No tech is equipped for the shop without various hand tools they need to access the parts and components that make up much of their job, whether that's searching for a piece that's generating a diagnostic fault code or installing hardware that has worn out its welcome in a vehicle. So it's no surprise that the essential tools of the trade always include at least a few hand and specialty tools.
Read more: Specialty hand tools: The problem solvers
“Technicians find a way to use just about anything [to get the job done],” said Eddie Lisle, sales manager, Lisle Corporation. “Specialty tools present an opportunity for us to make a tool specifically for that purpose. Everyone’s time is valuable, so if we can come up with a tool that solves that problem and saves people time, that’s what we want to do.”
From removing hose clamps to straightening a coil of brake line, both basic and specialty tools serve to make a technician's day easier at every turn. So, here some of the most useful hand and specialty tools any technician will want in their toolbox, as featured in Fleet Maintenance's 2023 Tool & Equipment Supplement.
The tools in this gallery include:
- Channellock Inc.'s SpeedGrip Tongue & Groove Pliers
- Lang Tools' 2-Piece Pocket Pry Bar Set
- FJC Inc.'s Handheld Hydraulic Crimper Kit
- Centra Tools Inc.'s Sleeve Height/Deck Height/Counterbore Gage
- Sunex Tools' Simple Torque Indexing Torque Wrenches
- Gaither Tool Company's BEAD BAZOOKA
- Lisle Corporation's Gasket Separator
- Lock Technology's Shockit Socket Diesel NOx & Particulate Sensor Removal Kit
- Mac Tools' 9-pc Strikable Extraction Multi-Bit Set
- Mityvac's MV7100 Series Fluid Evacuators/Dispensers
- Anglo American Tools' NES5 Tight Space Thread Restorer
- Performance Tool's Flexible Magnetic Pickup Tool
- ProMAXX's Rocky ProKit
- Rotary Thread's 15-pc Thread Restoration Master Kit
- S & G Tool Aid Corp.'s Master Terminals Service Kit
- S.U.R.&R.'s Universal Clamp Making Tool Kit
- Titan Professional Tools' 17-pc Impact Adapter Set
- Tracer Products' TPOPUVMR OPTI-PRO UV MAX R
- Ullman Devices Corp.'s Magnetic Rails
- Vessel Co., Inc.'s Low-Profile Flat Plate Ratchet Screwdriver Sets
