Tool Review Time

I work on stuff for a living so I buy tools-lots of them. Sometimes people borrow them when I'm not looking and that makes me angry, very occasionally I have to replace said "borrowed" tool, and that makes me VERY angry.

Anyway....

A couple of the most used tools I own. One-mityvac MV7300 fluid extractor. Invaluable. I have found thousands of uses for it from bleeding brakes to engine oil changes. I actually change the oil in my little Mustang without getting under it, filter and all (2.3L). Stuff the tube down the dipstick hole, suck it all out, change filter, replace with new oil, done. While it's sucking oil out I can change/clean the air filter, or whatever. Some guys like beer (I do not) and the time it takes to suck 5 quarts out gives 'em enough time to go get their favorite and chug it. In my line of work, I found that using the evacuator to pull oil out of lawn mowers saves a TON (and I mean HOURS in an 8 hour work day) of time...why? Cause for one, you stuff the big tube down the dipstick hole, it pulls 3 quarts out in about 30 seconds while I change the air filter. Secondly, I never have to touch the drain bolt; and a lot of these are screwed into cheap cast aluminum and before the fluid evac, I found myself fixing more than a few engine blocks and oil pans. Not anymore. Don't even touch them now, which also saves the company (and me) some money. When I say it's an MV7300 fluid evacuator, it's actually a "version" of it...the genuine MV7300 holds about 8 quarts and it's full. Well I empty 8 quart container about 4 times a day. So....I grabbed an old 10 gal air tank, cut the brackets off and made my own using the MV7300's venturi and it's hoses. Put a couple wheels on it and a handle. Then in the center I ran a 1/2" pipe all the way down to within 1/4" of the bottom of the tank....so when you put pressure in the tank, it "pumps" the fluids out, that way I can use it all day long and just put a little air pressure in it to push it all out into the oil heater's tank (this time of year), without having to pick the heavy turd up. 10 gal of oil + the weight of the tank & wheels is about 80 lbs. No way I'm going to manually dump that every day if I can help it. Bleeding brakes is easy enough; it comes with the adapters to attach to the bleeder. Crack the bleeder turn the valve on and it will suck fluid right through the line(s). Also works for no-mess transmission fluid changes, suck all the stuff out of the pan so that when you go to remove the pan there ain't nothing left in it to go everywhere. TONS of uses! Differentials too...I don't even remove the cover anymore. No need to, stuff the tube down into the diff, let it suck for a while, refill, done. No mess. No gaskets. no scraping. Transfer case on my truck. Old gas out of motorcycle tanks. Gosh the list just goes on and on. IF you don't have one, get one. Outboard motors? Fluid evacuator to change oil (4 stroke). Jet ski oil change? Same deal. It is a must have for a lot of shops. Sometimes if I'm changing a radiator, I'll stuff the tube down the filler neck as far as I can get it, suck what I can out, and then replace the radiator. Makes less mess. Bleeding HST's on lawn mowers; another use (and THAT....works awesome).

Second most used tool is my DeWalt 1/4 impact driver. Came with the drill and batteries. I use a 3/8 drive 1/4" impact bit and use it for a 3/8 drive impact for small stuff up to about 3/8", and in my line of work that's 90% of what I do. The other 10% is 1/2" drive territory, air gun works fine for those-and it preferred actually over a heavy battery powered version.

On the pressure brake bleeder, yeah they work pretty good. Couple things. You can make them. I use an old garden sprayer with some fittings & hoses. Had to buy the adapter for the m/c. You can't just use a m/c cap with a fitting because the cap is vented out of the edge and it will make a big mess. Tried it already. Put some fluid in the bottom, pump it up to 15 psi (I put a gauge on it), hook it to the master cylinder and then turn it on. Then go to the wheel, loosen the bleeder and let it work. It doesn't take long. Don't use too much pressure on plastic master cylinder reservoirs. 15 psi is all you need. I tried with shop air pressure and that didn't go too well. Before bleeding, I suggest pulling the bleeder(s) and putting a little bit of teflon tape on the threads, but not all the way to the bottom. Just the middle. That way there's little to no chance of getting tef tape into the caliper/wheel cylinder, but it will seal up the threads enough so that your clear tube doesn't show a bunch of bubbles in it all the time, which fools you into thinking it's got a bunch of air in it. Just makes the process go easier/quicker. Some guys use grease and that works too. Oh one thing about the master cylinder adapter, clean the o-ring before putting the tool away. If you don't the next time you go to use it, the o-ring will be swelled up and you can't get it into the top of the master cylinder. Speaking from experience.

On the super duty LED light bar, if you don't have to run a front license plate, remove the bracket for it and a 20" light bar just fits into the slot behind it. I have one in mine, looks factory. Had to make brackets but it wasn't hard. I have it wired into the fog light wires so you just pull the headlight switch and bingo, plenty of lighting for off-road stuff. Mine is a 2003, I think 99-07? had the same bumper and slot in the middle as I recall. I should have gotten a curved bar but this one's plenty for what I need it for. When I put it in I was thinking gosh, 8000 lumens is going to make some people mad if I use it on the streets but nowadays all the factory cars/trucks come with LED lighting which blinds basically everybody anyway so 8,000 lumens of light bar is nothing now. But still better than just the headlights.