Top Tips!

Assorted little bits and bobs I've collected over the years.

You can get these in a variety of ranges. If you want to know how hot something is getting, slap one on! The number of people who fit additional oil or gearbox coolers without ever knowing if their oil or gearbox is actually getting too hot is amazing! For a couple of quid you can find out. I stick 'em on the inlet to the rad, sometimes on my oil filters, but I've seen them used in racing stuck to gearboxes, oil & fuel pumps, brake calipers, manifolds, hubs, driveshafts - basically, you name it!

Methods of attack

There's many, many articles, tips and instructional guides on the internet so I thought I'd add my favourites to the mix.

• Breaker bar
  • Sometimes, just using a nice long bar to apply more force (carefully) is enough to “crack” a stuck fastener. Adapters to drop from larger sizes (EG 1/2“ to 3/8”) can be handy but obviosuly you're then taking the socket out of its design limits.
  • 3/4“ and 1” drive ratchets (especially the ones with telescopic handles) can be got for relatively cheap, again with a reducing adapter they make very sturdy breaker bars - even a cheap 3/4“ ratchet is going to be pretty robust.
• Sacrificial tools
  • Having some cheap sockets / hex bits / spanners etc. is very handy. You can hammer a slightly-too-small socket over a rounded nut, or hammer an over-size torx bit into a stripped socket cap (allen key) head allowing you to get some good leverage.
• Weld it

Asda / Tesco / Ikea £3 desk lamps are the worklights of the gods and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise!

Add an LED bulb and they're cool, bright, posable, take knocks and scrapes, and are so cheap they're disposable.

For larger areas, an LED-fluorescent-tube can be wired straight to the mains (no fitting) and provides an awesome interior light:

Loctite sell coppaslip, threadlock, thread sealer, etc. in little Pritt-stik style sticks which are awesome for keeping in the toolbox in the car.

These are £50 well spent on eBay, every workshop should have one - three spinners included seemed excessive but I'm not arguing!

The Laser flexi spinners are the best though as the ends are reversible for those fake Jubilee clips and fuel pipe clips with smaller drives.