idk if that's fast or slow 😅

[DREWHALL]

How big was he? That will give us a better idea if you did well with your first tranny.

[kickinindian]

early 90's Auto Ford f-150 4x4 larait C6 i believe...

[gotane30]

How big was he? That will give us a better idea if you did well with your first tranny.

Phrasing

[DREWHALL]

Yeah I did that on purpose. Guess it wasn't well perceived.

[kickinindian]

Yeah I did that on purpose. Guess it wasn't well perceived.

Lol I got just not then

[mitchlikesbikes]

if you're doing it on a budget then the only way to go is to research and research and research. i've been working on heavy equipment for about a month now so i don't know much about longevity but i do know that the deals on harbor freight tools are great in some cases. their ratchets, screwdrivers, and stuff like that isn't really good. but i've found that their impact sockets, earthquake impact guns, and pliers get solid reviews and are very affordable. most of my tools are harbor freight and craftsman at the moment, but with the pricing and ease of warranty exchange it's worth it for me. especially since i haven't had to sell my soul to the tool truck guy yet.

also from what i've heard from the other guys at my shop our cornwell guy is decent, mac guy is a bit dodgy, and nobody else (matco, snap on, etc) even bothers showing up to warranty tools. i like snap on stuff but if nobody will even show up at my shop to warranty their shit i can't justify buying much of it when it's 400% the price of craftsman or harbor freight for most stuff. and it's not always 400% as good from what i've read/heard. i have most of what i need to do my job for a while, most of it is lifetime warrantied, and i've spent less than $1000 so far not counting my box.

i do have snap on boxes for both home and work though because of the quality and resell value involved.

basically bottom line for me is if it's something that is easy to take care of and make it last, like toolboxes, ratchets, cordless drills, etc, i will buy nicer stuff. but if it's something that i beat the shit out of on a daily basis (impact sockets, mallets, flashlights, etc) i will buy cheap because i don't want to ruin the expensive stuff.

[DREWHALL]

I'm mixed on the heavy use items. I work on all sorts of stuff from digger derricks and bucket trucks(international, freightliner, etc.) to small Honda generators and of course automotive. If it's something I'm just beating the piss out of, yeah I can live with cheaper stuff. If it's something that's designed to be used hard and I need to rely on it, spend a little more.

[jalopi]

Did you start from 100% scratch? That's actually not bad at all. Veteran guys can shave anywhere between 30-60 mins off your time, but that's still plenty respectable.

Then again, that kinda trans is only second to a 2wd version in terms of ease of R&R. Let us know how you do with pulling a FWD trans and that'll be a good indicator of how quick you are, though imma guess it'll also be reasonably quick.

Do you guys also rebuild trannies? Or just do jasper/junkyard units?

[kickinindian]

well ive done a couple engine swaps on the e30 and a couple tranny changes but never worked on a ford truck, so i have some previous experience but nothing commerical.

yea the shop was started by the now retired father of the current owner, he taught his son to rebuild trannies (he hates Getrags lol). its cool to see him work on em. but we also do normal stuff as well which is pretty much why im there, so its only me and him.

[Coupelx]

A cordless 3/8 impact will be your best friend!

[jalopi]

watch a few videos / read a bit on rebuilding 4L60's and 4TXX's, considering GM still makes them you should be seeing a decent number of them coming in. i'm sure your boss will appreciate the initiative as well

learn how to rebuild a tranny right and you'll never go without a job

**at least for the next 20 years until conventional auto trannies go away

[mitchlikesbikes]

A cordless 3/8 impact will be your best friend!

this too. soooooo handy to have when you're just doing small stuff. i hate having to deal with a high strung air gun in low torque applications, but ratchets are too slow. my cordless makita impact is one of my favorite tools i have.


the most money i think i've spent on one tool/set so far is my cornwell ratcheting wrench set. it came with metric sizes 8-24 and i got it for a pretty good "open box" deal on ebay, but i love it. if you're going to get ratcheting wrenches then expensive ones are the way to go. for regular box wrenches craftsman will do just fine.

i also almost dropped $150+ for a very basic snap on screwdriver set, but held off and ended up finding a nice stanley set at sears that has the same handle feel and a decent quality for like $20. the set also came with more sizes too. deals like this always make me glad that i'm being patient with it instead of throwing money at the tool truck names for everything. now i just get the stuff i want to there instead of relying on them to suck the life out of my checking account.

[kickinindian]

i got a full 3/8ths metric, short and long socket set (have a couple snap-on ratchets from my grandpa), some organizers to put on my cart, picks, and screwdrivers of various types, a small vice grip to match my large one, small and large needle nose pliers.

next im going to match the socket set with SAE sockets, a couple long extensions, and some swivel head stuff/ universal sockets.

then next Earthquake (HF) 1/2" impact, and impact sockets

next 3/8th air ratchet, and thats all i have planned as far as my first couple checks go. what do you guys think?



now i think eventually im gonna need to buy air tools and compressor for at home i forgot how awesome air tools are for getting the trans bolts and other shit out!