Baldrick Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 In the absence of a search facility, I was wondering if someone could recommend a set of tools which would be useful for basic 7 maintenance? I'm very interested in a good socket set - anyone? Did someone mention a sale on tools at Halfrauds? Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Halfords always seem to have their own socket sets at good prices, despite what people say. IMO they are good without spending silly money - had mine for years and years and they are fine, never broken etc. They do have a very large selection of 'bits' on display which is a great way to get you to buy a load of things you did not think you needed. Went in there the other day for a rear brake cylinder adjusting thingy (you know, for the handbrake adjustment) and found myself looking at the screwdrivers that they now do that have a socket end so you can use a spanner on them for that really tight screw 😳 😳 - which seems like a good idea! Look out for the socket set that comes in a green plastic case with a window - its about £14 and has a good set of metric and ....oh b*gger, forgotten, you know the other one, ratchet drive etc etc. As long as you have a 10mm, 13mm, 17mm and 19mm you should be fine!! New site! mycaterham.com here 42,000 in 23 months! Edited by - angus&tessa on 20 Jun 2003 23:56:13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterg Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 20% off at the moment - don't know when the sale ends though. Get the biggest 'Halfords Professional' socket set (one that comes with ratchet spanners, screwdriver and allen key bits as well) and you won't need much else - oh, 'cept a big hammer 😬 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted June 23, 2003 Share Posted June 23, 2003 Other must have tools: Hydraulic jack (they are cheap and very affordable) Tripod car stand X 4 ( never work under any car with out them!) Lamp with long extension cable ( you will always find obscure hidden parts ) battery charger (very handy for any car) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Will any hydraulic jack do, or do you need one with a special 'low' minimum height. Halfrauds ones seem to have a minimum of around 13-14 cm. Is this low enough to get under a 7? Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 The lower the better! It really does depend on how low your car is set up. Also, higher it can jack up the better of course. Most jacks can lift 2 tons +, Caterhams does not weigh more than 650 kg (all in) so there are no problems here! I got my self a cheap jack for about 30 quid from a respectable shop, it has worked very well so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frying Pan Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Charles I bought the Halfords jack and axle stands. You won't be jacking from the lowest point, so 14cm shouldn't be an issue (hopefully!). Bought a 99p rubber car mat and cut this up to make protectors for the jack and stands 'saddles'. Stuck the stand ones on with carpet tape, and made a filler piece for the jack with several layers of hardboard topped with the rubber - should protect the chassis well. Oh, my torque wrench arrived yesterday - impressive bit of kit! What are you doing about the lower torques 7HeavenSoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Looking at Darren's site, the only torques the Britool won't cover are: Steering rack clamps (11), steering column clamp (14), expansion tank bracket (11), bellcrank to link (14) and rear ARB clamp (7). If I can find a inexpensive/semi-decent low value wrench I might get it - otherwise I think it's just a 'by feel job'. Nothing here looks that vital (except bellcrank to link and ARB perhaps?). Any suggestions? 14cm sounds pretty high to me - that's why I was a bit concerned. A quick measure of the Boxster over the weekend suggested that it is around 14 cm - and I'd assumed a 7 would be lower. Are you supposed to store torque wrenches on the lowest torque setting, or 'below' the lowest setting (i.e. off the scale past minimum)? Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frying Pan Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Charles Have a look here (Sorry it's not a link!): http://www.drapertools.com/draper/templates/draper/products.asp?param=13&ig_id=5312&title=3%2F8%26%23147%3B+Sq%2E+Dr%2E+TORQUE+WRENCH+10%2D80Nm+%28DISPLAY+PACKED%29 Looks OK to me (10-80Nm). It's 3/8" drive, not 1/2", but my new socket set has both Strangely, they do a 'loose packed' version which is £8-9 dearer... Delivery is standard next day £4.50, guaranteed next day £8, or free standard next day if order value over £50). I've not used them, so don't know if they are any good delivery wise. The instructions with the Britool wrench say store on the lowest setting - I backed it off a little more (1/2 turn). Trolley jack - I'm not too worried abouth the 14cm height - I'll just park the car on some scaffold planks, which should raise it 2-3cm. Cheers 7HeavenSoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Tempted - and I can't find it cheaper. Not really needed, but what a great excuse for creating a really good toolkit! Now, where can I get a 41mm socket and a 200lb/ft torque wrench from...... Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frying Pan Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 here and here The torque wrench is pricey - can't you borrow one? Not likely to need it often... 😬 Can't get the links to work Try here: http://www.drapertools.com/draper/templates/draper/products.asp?param=13&ig_id=7574&title=41mm+%26%23190%3B%26%23147%3B+Sq%2E+Dr%2E+HUB+NUT+SOCKET and here: http://www.drapertools.com/draper/templates/draper/products.asp?param=13&ig_id=5365&title=%26%23190%3B%26%23147%3B+Sq%2E+Dr%2E+TORQUE+WRENCH+70%2D395Nm Edited by - 7heavensoon on 24 Jun 2003 20:31:26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dave Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 any one tryed mach. mart's ctj 2lr (page 97) it says 110mm but it is never in stock £30 with vat seems a fair price down by the sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Not really serious about the 200 lb/ft wrench - if I can't borrow one, then I can just wait for the post build check. However, a 41mm socket so that I can at least do up the hubs would be useful. The Draper one is 3/4" drive which would mean a convertor. red dave: This is the jack that I was looking at - unfortunately it suddenly seems to be out of stock everywhere, including my local store. Can anyone confirm the ground clearance of a Caterham at the jacking point? What is the minimum height I need for a jack? Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mav Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 The larger Halfords wrench does up to 245 lb/ft Halfords pro range of tools are good quality and price. Rachet spanners are really useful too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dave Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 got hands on a torque wrench 30-150lbf.ft /40-200 Nm 1/2 in drive. this is the same drive as most of my sockets. will it cover most settings for new build? it also has calibration certificate. down by the sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 The Halfords torque wrenches are rebranded Beta Tools wrenches......I`ve got two........good quality S2 8ELL Birkin S3 2.0 Zetec 170bhp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Red Dave, It will cover a lot - from Darren's site here, the only > 100 Nm setting is for the hub nuts. Unfortunately, this needs 271 Nm or 200 lb/ft of torque so you won't cover that one. However, there are quite a few less than 30 lb/ft so you'll either need to guess or buy another wrench to cover the smaller values. Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Edited by - CharlesElliott on 24 Jun 2003 21:53:28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooby dooby doo Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 you don't need a torque wrench for the hub nuts. just weigh yourself and work out the distance from the nut to stand on the break bar. the crankshaft pully bolt is 150 or 200 ft lbs i think HOOPY R706KGU Hoopylight R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YW Sin Posted June 24, 2003 Share Posted June 24, 2003 Oh well, it depends how heavy you are 😬 Edited by - yw sin on 25 Jun 2003 00:33:32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puremalt Posted June 26, 2003 Share Posted June 26, 2003 Not 'superlight ' certainly. Machine Mart (online) has everything you need. and more that you don't (sorry Mrs. Puremalt...) 😳 A paltry 99.9dB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wag Posted June 27, 2003 Share Posted June 27, 2003 If you have an SL, 140mm jack is too high. Its a pain to put your car on planks every time you want to jack it up. 100mm would be great but there are rare and expensive. 110mm is perhaps OK. Re torque, it always surprises me, when using a torque wrench, how low the specified torque is. Do not let a tyre fitter with an air gun near your alloy wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frying Pan Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 All Draper do a cheap 10-80Nm torque wrench. I've ordered one from here for £23 inc P&P which seems pretty reasonable. It may not be the best tool in the world, but shoudl be fine for the low torwue stuff - I've got a Britool calibrated one for the higher torques (and will borrow a bigger one for the hub nuts). Not arrived, yet, but I'll let you know if its any good... 7HeavenSoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Charles et al, Clearence is 140 mm for an Academy car and 120 mm for RS and SGrads. Tricky Academy 2003 Group 1 Race # 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlesElliott Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Thanks Tricky! It seems that Machine Mart are back in stock of their 110mm jack anyway though, so I'm going for that one just in case I ever want to put better tyres on the car and it drops a lot! [my site is down at the moment - girlfriend turned the PC off] Charles --- My Caterham Academy 2004 Diary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frying Pan Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 my site is down at the moment - girlfriend turned the PC off You've got to love 'em 😬 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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