as ill be doing my engine swap in the next few months, i need to expand my tool set.

i know halfords have great sets but at a big cost... i was in b and q today and they had a 'mechanics' set for 40 quid. including plenty of socket sets, spanners, screwdrivers, all sorts.

will this be any good? i know you get what you pay for but it did seem pretty good.

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fifi

I got Sam his professional kit from halfords for only £97 and it's got lifetime warranty.

See what warranty the B&Q set has mate. If its not much then it's not really worth looking into it.

whats in that set adam?

thats nice of you! buy me one too ill certainly ask

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fifi

i'll tell ya now, get a decent half inch socket set and ratchet! they are much stronger and can undo several bolts that are quite tough also get a breaker bar too. get to halfords i would say mate best place to get decent tools from either that or a local motor factors that deal draper expert etc or buy online ebay lol

I broke a 13mm socket in a halfords set, make sure you get a lifetime warranty one and keep what you need in case lol

I bet you only need an 8mm, 10mm, 13mm, 15mm sockets, extension, ratchet, flat head, phillips, and a silly shaped socket and you'd be alright

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Also 17, 18, 19mm sockets and spanners

You'd be better off trying to get a complete set from say halfords, it will have pretty much everything you will need.

It seems that the older professional sets come with more than the new updated ones do, dont know why.

They are pretty good sets either way, I've abused mine over the years, even out lever bars on tiny 1/4 ratchets admittedly it's broken now after doing it so much but the ratchet mechanism can be replaced in 2mins

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Over seen that set in b&q I think, it had over 200 peices to it if remember correctly.

You need to add 11 and 12's even for the engine I think.

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i have all the socket sizes, ratchet etc, think i have a breaker bar too but i just want better quality lol! ill see how much halfrauds sell em for. if not b and q all the way

wot u reckon louis?

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fifi

so just sockets yeah?

how cum u get it cheaper lol well im seeing sam on wednesday!

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fifi

HALFORDS PROFESIONAL or CLARK from machine mart. thats what i get.

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PSYCHO SAM WATSON #0781 366 9260
TEAM AUBERGINE

Yeah mainly sockets but you've got spanners too plus torx drive bits

I used that mainly for my engine conversion apart from a lever bar and a couple of screwdrivers

wtf's a lever bar? is that to get the engine in and out, past the tight squeezes?

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fifi

Its one of these... also refered to as a breaker bar lol

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ahh yes, seen one of them used on wheeler dealers... i dont have one, so i will be investing! whats its main purpose?

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fifi

It just undoes really tight bolts and its good for beating people round the head with.

I use my torque wrench as a breaker bar

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lol win. i need a torque wrench... how do you set what torque you want when tighting stuff up that has a certain torque on it if that makes sense?

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fifi

You basically twist the end/handle of it - it has numbers up the body which are the different torque settings... so if you need 100 NM, wind it up until its in line with 100 and there you go. Then tighten it up and it clicks when the bolt is at the correct tightness.

Its pretty simple. Once you have one you'll see

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the torque wrench is a great tool but at around £60-£80 its an expensive one.

You dont need the breaker bar as such it just makes it easier to under very tight bolts, as it doesnt have a ratchet mechanism it wont break easily. You need something similar to take off the clutch cable (I used a long screwdriver but it wasnt easy)

I have the halfords professional 150 (180 perhaps) piece kit, and the halfords prefessional screw driver set, I dont think I have needed anything else. There is almost always a half price sale on the tools every 3-4 months so jsut keep an eye on the website then stock up on everything you need.

I'm slowly taking the engine out of my XR2i and its ready to go now but need to get an engine hoist so tools i have have been sufficient so far.

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