VW New Beetle rear quarter window regulator kits are available.

In this how to auto blog, we mention the auto tools needed to complete rear quarter window regulator repair on the VW New Beetle. Fair warning though, this job may be too involved for the average DIY (Do It Yourself-er). Labor time in the Mitchell labor guide calls for 2.4 hours each side ( the first time it will probably take longer) for changing the rear quarter window assembly, no extra combination time is listed for installing the repair kit. Getting this job done at the dealer could cost from six to eight hundred dollars, or around two to three hundred for the repair kit installed. Even if you don’t do this job yourself, at least now you know your options.
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KD 41540 – What’s in your tool box?

You may already know from reading our auto tool blog that DenLors Automotive tools sells a lot of Jump-n-Carry Jump boxes, OTC scanners, OTC tire pressure monitors, OTC auto specialty tools and Visual Optics video inspection scopes (and much more). But did you know that KD tools has introduced many so many neat automotive hand tools recently that we have had to make special provisions to keep up with the demand? This automotive tool blog is on five of KD Tools latest and greatest auto specialty tools at prices that won’t break the bank.  

KD 41540 rear brake caliper tool kit is a specialty hand tool kit that comes in a nice storage case, it has many rear disc caliper piston adapters to fit a variety of cars. This has been one of the most popular new mechanics tool kits recently due to it’s low price and range of use. Most rear disc brake caliper pistons wind back in, due to the emergency brake being built into the caliper. This tool makes screwing the rear disc caliper piston back into the caliper much easier when performing a brake job.

Low Profile Magnetic Oil Drain Socket Set by KD Tools

KD 3870 is a magnetic oil drain plug socket set that comes with a low profile gear ratchet and storage case. The neat thing about this tool kit is that the magnetic sockets are color coded and have a thumb wheel design, they make handling hot oil drain plugs much easier, since you can hold onto the socket instead of the hot drain plug to keep from getting burned while doing that quick oil change. The low profile GearRatchet (KD Tools owns GearWrench) fits in tight areas like between the oil drain plug and most car’s sub-frames. Some tech’s keep this oil drain plug socket set attached to their oil drain right along side the oil filter pliers.

Serpentine Belt Set by KD Tools

KD 3680 is a really cool serpentine belt tool set that makes accessing hard to reach serpentine belt tensioners much easier. Common sizes are included in this kit to fit most serpentine belt tensioners and the long narrow extension arm attaches to the GearWrench at any position and then the crows foot or socket goes in the end of the GearWrench. This mechanics tool set makes frustrating serpentine belts a breeze to change. Once you use this KD tool set you’ll never want to use a regular ratchet or wrench again to change a car’s serpentine belt.

One Man Brake Bleeding Kit by KD Tools

KD 3712 provides a quick and efficient way to bleed brakes. Being able to bleed the brakes without having someone to pump the brakes saves a lot of time. This tool kit allows the auto mechanic to place the auto-fill brake fluid bottle in place before raising the car up on the lift, to bleed the brakes. The vacuum bleeder works fast, so having the auto fill prevents accidentally emptying the master cylinder and getting air in the system. The vacuum brake bleeder also helps to prevent having slippery brake fluid on the shop’s floor, that manual brake bleeding usually results in. Many mechanics are upselling a brake flush to their customers that are in for a regular oil change. If the customer watches while to flush is being done, it will look much more professional to use this brake bleeding kit than to allow the brake fluid to drip down on the floor.   

Thread On Fan Clutch Tool Set by KD Tools

KD 3472 is for fan clutch assemblies that thread on to the water pump instead of bolt on. These type of fan clutches used to be found only on Fords, now they can be found on other makes as well. When changing a water pump or fan clutch this tool makes life easier. The narrow access to the fan clutch wrench flats requires a slim design tool to reach it comfortably. The KD 3472 not only has the wrench, it has the holder so that keeps the water pump from spinning while removing the car’s fan clutch. One vehicle that has a thermostatic fan clutch that is prone to failure is the Jeep Liberty. The fan clutch sensor wires commonly get chafed, sometimes causing a fault code. Flat rate time for changing the fan clutch on the Liberty is 2.8 hours, this tool makes the job go much easier, one job could pay for the tool.          

Northstar water pump replacement, not so bad with correct mechanics tool

This automotive tool blog features a specialty auto mechanics tool for changing the Northstar water pump. The Cadillac Northstar water pump is located at the rear of the engine. As the picture shows, there is a belt cover over the water pump drive belt at the rear of the front valve cover. The special mechanics tool required for this job used to be only available in more expensive specialty tool brands like Schley Products. If the tool is to be used frequently, the more expensive version of the specialty may be the best choice. If the mechanic only changes a few of these a year, the Lisle Northstar mechanics tool will work just fine. 

Remove the air cleaner to access the water pump

Mechanics tools make life easier, in fact without this specialty tool, replacement is simply is not possible. First access the water pump by removing the air cleaner housing and swing the ECU (Electronic Control Unit) out of the way. Remove the water pump drive belt cover and belt. The water pump fits inside the coolant housing.

Access by securing outer coolant housing out of the way

Auto Tools required up this point are everyday, common auto mechanic tools that most mechanics will already have in their tool box. Of course the spring hose clamps can be removed much easier with the correct hose clamp tools as opposed to regular pliers. The professional auto technician more than likely already has a nice set of Mayhew hose clamp tools.

Northstar water pump revealed

This Waterpump tool is only used on the Northstar. The water pump is a twist in design. The Northstar water pump socket slips in around the waterpump and catches the tabs. A simple twist and the water pump comes out. Be sure that the old o-ring seal is removed. The rubber seal comes out easily, and the good thing is there’s no gasket scraping needed for the water pump itself. Gasket removal is needed for many other water pumps, but this one has a removable seal and it is easy to access. If there is any corrosion build up on the housing this should be removed. Gluing the new seals in place may be necessary to hold them in place for installation.

Lisle waterpump tool use

Water-pump Removed

Automotive specialty tools like this makes certain jobs a piece of cake. Without this specific mechanic tool, the tech finds himself down the creek, well you know the rest.

This YouTube Video Shows a Classic Auto Assembly Line

Automotive assembly lines sure have changed, I didn’t see one robot! They were pretty advanced though considering this was in the 60’s. One of the most automated tools I saw in this car assembly line video was the spot welder for welding the body panels together. The spot welder was kind of similar to the Miller spot welder that we sell.

Metal Stamping.  The huge metal stamping press, for creating and shaping the metal body panels is just cool. Assembly line processes have always been a curiosity of mine. I worked on cars for years and have found myself asking, How  did they do that?  Thanks to video sites like YouTube, it’s easy to have many questions answered.

7,000 Gallons of Paint.  I like the fact that these VW cars were submersed completely in paint. I know that when the Ford Mustang was built in the 60’s they were certainly not dipped. My 1967 Convertible Ford Mustang Cowl Repair was needed mainly because the body wasn’t dipped or rust proofed in any way on the backside of the body panel. That was a nightmare auto repair for me, since I’m more of a mechanical repair guy and not a body or paint man. 

What’s Old is New Again.  Who knows Mexico and maybe Cuba could possibly be using this assembly line footage in their VW manufacturing plants as a new employee training film!

Some of our most requested tools lately has been specialty tools for aligning cams and cranks for timing chain alignment. In the past changing a timing chain or timing belt only required basic tools to get the job done. The camshaft and crankshaft sprockets only went on one way due to the design that used a key-way which only allowed the pulley to go on one way. Alignment marks for the cam and crank were aligned per directions from the service manual. Now many engines have no key-way and the pulleys are pressed on. Since the key-way is not used in increasing number of vehicles, specialty automotive tools are required to properly Align the cam and crank.

Looking for the Marks.  Many auto mechanics, when changing a timing chain in the past could just look for the timing marks and not even have to look up the timing mark diagram in the service manual (me included). It was pretty simple, bring the number one cylinder to top dead center and look for the obvious timing marks. Most of the time there was only the crank and only one camshaft to deal with and the pulleys went on one way. Times are changing.   

European Influence.  In the past, most of the vehicles that did require specialty cam/crank holders and line-up tools were Volkswagen’s, BMW’s and Volvo’s. More cars sold in the US are using European designed or influenced engines. They are not as easy to work on, some have VVT (Variable Valve Timing), SOHC (Single Over Head Cam), DOHC (Double Over Head Cam) engines that aren’t nearly as simple. Now with American cars using more engine designs from overseas, auto technicians are finding that the old familiar timing marks that were stamped on the timing covers or pulleys are now gone.

Ford Explorer.  One very popular engine that requires cam and crank alignment tools is the German built 4.0 SOHC that is used in Ford Explorers from 1997 and up. Rotunda has been selling specialty tools for years that are used for holding the proper alignment of the cams and crank, since the pulleys can be pressed on in any position. There are eight tools required to align and hold everything in place when aligning the crank and cams. As with many Ford Rotunda specialty tools, once they have been the exclusive supplier of specific dealer required tools for a certain period of time, they start selling these auto tools under the OTC (Owatonna Tool Company) label. The above mentioned Rotunda equivelant auto tools are in a kit, the OTC6488-OCDEM.

All Makes.  Ford is not the only manufacturer that uses European designed engines that require these specialty tools. Chevrolet and Chrysler also have gone with import designs for their engines as well. Alignment tools required for Chrysler are usually labeled Miller specialty tools and Chevrolet required specialty tools are usually labeled as Kent Moore. Rotunda, Miller, Kent Moore and OTC specialty tools along with many other brand names are all under the SPX Corporation (Sealed Power Corporation) umbrella.

Professional Repairs.  Since there are many different specialty tools required for changing timing chains or aligning the old timing chain after having a cylinder head off, this precludes many DIY’s (Do It Yourselfers) from tackling this type of job. This is good news for professional auto repair shops that are willing to invest in the specialty tools required to repair these engines. For the well equipped auto repair shop, there will be no shortage of repair work in the future.