Myst8u

Hi all!

In the last few months I have been gaining enthusiasm for wanting to fix my own lil 1994 Honda civic DX coupe. I've been watching a lot of ChrisFix videos and looking up various things about my car and I would really like to at least be able to do minor to moderate repairs on my own instead of pay a lot at the mechanics for every needed repair. Plus I've just been wanting to know these things anyway for a long time (Neither of my parents knew or taught me much about cars let alone proper maintenance) So I am going to treat myself this month to my first mechanics tool set. My budget is about $100 but that's really stretching it, less for good quality would be even better. I'm thinking of getting a 173 piece set of Dewalt tools from costco for $79.99 once the sale kicks in from Nov 7th-21st. Beforehand I was considering Kobalt as well, given that they are cheap but good quality for a beginner.

https://www.costco.com/dewalt-173-pi...100507719.html

Would the Dewalt set from Costco work for basic things like spark plug replacement, oil change, radiator flushing and so forth? I wanted to be very sure before buying since tools are more an investment than just a ***** nilly purchase. I'm looking for the best bang for my buck but also the best variance of different tools and sizes. I am also going to be getting a torque wrench, breaker bar, paint for repair and various other things down the road as I save money for it. Thank you!

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Craftsman tools are allegedly "crap," but that lifetime warranty on hand tools (torque wrench excluded) is great. Literally pop I to a Sears with the broken tool and they'll swap it out with a new/equivalent. Haven't had any problems, tbh. Kobalt tools haven't given me any problems either.

Before I continue, I'm gonna be completely candid and tell you I didn't quite, 100%, read your post. More skimmed it, if anything. Lol.

Also, when I first joined this forum, I could only change oil, brake pads, and change a tire. Back in like.. 2013, I disassembled an engine block, reassembled it, and dropped it into my 2002 Civic, all in my driveway, solo.

You can literally take apart most of most civics with 10 and 12mm sockets/wrenches, with the need for 14, 17, and 19mm in some areas. Axle nuts are something like 32mm. Extensions are your friend. A couple different funnels, too. One for oil (I have one that is a tight fit in the oil fill port and I can drop a quart on it without it falling over), one for coolant (again, this dinner kinda sits in the radiator fill by itself without falling over), and one for tranny fluid (mine has a long gooseneck)

My in-car tool kit has the ability to do damn near anything. Contains a socket 3/8” drive socket wrench, full set of metric/sae sockets with spark plug socket, a few extensions (1.5", 3", 6", 9", 12") set of ratcheting combo wrenches (10-19mm), a couple pairs of pliers, some side cutters, a Stanley 6-in-1 screwdriver (love this thing), flash light, knife, 19mm lug nut socket, and 14" 1/2" drive breaker bar. Random array of randomly collected allen wrenches, and a handful of zipties and electrical tape, too. That kit, plus a few specialty tools, got me through that engine rebuild as well as a few timing belt changes.

Those specialty tools included a Honda/Acura crank pulley holding tool, valve spring compressor, piston ring compressor, and a 14mm socket I cut channels in to quickly tighten the alternator tensioning wing bolt on my 2002. I also own 2 torque wrenches, a 150ft-lb and a 250 in-lb torque wrench. Navy training told me you should choose a torque wrench where your torque values fall between 20-90% of your torque wrench's range.

"Chemical-based" things that don't hurt to keep on hand: brake cleaner, anti-seize, assembly lube, and maybe a thing of RTV/liquid gasket stuff. And that's a big maybe on that one.

If you want to collect some extra tools, either now or later down the line, an impact socket set is always a good investment. I have a cheap harbor freight set and it does me well. That paired with a harbor freight electric impact for especially stubborn bolts. Wire brushes are always good to have, but not completely necessary. A hank of Paracord and/or some sort of twine is always helpful, too. An oil filter wrench that attaches to your socket wrench is a good investment. Not all oil filter wrenches are created equal. I returned about 3 different oil filter wrenches on Amazon until I found one that worked perfectly for my filter of choice. A metric tap/die set is helpful if you're missing and need to make brackets, or otherwise chase chewed up threads.

Specialty/those extra tools, I'd hold off until you know you'll need em. Useless to buy it first then never use it. Just make sure you know where to buy the tool well beforehand. When I did my first head gasket change, I had to borrow my pop's car and drive all over Vegas to find the proper valve spring compressor. Took me 4 hours to find that bloody tool. Otherwise, know where to rent the tool. Only tool I've had to rent was a ball joint tool.


After revisiting your post a few times over, that's all I could think of at the moment. If you have any more questions, ask up! Anything you can think of I didn't cover, anything, my dude.

Edit: here's my in-car tool kit. It's since been updated (a few more extensions, organization for wrenches, etc), but you get the point. I'll try and find the legend I made for that pic

Labeled kinda clockwise starting from the top left, in a sort of spiral pattern.. ish..
A: 2 pairs of nitrile gloves.
B: Mechanix gloves. They're beat to hell, but they still get the job done
C: A couple of combo wrenches i needed for.. something. 13mm and 15mm
D: Pliers with side cutters and a pair of diagonal cutters
E: My trusty knife. Was my EDC when I was active duty Navy. CRKT M16-13SFG. I also carry a Benchmade mini griptillian on me at all times. Well, most times.
F: Vise Grip "groove lock" pliers
G: Craftsman 3/8" drive ratcheting wrench and 1.5" extension
H: Phillips head screwdriver and a Stanley 6-in-1 screw driver thing.
I: Stanley 3/8" and 1/4" drive socket set. The 3/8" drive ratcheting wrench's ratchet mechanism is kinda.. wonky.. hence the extra craftsman one. I also have a socket drill attachment shoved under the 3/8" drive. Fits perfectly in that 6-in-1 thing.
J: Craftsman ratcheting combo wrench set, 10mm-17mm
K: I was wrong about the length of the breaker bar. It's a 14", not 18". 1/2" drive was spot on, though.
L: Torx bit in a drill attachment. Also fits well in that 6-in-1 thing. I use that for license plate fasteners
M: 19mm deep well socket that has a wheel-friendly delrin sleeve. Truth be told, I don't know the lug nut size, but this one worked on my 2002 civic's lugs. I just naturally assumed it'd be the same size.
N: Inspection mirror. I'm pretty sure I accidentally stole this from an ex-gf, but it works great trying to see things I don't have a direct line of sight.
O: Various allen wrenches I've accumulated.
P: Work-friendly box cutter. Bossman turns a blind eye when I bust out the Benchmade.
Q: Random threaded fasteners I threw in the bag at some point.
R: Fuses, all separated by amp rating
S: Liquid electrical tape. Used it once when I was sealing up exposed wires on my 2002's retrofit.
T: Actual electrical tape
U: Zip ties. I need to replenish my supply

Edit 2: ooh! Get yourself a multimeter. I would say an obd reader, too, but you got a 94. Lol

Myst8u

You are freaking amazing, thank you!

It's ok, I know it's a wall of text, sorry lol I do like to be through in explaining myself.

I definitely don't mind going craftsman for some tools, I just really wanna make sure my ratchet and socket sets are really good quality so I can hang onto them as long as I can. I already had Anti-seize in mind, wire brushes, break cleaner, oil filter wrench, lube, pliers and such in mind so it's good to see from your suggestions that what I was aiming for is definitely going to be well worth getting.

"Navy training told me you should choose a torque wrench where your torque values fall between 20-90% of your torque wrench's range." what do you mean by that? All of this stuff is fairly new to me so pardon me if I ask questions that seem stupid.

It's good to know that most parts on a Honda won't take too many different tool sizes, another reason I love my simple little Honda car. I was actually looking at an article today talking about scan tools and Oscilloscopes and I thought "Oooo! A scan tool would be gre- OHHH THAT'S RIGHT IT'S OBD 1 NEVERMIND" X)

Given that Hondas generally only need Metric tools should I just say nay to a tool set with both and start out with metric only? (given that I only plan to work on my car) I suppose having both SAE/METRIC would be better safe than sorry.

I bought my first Hydraulic jack and jack stands the other night, got some clay bars and cleaning tools in my excitement as well. I am ashamed to admit that before watching some ChrisFix videos I just thought it was fine to wash my car with a hard kitchen scrub brush and soapy water, even used the brush on the GLASS So that's where the micro scratches on the back windshield came from I plan to start some rust repair on the body as well soon, which I am really really excited for if I am successful.

I actually dream of disassembling my own engine, cleaning it up, repairing old parts and putting it back in but that task seems so daunting right now. Also the fact that this car is all I got and I don't have the finances for a new one makes me want to make extra sure I don't mess it up too badly. Someday though, If I decide to take on the task, I'll get an engine from a junk yard or something and practice on that first.

I also hope to replace my passenger door one day. My first and only accident I got into busted the passenger door so we had to replace it with a cheap messed up blue door (Car is white). One side of the car looks good while the other is jank. It's like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hide ha! Can you use hand tools to remove a door or is that something you need pneumatic tools for? I am actually a dudette not a dude but I call everyone "dude" so I really don't care which I'm called lol

BrotatoChip

If the torque wrench's range is 0-100 ft-lbs only use it for torque requirements between 20-90 ft-lbs. 20% of 100 is 20, 90% of 100 is 90.

You would probably be ok with just metric but most kits come with both. My first socket set had 3/8" drive 6-19 mm sockets and the SAE equivalent, a spark plug socket, and 3" extension. I added in a 6" extension and still use it regularly today.

I felt the same way the first time. It honestly isn't that bad though. Pick up a service manual and it tells you how to do everything.

I have disassembled/reassembled just about everything on my '02 Civic. I don't own any pneumatic tools or even an impact gun. An impact would make some things much easier but I've never felt like I have to have one.

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

I added the legend for my picture. Also, I only skimmed because I was tired after working out and browsing from phone. lol. I'm pretty sure I ended up reading your entire post because I kept scrolling back and forth between my post and your post. lol

Myst8u

ok, I wondered if that's what that meant! I liken it to a kitchen scale where if you're too close to the min or max there is more chance for inaccuracy.

Sounds like I should just get a tool set with both then given that it's better to be prepared than have to go out and buy an extra thing I could already have.

Next paycheck I plan on ordering the physical service manual, I found a digital version online as well. I already ordered the Haynes repair manual for '92-'95 honda civic and Del sol just in case, and my owners manual because when my father first bought this car from someone else they didn't have it. Speaking of which, anyone need a 1994 Honda Civic Sedan manual? lol I accidentally bought the wrong one because the listing for it on Ebay was vague and I thought it was a general manual for several models.

It's good to know that hand tools will do the job then, makes it easier to acquire tools for right now.

Also thank you xRiCeBoYx that legend is super helpful!

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

People knock Harbor Freight but for the average DIYer their mechanics tools are decent. Get yourself some 20% coupons and you can have a set in no time.

I highly recommend getting some 1/2" drive sockets and breaker bar for suspension related stuff. Again HF is a good place for this. I have one of their breaker bars and it works great. When the time comes to do things like ball joints their ball joint separator works great too.

Also for spark plugs get yourself a piece of rubber hose that fits over the end snugly so that you can thread them in by hand with the hose to reduce cross threading chances. Also works for fetching them down the spark plug tubes for removal.

j1990

+1
Harbor Freight is a cheap, easy way to get yourself in the game. Always can upgrade later, if you find it needed!