Or in other words, I went to Harbor Freight today. 😁
Depending on what you buy there, the quality can be fairly good. Check out the Wrench Every Day channel on YouTube, where Jared and Tavarish have been comparing tool sets, and another episode where Jared compares some of their welders.
For my purposes, when I need something that doesn’t get much use or abuse, the Harbor Freight products hold up well enough. I’ve more than abused a ball joint/tie rod removal tool, expecting it to snap in half (especially when I give it the ugga-duggas with the impact), but it keeps popping them apart every time.
Today’s trip was to a different store than our local one–this one is much bigger, much cleaner, better stocked, and has fewer shady shoppers in the store.
Today’s haul?
I mainly went for some of their famous jack stands. No, not those jack stands (the collapsible model), but another style that is made out of aluminum and has a through-pin to positively hold it at the right height. I don’t trust my current stands (purchased well before they opened up local stores), as they’re the type with a ratcheting lever.
I also have some body work to do. One of the CR-Vs had someone back into the rear bumper in a parking lot. They caught the tie-down on the spare tire tub, and wrinkled it. My options to fix it were to pay several hundred out of pocket, have insurace cover it and pay hundreds more in premiums for five years, or spend $70 in tools to fix it myself.
Here’s the plan. I bought a ratcheting winch, $25, that I can hook to the rear trailer hitch on another vehicle, and hook the other to the tie-down. Then, the set of body tools I bought ($45) will let me release the pressure in the metal as I slowly tighten the ratchet to straighten things out. Once I get it mostly straight, I’ll use the other body tools to slowly massage most of the rest of the metal back in place. As this is the spare tire tub, I will then reseal the seams where needed, prime it, then cover both inside and out with truck bed liner. That way, the bodywork (which will rarely be seen) won’t have to be completely perfect.
The rear bumper cover is torn in one place, but since it has some scuffs in it, I may find a replacement. (I considered getting a plastic welding kit for it, but now I can wait a bit before I get that.) Ditto the garnish trim for the lower part of the tailgate, as it was dented and paint is flaking off. I may have to pull out the rear bumper behind the bumper cover slightly, but that won’t be seen either.
The oldest hooptie in the driveway also has some front end damage (bumper beam and radiator support) that I may practice on first.
Tip of the Day
To protect your fenders when working on an engine, pick up some of the cheap moving blankets from Harbor Freight. The smaller sizes are only $4.99 each. They are soft, larger than needed (they can be folded over for more cushioning) and if they get to tattered, they can be replaced cheaply.
