If you own a vehicle and it’s been quite a time since you’re driving it, or maybe you just bought it recently, there are always chances that it could break down at any moment due to a number of reasons.
In such situations, it always recommended keeping some car tools with you.
While you can also resort to mechanic’s help but sometimes the problems are pretty straight-forward that it’s rather easy to fix them up yourself and save your money plus time.
There are some tools which are essential if you need to fix pretty much anything gone wrong with your car.
Without these essential car tools, playing around with your vehicle gets nearly impossible.
So, let’s see the top 20 tools that you actually need.
1. Tire Repair Kit
You never know when are you are going to get a flat tire while driving. Or, as a matter of fact, when the car is idle.
Towing the car all the way to the shop is a big issue in itself and will cost you money even though the task that needs to be done here is not that hard.
Saving all this money and time only requires you to buy a tire repair kit and do the work yourself every time you get a flat tire.
2. Tow Straps
When your car breaks down on the side of the road, and there is no option but to drag it all the way to the nearest mechanic, tow straps are what will help you get out of the issue.
Without these, you will have to call some towing company and ask for their help, which would incur you a decent amount of money.
So, it’s better to keep a tow strap with you at all times, and in case something goes down, you always have the choice of towing your car on your own.
3. Flashlights
Cars are machines, and they do break down due to small problems every once in a while.
Even though some of the problems have more severity and you can do nothing but take the car to the mechanic, sometimes you can solve the problem yourself.
At night, however, you can not work without a flashlight as you have to dig down deeper into the engine sometimes.
Flashlights can also be very important if you are searching for some tools in the trunk of your car at night.
So keeping view of the uses of a flashlight, always keep one with yourself at all times.
4. Pliers & Wire Cutters
Pliers and wire cutters are used to play around with various types of wires.
Using them, you could cut the wires, squeeze or twist them, and pretty much do anything whatever you want to with them.
However, pliers come in different sizes, and different tasks require varying sizes.
Pliers for more precise work are called nose pliers, while the ones used to do bulky tasks are referred to as channels lock pliers.
5. Screw Drivers
Screwdrivers are considered to be useful and must-have tools. Basically, it is operated with hands, and it’s primarily for turning screws. Whenever you want to tighten or lose a nut, you can use a screwdriver.
There is a number of different screws that are used to turn different nuts like there is a flat head screwdriver, square screwdriver, hexagon screwdriver, and Philips screwdriver.
It is always recommended to have a complete set of screwdrivers.
6. Wrenches
A Wrench comes in a variety of styles for different applications and is pretty much a basic ingredient to a basic car toolbox.
However, you need to make sure to buy a top-quality wrench and check for a lifetime warranty on it, as once you buy a top-notch wrench, you won’t have to bother buying it again ever.
There are different measurement scales they offer, so remember to choose the one accordingly. There are many types of wrenches like:
- Adjustable wrench
- Ratchet wrench
- Torque wrench
7. Impact Wrenches
Impact wrenches are used for tightening or losing lug nuts on the car’s wheel.
Even though the tool is quite common, there is a chance that you may not have heard about it as they have some synonymous names as well, like air gun or windy gun.
Impact wrenches are everything you need if your car’s tire bursts out during a hot summer day and leaves you stranded on the road.
A major application is the F1 races, where mechanics have to change the tires in literally seconds.
8. Grease Gun
Grease guns are the most primary work tool and come in useful whenever you have to lubricate any moving part in your vehicle. It’s an essential tool that every DIY mechanic must own.
Nowadays, cordless grease guns are also available in the market, which is extra easy to use. If you are just a beginner mechanic, you can also go for the mini grease gun.
9. Drip Pan
You often see fuel oils and fluid dripping off your car, so it’s imperative to have a drip pan or cardboard piece along with you. And changing oil would be much easier.
10. Lubricants
When two surfaces, essentially metals, interact with each other, they rub on each other to such an extent that significant wear and tear occurs.
This is helped by lubricating those surfaces as they simply slide over each other when lubricated. It provides a strong coating that protects the metal.
In case that you don’t regularly lubricate the moving parts of your vehicle, there is a high risk that they will wear out, reducing the lifespan of your vehicle as well as a reduced performance by your engine.
11. Cleaners
Mechanical moving parts need cleaning and care. Otherwise, they will rust really quickly.
So you need a few liquid cleaners to keep your vehicle clean and do the cleaning often to enhance the life of your vehicle.
12. Pen Light
Penlight is light in the shape of a pen. A penlight uses a small flashlight, also known as LED (Light Emitting Diode).
It is basically used to look at your throat or mouth, but it can be very helpful when you have to look into your car’s engine or open its bonnet. Some of the brightest penlights are:
- Stream light stylus pro penlight
- Tactical pocket penlight
- Coast rechargeable focusing penlight
13. Dead Blow Mallet
There are times when dead blow mallet is the only solution left when your bolts are stuck. Its basic job is to absorb all the shaking and to tremble that occurs when you strike a hammer.
It is quite a useful tool when you have some bolts in old vehicles or jeeps that have not been undone for a very long time.
It is covered with molded poly, so it prevents metal surfaces from marring.
14. Automatic Wire Stripper
Whenever you have some electrical work involved, you will always be dealing with cutting small wires and dealing with sharp edges.
This poses a major threat to your skin. Having an automatic wire stripper keeps you from these cuts and provides great assistance.
15. Pick Set
There are various uses of pick sets, and they can be used for a wide variety of works involving cars.
You can do locking pins of door handles to handling oil cartridges with them, and they don’t cost you much as well.
16. Inflator & Tire Gauge
Most often, you will be running low on the air pressure in your car’s tire than what the value is supposed to be.
This becomes more important in summers when pressure actually gets high, so you need a tire pressure gauge to keep you updated and free of any worries.
17. Pry Bar
Pry bars are again quite versatile, and there are many tasks that can be fulfilled by just having the pry bars available.
However, they can in various different sizes, so buy the whole set if you have the budget.
18. Hammer
As anticipated, a hammer usually helps you get your job done in pretty much every mechanical work. Dealing with cars, the hammer is sometimes as essential equipment you will need.
Fixing body damage really needs a hammer to get done.
19. Multi-Meter
Involving the electric works, multi-meters are the most important thing.
They let you identify the problem in the first place without which you won’t be able to solve the problem as you would not even know.
Mostly in the case of hot wires, you need to find out where the electrical problem lies exactly so you can fix it.
So you plug the meter at different places to see if you’re getting the expected readings or not.
20. Oil Filter Wrench
Changing the engine oil is one of the most frequently occurring tasks you will come across as the owner of the vehicle.
So make sure you always have an oil filter wrench in your possession to help you achieve this.
Conclusion
Owning all these car tools is always the best option as you’ll be equipped with the necessary tools to combat any emergency situation.
If you cannot buy all 20 car tools, owning a few of these is still recommended as it’ll make your life easier.
Thanks for those important tools to have in a car, I will look for some which are missing in my car.