5 Home Depot Finds No Home Mechanic Should Be Without
Automotive upkeep and repair are some of the most mechanically-involved activities you can get up to in your own home. A car is kind of like a gigantic steel puzzle; every single part needs to be both in working order and in perfect harmony with every part around it, or the entire thing can stop working properly. This is why you can't undertake upkeep half-heartedly — if you try to fix any small problems with your car with some random tools you found in your junk drawer, you're liable to make those problems substantially worse. Car insurance doesn't cover self-inflicted mishaps, you know.
If you've got the drive to be a home mechanic, you're going to need a set of tools and equipment that are just as up to the job. From mighty power tools to comprehensive fittings, if you've got a suite of professional-grade tools, you'll be able to fix and maintain your car as well as any full garage without needing to call a tow truck.
If you're looking to build out your mechanic arsenal, try visiting your local Home Depot. There are plenty of great tools on offer, five of which we can recommend with the assistance of professional mechanics. More information on our selection methodology is available at the bottom of the page.
Husky 270-Piece Mechanics Tool Set
The first thing any burgeoning mechanic needs is a proverbial bag of tricks. More specifically, you need a professional-grade tool box packed to the gills with every possible adjustment tool and fitting you could need for basic adjustments on your car and its components. Such a set can help to not only knock out simple loosening and tightening, but help to elucidate when you might need something a little more heavy-duty.
The 270-piece Mechanics tool set from Husky is a great place to start your automotive journey. This massive set includes three different 72-teeth ratchets, a myriad of drive and bit sockets of various sizes, drive extensions, and 8 combination wrenches. All of this is packed up into a sturdy storage case with built-in size-organizing drawers so you always know where to find a tool or fitting. Both the tools and fittings are made of heat-treated S2 steel, ready to stand by your side throughout your mechanical pursuits.
The Husky Mechanics Tool Set is available at Home Depot for $199.00, where it has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5. DIY YouTube channel Crossthread Garage was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of sockets included in the set for every possible occasion, as well as the marked drawers for easy parts location.
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2 in. Impact Wrench
A car is absolutely rife with fasteners of just about every shape and size, some of which can go neglected for a while. Even if the rest of your car is in good shape, a lone bolt can get stuck in place if you forget about it for long enough, to the point that it stubbornly refuses to yield to a regular wrench when you need to turn it. If you've got a pesky bolt somewhere on your car that demands a little more muscle, it's time to respond in kind.
Milwaukee's M18 FUEL Impact Wrench is a real haymaker of a power tool, utilizing a brushless motor to deliver up to 1,100 ft-lbs of torque for driving in fasteners, as well as up to 1,600 ft-lbs for removing them. The built-in Friction Ring allows for smooth and simple socket changes so you can snap on a socket at a moment's notice, while the Battery Isolator helps to dampen the intense vibrational force and reduce strain.
The Milwaukee M18 FUEL Impact Wrench is available at Home Depot for $299.00, where it has a user rating of 4.9 out of 5. Tool review YouTube channel Shop Tool Reviews was impressed by the absolutely brutal torque output from this device, so much so that it actually outpaced the large fastening anvils they were testing with.
Husky 3-Ton Aluminum/Steel Car Jack
Unless you happen to be very good at limbo, you can't easily get underneath your car for maintenance and repairs on the bottom of the carriage. You obviously can't lift and hold your car with your own power either, unless you happen to be a superhero. In such times, you need a sturdy and reliable means of propping up your vehicle so you can work safely beneath it.
The Husky 3-Ton Car Jack is made up of a combination of aluminum and steel, granting it both impressive durability and a relatively light body. The device itself only weighs about 60 pounds, but its dual-piston pump can hold up to 6,000 pounds at up to 18 inches into the air. Don't worry about putting excessive pressure on one side of your car, as the jack saddle has a rubber padded design to prevent any marks or damage.
The Husky 3-Ton Car Jack is available at Home Depot for $199.00, where it has a user rating of 4.5 out of 5. Users appreciate the smooth action of the pump and piston, allowing for quick and easy setups. Several users enjoyed the jack's compact and discrete design, which helps to prevent tripping over it while moving around a garage.
Milwaukee M12 FUEL High Speed 1/4 in. Ratchet
A car is full of narrow nooks, each of which is jam-packed with fasteners in weird, obtuse spots. Even if you've got something powerful on hand like an impact wrench, it's going to be doing exactly nothing if you can't actually reach the fastener you're targeting. Normally, the tool of choice in this scenario is a ratchet, but you don't exactly have a lot of room for repetitive twisting motions either. Instead, just let a little motor handle it.
The Milwaukee M12 FUEL High Speed Ratchet takes both the guesswork and the repetitive motions out of spinning obtuse fasteners. Just stick the tip into a nook, place the bit over a fastener, and squeeze the variable speed trigger. The brushless motor spins the bit at up to 450 RPM, delivering up to 35 ft-lbs of torque, and is perfect for quirky bolts in weird spots. Milwaukee's proprietary REDLINK PLUS technology helps to regulate the flow of power from the battery pack, preventing overheating and overloading during extended usage, allowing you to spend the day in your car with peace of mind.
Milwaukee's M12 FUEL High Speed Ratchet is available at Home Depot for $199.00, where it has a user rating of 4.7 out of 5. Kenny Koehler of Pro Tool Reviews gave this tool a sparkling 9.6 out of 10 rating, praising its steadfast power and comfortable grip.
Milwaukee M12 ROVER Service and Repair Flood Light
Whether you're working underneath your car or have your head buried in the hood compartment, it's pretty much a given that it's going to be dark in there. Cars may demand precision maintenance from you, but their cramped spaces don't exactly do much to facilitate that precision. If you want to do your work properly, you'll need a reliable way to shed a little light on the situation.
Milwaukee's M12 ROVER Flood Light is the perfect modular lighting source for maintenance and repair work both in and out of your car. It's small and light, perfectly sized to hold in your hands while you inspect your car's internals with its 700 lumen beam. When it's time to work with your hands, though, you can plant the magnetic body right onto any metal surface (of which you have no shortage of in a car) and bend the light panel to your ideal angle. Whenever you're done working in the dark, you can also use this device as a portable phone charger, drawing from its battery with a 2.1 amp USB output.
The Milwaukee M12 Rover Flood Light is available at Home Depot for $79.00, where it has a user rating of 4.9 out of 5. DIY YouTuber Jake Weihe gave this light high marks for its compact and convenient design, as well as the reliability of its magnetic grip.
Selection methodology
The preceding products were selected from Home Depot's online catalog of mechanics' tools, including power tools and workshop equipment. Preference was given to products with a user rating of at least 4 out of 5, as well as positive feedback from an accredited tool review publication or YouTube channel with at least 3,000 subscribers.