[bvanlieu]

Use caution when buying any cheap made in china harbor freight tools. I value my limbs. Seen too many jacks blow hydraulics. Lincoln used to be made in USA but once the farmed out to china quality went down.

My craftsman jackstands are going on 20 y old. I use a low profile DK20 jack that is worth it as it easily gets under every car I have owned. No mucking with wood nor secondary jacks. It should last a lifetime and amortized over that its not bad.

http://www.ac-hydraulic.dk/us/products/hydraulic-jacks/

For jacking a side don't forget a jack pad adapter for your car so you don't ruin the plastic jack points. Think I got mine from Burger.

For hand tools good advice above though I also advise that there is something to quality. I m not saying take 500 to your snap on guy right now but they are better.

Cheaper ratchets have less fine range and are often thicker. Sometimes an extra 2mm clearance is hue when working around an engine. I have some thin snap ons that are great. It was a gift. I use my gear wrench metric wrenches frequently.

Craftsman on sale is a good deal. HD husky is not bad though I find Kobalt to be a tad better (at one time they were made by snap on. Not sure if that is still the case).

For impact tools use impact sockets. I have some IR and some Pittsburg (cheap harbor freight: I am not above it .

Also: safety glasses. You are not a pussy for wearing them. You learn the hard way otherwise. Nothing like rust or sand dropping in your eyes during a simple oil change to ruin the afternoon.

- b

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by nick380

I'm trying to do the spark plugs, what should I start out with...I also lookedinto a mechanics set how does this one look:http://www.sears.com/craftsman-220pc...5&blockType=G5

If you are trying to do the spark plugs, you will need a hex set to take the cover off.

You will also need to DIY how to reset this in the cpu. Not that difficult to do really.

You will need a special spark plug socket.

You will need a torque wrench

You will need a 6" extension

Ant-sieze is optional, if you use it don't use too much.

Pending on how many miles are on it, you may consider replacing the coils too (probably over 125k).

Here are my recommendations:

Socket - Assenmacher -

http://www.amazon.com/Assenmacher-Sp...cket+bmw+12+pt

Spark plugs -

http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-ZGR6STE2...&vehicleType=5


Master hex and star set -

http://www.amazon.com/Neiko-60-Piece...r+hex+and+star

DIY Video reset service interval.

General tools -

http://cgi.ebay.com/Craftsman-309pc-...=US_Hand_Tools

[PINeely]

Originally Posted by bvanlieu

Use caution when buying any cheap made in china harbor freight tools. I value my limbs. Seen too many jacks blow hydraulics. Lincoln used to be made in USA but once the farmed out to china quality went down.

My craftsman jackstands are going on 20 y old. I use a low profile DK20 jack that is worth it as it easily gets under every car I have owned. No mucking with wood nor secondary jacks. It should last a lifetime and amortized over that its not bad.

http://www.ac-hydraulic.dk/us/products/hydraulic-jacks/" rel="ugc" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.ac-hydrau...lic-jacks/</a>

For jacking a side don't forget a jack pad adapter for your car so you don't ruin the plastic jack points. Think I got mine from Burger.

For hand tools good advice above though I also advise that there is something to quality. I m not saying take 500 to your snap on guy right now but they are better.

Cheaper ratchets have less fine range and are often thicker. Sometimes an extra 2mm clearance is hue when working around an engine. I have some thin snap ons that are great. It was a gift. I use my gear wrench metric wrenches frequently.

Craftsman on sale is a good deal. HD husky is not bad though I find Kobalt to be a tad better (at one time they were made by snap on. Not sure if that is still the case).

For impact tools use impact sockets. I have some IR and some Pittsburg (cheap harbor freight: I am not above it .

Also: safety glasses. You are not a pussy for wearing them. You learn the hard way otherwise. Nothing like rust or sand dropping in your eyes during a simple oil change to ruin the afternoon.

- b

I agree with this but just a few notes, harbor freight hand tools are usually very good and have a lifetime warranty. Their batteries and power tools are garbage though and like bvanlieu said I wouldn't trust their jacks. But most of the teams around here use HF tools at the racetrack with no problems. Usually they keep them in snap-on boxes though lol

Craftsman is no longer USA made either, they've outsourced to China. The tools are still quality but if you're going to be paying made-in-USA prices you may want something that was actually made in the USA.

I highly recommend looking around on Craigslist. Mechanics sell their old tool sets on there all the time. You can get some really high quality tools for a song and a dance there.

[742]

First, get the Bentley manual. It is worth its weight in gold.

Take each project one at a time, and buy the tools that you need. However buy sockets and wrenches in sets, since the others will be needed at some point.

You might get a good deal by watching on Craig's list for tool sets from profesional mechanics who are retiring/leaving, but they will be over your current price point.

Do not buy cheap crap.

When working on your own your advantage is time -- as in you have it. Do not let yourself be rushed.

Try to find a local independent BMW garage. They are not in business to train you, but they do not make good money on simple jobs. Therefore they might give you guidance on the simple things while you let them take care of the more complex issues.

Source: Aircraft mechanic, maintain my own cars, a couple of local show cars in the garage.

[jeffblue]

these com in handy on anything I work on when it comes to tight spaces. you want the swivel head ones

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...uct_refresh_T1


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...uct_refresh_T1

Its funny, buying them separately is cheaper than buying the full set of 16 together

http://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-Fle...earwrench+9902

I got all 16 for 168 shipped a few months ago

[bvanlieu]

Good point about craigs list: tools typically last a life time when you make an investment. I'm not saying you need a huge set day 1: we all started *somewhere*. Myself I started with a few HD Husky Kits, jack, jack stands, breaker bar and invested in a decent torque wrench in 1998. I have all of those tools to this day. From there you just kind of grow.

What was huge for me is finding some other car buddies and teaming up, doing things together. Best way to learn.

Finally I didn't intend to imply anything from China was not worth it: there are good products made there, and there are less then quality ones made. If I saw a $79 US made full size low profile jack I would think its utter crap as well, so use caution when flipping through the Harbor Freight catalog.

- b

[r0bert]

Don't forget about a jack pad adapter. I made mine out of $1.99 hockey puck from amazon.

[nick380]

Hey guys, just ordered a bunch of filters to replace on the car, I got the: cabin and air filter and my Bentley Publisher came in and WOW is it informative...I mean the thing tells you everything from what kind of struts I have to how to repair the windows haha. Definitely worth the money. I'm headed to Sears today to check out some Craftsman sets they have on sale...the guy says they'll give me 10-20% off so i'll see if I can score a good deal. Also I looked in some stores and noticed that the Torque Wrenches come in 1/2" and 3/8" which one will I need to replace the ignition coils/Spark Plugs? or does it matter?

Thanks again for all the help everyone~! Much appreciated!

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by nick380

Hey guys, just ordered a bunch of filters to replace on the car, I got the: cabin and air filter and my Bentley Publisher came in and WOW is it informative...I mean the thing tells you everything from what kind of struts I have to how to repair the windows haha. Definitely worth the money. I'm headed to Sears today to check out some Craftsman sets they have on sale...the guy says they'll give me 10-20% off so i'll see if I can score a good deal. Also I looked in some stores and noticed that the Torque Wrenches come in 1/2" and 3/8" which one will I need to replace the ignition coils/Spark Plugs? or does it matter?

Thanks again for all the help everyone~! Much appreciated!

You need a 3/8 inch drive torque wrench for the plugs. I highly recommend a bar-type (vs. click type) torque wrench for plugs. Click type wrenches are not very accurate at low torque values such as plugs (i.e. 16 - 18 Ft/lbs). Bar type wrenchs are very accurate and stay in calibration. The Craftman 3/8 bar-type torque wrench is still probably under $20.

You'll need a 1/2 inch-drive torque wrench for wheel bolts, which a click type wrench is ideal for. If you use a 1/2 inch-drive tq wrench on the plugs, it is very likely you will strip the threads or break the plug body.