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Old 26th December 2015, 19:30   #61
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Re: 45 years of tool collection...and using them too!

I am currently at home in the Netherlands. We were having some problems with the electrics which in order to fix I had to go to the local DIY shop to buy some new switches.

I also picked up this little tool set; screw removers.

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-img_0261.jpg

Might come in handy some time

Have a look at this video where they actually demonstrate the use of it;



Jeroen
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Old 9th March 2017, 22:28   #62
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Re: 45 years of tool collection...and using them too!

Last Sunday my wife and a friend of hers took two cars full of stuff from our respective homes to what we call a flea market. The USA and UK have a phenomena called garage sale and car boot sale for selling your second hand stuff.

We don’t have that here in the Netherlands. But we have endless flea markets. Basically, you rent a little market stall and you bring whatever you want to sell. Very popular.

I helped the ladies load up the two cars the evening before. They set off at 0600am on Sunday morning. This flea market was in the Feyenoord Stadium (de Kuip) in Rotterdam. Hundreds and hundreds of market stalls. I cycled over later in the day. I’m not that keen on these sort of things, but sometimes I get lucky and pick up some tools.

Sure enough. Three nice new tools. All brand new as well! One huge screw driver, you can never have enough screw driver. The second one is a flexible extension. Screw driver bits fit into it.

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p3092421.jpg

The little plier is for my bicycle chain. Whenever I clean my bicycle I usually take the chain off as well. To clean and oil it properly. I have always used a chain punch, which works fine. But these days I seem to have a chain that has this one special shackle you can just undo. This tools helps you do that. I used it today. Very convenient and much quicker than the punch!

I have ordered a brand new OBD scanning tool too. I should get it next week and I have a few jobs lined up for it already. If you are interested to see the use of all my tools have a look at this new thread I started. I will be adding to it regularly when doing jobs on my cars or my friends car, visiting classic car shows etc.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...ml#post4160776
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Old 11th March 2017, 13:06   #63
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Re: 45 years of tool collection...and using them too!

Just got myself a new toy/tool. Well admittedly, at nearly Euro 500, it better be a tool than a toy. I have written about my various OBD scan tools before. To date I own a simple hand scan tool and a software package from Autoengenuity. There are a sheer endless number of scan tools on the market including all sorts of apps for your mobile phone as well.

I have said it in many, many threads on this forum, if you can afford it, make sure you get one that does all generic AND manufacturing codes. Truth is these days there are many more manufacturing codes then generic codes. As car electronics get more and more elaborate more and more codes get added all the time. Subsequently a car might have problems that you simply won’t see with a generic scanner.

Also, I have found that with the cheaper scanners sometimes there are connectivity problems. The Autoenginuity (https://www.autoenginuity.com/wordpress/) tool was very good. But expensive and cumbersome. You buy the basic software which gives you generic capabilities and then have to buy an additional software module for every car manufacturer. Also, I have had some connectivity issues with it. And it is being discontinued as well.

So time to look for something new. I choose this particular scanner. It has some very good reviews on the web and on Youtube. This is a nice video here:



I also decided I wanted one that will work on any car, any manufacturer and model. Just in case! This one comes in four different versions. Essentially a version for each geographic area of the respective car manufacturer. Fact is OBD has a few variant per region, with different protocols etc. So, it's USA, European, Far East and the most elaborate unit covers all region. Obviously that is the one I got!

The video goes into some more detail on what you can do with these sort of tools. In brief it supports the following functions:

OBD
EPB (electronic Parking Brake)
Scan
Oil reset (service interval indicator)
Play back

The scan included just about all subsystems in the car.

Once it finds an error, or DTC as it is known, it will also provides a little bit more information so you have some first ideas what could be wrong. You might still need access to the car full workshop manual as well. Obviously I have all of those for my own cars. And these days most can be found on the internet. Although I do appreciate we have seen some difficulties with that on Indian manufactured cars as well.

I believe this is a semi-professional scan tool. These days the professional scan tools are coming down in price all the time. But you would be looking at something in the region of at least 4-6 times as expensive as this one. These days a lot of the professional tools come as dedicated tablets. See http://www.auteltech.com/autelcms/Au...lysi/548.jhtml

Comes in a nice box. However, as with all American tools, I must admit the instrument itself does look and feel a bit too plasticky for my taste. I never understand, I have simple multimeter at 10% of this price that look and feel much better. My other handscanner, bought in the USA as well, same thing, plasticky. The Americans, when it comes to tools, seem to go for function over format.

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p3112422.jpg

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p3112423.jpg

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p3112424.jpg

The professional tablets do all my little scanner does and a whole lot more. I would say there are two very important differences. First of all the professional tools give you much more detailled diagnostic information that the DTC (error code). They really guide you through the whole of the diagnostic process. No need to look up anything in the car workshop manuals. The second difference is that the professionals tools allow you to write and alter data on the various computers in the car. So you can adjust calibrations, trim settings, etc. So you also need to know what you are doing!

Whenever somebody comes to me with a problem on their car, the first thing I do is hook it up to an OBD analyser or scan tool. Even before I take a testdrive or open the bonnet! I know many enthusiastic and skilled DIY car mechanics are weary of it. In fact, many professional car mechanics are weary of it. But it’s the way to go and to be honest has been the way for more than a decade.

This weekend we are going to service my eldest son VW Golf GTI. So I’ll get a first chance to play with it. If anything we will be using it to reset his service interval indicator

See for more details on it’s use my other thread:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...eo-spider.html
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Old 22nd May 2017, 01:36   #64
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Re: 45 years of tool collection...and using them too!

We were in our home in the UK a few weeks ago. One of the things I enjoy doing is strolling over to the local Machine Mart shop. Huge collection of tools. I usually end up buying something. This time we bought some drill bits for my son’s model/gaming hobby Warhammer:

See: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...er-anyone.html

I also bought myself a very cool tool. I have been looking at some of these tools for at least the last 3-4 years. The prices have been coming down steadily.

But this one was on special offer for less than UKP 70. For that you get a digital inspection camera with a one meter long, 6 mm diameter probe/camera. Various attachments, such as hooks, lights, magnets.

It’s really handy. I have already managed to retrieve some stuff that fell behind a cupboard and we have used it to inspect some engine parts on my eldest son Golf GTI. See http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...ml#post4202440

It comes in a nice sturdy box::

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p5213159.jpg

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p5213160.jpg

It runs of four AA batteries. You can adjust the LED brightness, turn the image upside down for easier reference. The probe is quite flexible, so you can work it into most small holes, cracks etc.

It’s waterproof (to some extent).

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p5213161.jpg

I have been looking at some other models, but they retail at easily UKP 400-700. I’m sure they are better/more useful. However, at this price I get the pleasure of having one of these and I can develop my own thoughts on what is necessary/usefull if I ever want to upgrade.

Jeroen
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Old 22nd May 2017, 03:37   #65
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Re: 45 years of tool collection...and using them too!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post

But this one was on special offer for less than UKP 70. For that you get a digital inspection camera with a one meter long, 6 mm diameter probe/camera. Various attachments, such as hooks, lights, magnets.
I use this for the very same purpose, and I must say it's a fun little thing. There is no dedicated display, but you can get its output on either a laptop or a smartphone. Cable length is 5 metre, and comes with many attachments as you rightly mentioned.

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-20170522_033046.jpg

I use it to monitor the internals of engine, inaccessible parts of cars like running board etc. Greatly helps in timely eradication of rust from some tricky areas.

Regards,
Shashi
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Old 22nd May 2017, 03:46   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Leoshashi View Post
I use this for the very same purpose, and I must say it's a fun little thing. There is no dedicated display, but you can get its output on either a laptop or a smartphone. Cable length is 5 metre, and comes with many attachments as you rightly mentioned.



Attachment 1641040



I use it to monitor the internals of engine, inaccessible parts of cars like running board etc. Greatly helps in timely eradication of rust from some tricky areas.



Regards,

Shashi

Thanks. Yes, these are similar other then you need to have a laptop handy. Good fun and quite handy!

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Old 5th September 2017, 19:20   #67
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Re: 45 years of tool collection...and using them too!

I visited the huge open air car part sales at Bealieu, UK earlier this week.

The full report: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/intern...aulieu-uk.html

Of course, I bought some tools

First thing I got was a compression meter. I know I have one, or better, apparently, I had one, because I can’t find it anywhere. This one is suitable for petrol engines. Diesel engines have higher compression ratio’s.

It comes with several attachment in a nice box. The brand is Bergen. I have various other tools from them. I find they have a good quality / price ratio. It’s not professional quality, but good enough for me as an amateur.

There are various attachments to connect the compression meter to the engine. In all cases you need to remove the spark plug. Either you screw in the appropiate adaptor, or you use one of the rubber ones and push it in. You crank the engine till the manometer more or less shows a stable value.

Workshop manual will show what the compression value should be per cilinder and what the maximum difference between cilinders can be. Too low a compression hints at problems with the piston rings and or valves.

Next you also see a little brake fluid tester. Brake fluid is hydroscopic, which means it absorbs moisture (as present in the air) over time. Your brake fluid reservoir is open to the air, so moisture will be present. It’s good practice to fully flush and replace your brake fluid every 2-3 years. If not, the water moisture can lead to problems, e.g. rust.

This is a very simple tester. On my own cars I know when I have renewed the brake fluid. But often I’m asked to look at friends cars and its a handy tool to have. I’m not sure how accurate it is. It has four different LED indicating the state of the brake fluid. Essentially this little instrument works on measuring the resistance of the brake fluid and is calibrated accordingly.

Also, bought a set of torque sockets. Occasionally I run into these sizes. For instance the bolts of the shock absorbers were this size. No idea why, every other bolt and nut on that car is a regular metric one. The socket set is Bergen too.

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p9034945.jpg

Two more little items I found:

I particularly like the Shell oil can. Would you believe it, I don’t have an oil can? High time I got myself one and it will look great on the shelf.

The little plastic canister is to spray liquid in difficult to reach spots. For instance a soapy liquid or so.

45 years of tool collection...and using them too!-p9034946.jpg

All in all, nice addition to my tool sets. We will be moving home soon and at long last I’ll be getting my own large garage. Stay tuned for more.

If you want to see how I use some of this tools and others have a look here:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-do...eo-spider.html

Jeroen
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