Hello BfCers...

I've been around for a few years, and have been tinkering with BMWs for 6 or so years now. I've amassed quite a bit of tools of all sorts, and I'm trying to plan my future purchases. I have a bunch of stuff from working on the house, and a bunch of kits I've bought over the years, but I know I have some stuff I'll need in order to tackle more intensive projects down the line.

So I'm wondering, what do you have in your garage? What have you bought that you didn't think was a necessity that you can't figure how you ever lived without?

well what kind of work are you planning on doing???, engine? turbo? body work? any kind of work requires different tools, however a BMW DIYer CANNOT live without a torque wrench ;) make sure it is good and expensive, because if its not it will cost you more...

when i decided that I was going to DIY on my car, i went out and spent $1500 or so on several complementry "kits" of tools (mostly Craftsman). These were your standard sockets/wrenches/etc totalling about 2000 pieces all together. On average, each tool cost 0.75 cents, which was a LOT cheaper than buying piece by piece. Since then, I haven't really needed to get any additional tools other than automotive/BMW specialty tools.

Among the specialty stuff that have been really useful are:

1) automotive interior trim puller kit

technically, you can live without this by using your fingers and other substitutes. but a good kit comes with pullers that have different shapes and fit in different locations. with these tools, it's sooo much easier taking the interior panels apart without damaging them and usually i can save the pins/rivets/snaps for reuse. this allows me to work on the interior without having to stockpile replacement pins/rivets/snaps/etc. make sure you have a plastic pry tool too. life is just much easier with these tools and you're less likely to damage anything. of course, only useful if you take your interior apart to work on electrical stuff.

2) pressure brake bleeder

this is a great tool to do one-person brake fluid flush. however, in reality, i've noticed that it doesn't guarantee a successful brake flush and i sometimes have to combine it with the 2-person method to get a really firm brake pedal.

3) vacuum coolant refill tool

you'll need a decent size air compressor with a healthy SCFM @90PSI. however, this tool makes refilling your cooling system soooo much easier, i can't imagine doing without it. you are almost guaranteed an airless coolant refill and so you don't have to worry about overheating due to air pockets. it works REALLY fast so refilling coolant and bleeding becomes a 10minute job. also, you'll also be able to check for leaks in your cooling system as you use this tool.

4) mityvac oil extractor

i love this tool because it makes doing an oil change such a pleasant and clean job. the only car i go under to drain anymore is my Toyota because the oil pan is a little funky and you can't get all the oil out using an extraction method thru the dipstick tube. it also serves as a transport container to the oil recycle place. using this method, i literarly would not be afraid to do an oil change while dressed formally for work.

5) water pump holder and fan clutch wrench

there are ways to remove the fan clutch nut and hold the water pump pulley, but having the right tool just makes things easier. With BMW's track record of short lived water pumps, this is almost an essential maintenance tool. Also, the fan clutch eventually fails too.

6) spring compressor

being that BMW shocks seem to reach end of life under 100K miles, if you're a DIYer you'll likely have to remove/install the springs and shocks/struts. it's nice to know you can do this anytime as long as you have spring compressors. my toyota at 177K miles now needs new shocks/springs and it's nice to know that I've got the tools to do the job. I typically keep a car for more than 100K miles so having this makes sense for me.

7) if you're going beyond just doing maintenance, then there are a LOT of other special tools you might want to consider, but that depends on what you're going to do and what engine/model you have. lately, i've been wanting to get the tools necessary to remove the head of my M54 engines. this would require:

- camshaft locking tool
- flywheel locking pin
- camshaft hold-down tool (this is one expensive tool I would really love to have)
- timing chain tensioner
- Double VANOS sprocket alignment tool
- Double VANOS locking tool

To browse through some other BMW specialty tools, take a look at zdmak.com.

Oh, along the lines of standard tools I got after the several "kits" i bought was a 33 gal air compressor that came with a set of air tools (ratchets, impact wrench, hammer, etc) and then I got a set of metric impact sockets.

i'm sure there's some other stuff I'm forgetting at the moment, but i want to throw out some stuff that was "non-standard" stuff...

you know... i totally didn't mention this because I only wish I had one... having a lift in your garage if you DIY on cars is probably one of the best tools you can get. it just opens all sorts of new possibilities. i have a friend that did a clutch job with jack stands in the parking lot of Walmart, but he was Russian, and those Russians have very creative ways of getting things done.

my current home doesn't have room for such a thing, but i'm definitely considering a lift when i build my next home. in the meantime, having a high quality floor jack with a low minimum clearance (at least less than 4 inches) with a long neck really helps.

I have a lot of tools that I have accumulated over the years, and find that I rarely need something new. That said, the most valuable and usefull and timesaving things I have are my 3 ton, high lift (21.5 inch) floor jack and my 15 quart open top drain pan. Both of these make most of what I do on the four cars that I monkey with, a lot easier.

Thanks guys.

A torque wrench is high on my list of things to get. I have a couple jacks (the low prifile Craftsman one is FTW) but some of the other items I never would have thought of. A spring compressor is certainly in my future. The brake bleeder and coolant refill tool sound really useful.

I have all the wrenches and hammers and what not... and I don't forsee rebuilding a motor anytime soon, so I'm going to hold off on those. Now I need a house with a garage so I can invest in a lift!

My question is in line with this topic, so I'll just ask it here rather than make a new thread.

I'm looking to get a jack and jackstands for my E39 1997 528i and start doing a lot of the maintenance myself. What are good ones to get for the money? I'm going to need a jack(s) that can go very high in order to get the car on jack stands, yet be low enough to fit under the car easily. Especially sine it looks like I'll have to jack the back from the rear differential, and get it high enough to get jack stands on the jacking points just forward of the rear wheel wells. And what is a good height for jack stands for my car?

Brands? Model numbers? Best places to shop? Bonus points for items I can find locally (local shops for me are probably sears, autozone, napa for the most part, but I can drive into Des Moines if I have to to find what I need)

My question is in line with this topic, so I'll just ask it here rather than make a new thread.

I'm looking to get a jack and jackstands for my E39 1997 528i and start doing a lot of the maintenance myself. What are good ones to get for the money? I'm going to need a jack(s) that can go very high in order to get the car on jack stands, yet be low enough to fit under the car easily. Especially sine it looks like I'll have to jack the back from the rear differential, and get it high enough to get jack stands on the jacking points just forward of the rear wheel wells. And what is a good height for jack stands for my car?

Brands? Model numbers? Best places to shop? Bonus points for items I can find locally (local shops for me are probably sears, autozone, napa for the most part, but I can drive into Des Moines if I have to to find what I need)
Sears/Craftsman has a very nice aluminum floor jack. That would probably work well for you. I don't own one, but i've used one that belongs to a friend. What I really like about it is the thick handle and that the release valve is very easy to control. It is 2 ton capacity:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Tools+%26+Equipment&pid=00950239000&vertical=AUTO&subcat=Lift+Equipment&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

If you have a Costco near by, costco sells a very nice aluminum floor jack that has a very low profile (something like 3.2 inches) and uses double piston pumps so it works very quickly. It too is also 2 ton capacity and is only about $100.

I also own a Craftsman 3 ton floor jack that I got in a combo deal onsale for $99 that included a creeper, rolling seat, jumper cables, and a pair of 3 ton jack stands. This isn't the highest quality jack, but it is very strong and reliable. It doesn't quite fit under all my cars, but i can usually use a low profile one to lift it up an inch and then use this jack in combination with the other. I didn't intend to have more than 1 floor jack, but since I ended up with 2, it's been really handy.

I would avoid the 1.5 ton Torin "Big Red" floor jacks. Even though it is rated for 3000lbs, lifting one corner of my Z3 (which is about 3000lbs) made the lever bend a little. It just didn't seem very strong and I never had confidence in it to lift my Z3 to maximum height. I got rid of it and bought the Costco one which I'm very happy with so far.

i bought 2 jacks with 2 jack stands each, so total of 4 jack stands and 2 jacks, from walmart for about 60 bucks total...weight capacity of each jack stand is 2 ton, i bought 2 jacks because of that same deal, if i want to lift the whole car that way i can jack up the car simutaniously from the diff and front and then put the jack stands on each side :D

Sears/Craftsman has a very nice aluminum floor jack. That would probably work well for you. I don't own one, but i've used one that belongs to a friend. What I really like about it is the thick handle and that the release valve is very easy to control. It is 2 ton capacity:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Tools+%26+Equipment&pid=00950239000&vertical=AUTO&subcat=Lift+Equipment&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

If you have a Costco near by, costco sells a very nice aluminum floor jack that has a very low profile (something like 3.2 inches) and uses double piston pumps so it works very quickly. It too is also 2 ton capacity and is only about $100.

I also own a Craftsman 3 ton floor jack that I got in a combo deal onsale for $99 that included a creeper, rolling seat, jumper cables, and a pair of 3 ton jack stands. This isn't the highest quality jack, but it is very strong and reliable. It doesn't quite fit under all my cars, but i can usually use a low profile one to lift it up an inch and then use this jack in combination with the other. I didn't intend to have more than 1 floor jack, but since I ended up with 2, it's been really handy.

I would avoid the 1.5 ton Torin "Big Red" floor jacks. Even though it is rated for 3000lbs, lifting one corner of my Z3 (which is about 3000lbs) made the lever bend a little. It just didn't seem very strong and I never had confidence in it to lift my Z3 to maximum height. I got rid of it and bought the Costco one which I'm very happy with so far.
I was looking into buying that Craftsman jack, and it got horrible horrible reviews seemingly everywhere I looked. I'd be very reluctant to buy one...