Lisle Auto Tools manufacturing company was started in Clarinda, Iowa in 1903 by C.A. Lisle. The first tool his company manufactured surprisingly wasn’t an automotive tool at all, it was water well drilling equipment powered by a horse! Subsequent products were not automotive related either, remember old ringer washers? And how about the old style manual push mower? Some twenty years after the Lisle Corporation was first started, the tool company made its first automotive product.

Read the rest…

Cutting nails short keeps dirt from getting underneath – still stains

The picture above is of a neglected thumb (Not a nasty middle finger). Our hands are the most valuable tools we possess, it makes sense to protect them. I remember when I first started turning wrenches, you were a sissy and a wimp if you were afraid to get your hands dirty. I used to be constantly exposed to grease, oil, mineral spirits, carb cleaner and brake clean. I recall working I in a 10 bay shop, with the bays lined up in a row. Many times I was 6 to 9 bays away from the nearest sink, where we washed our hands. I would many times use brake clean to spray off my hands, to save time. In addition I  was frequently washing my hands with cleaners and hand soaps that would dry my hands out allowing the grime to easily work it’s way deep into my skin. Needless to say, my hands were constantly stained. The only time my hands would really come clean was when I went on vacation, especially to the beach. After a week away from dirt and grime, my hands in the salt water frequently for that week, my hands would finally get back to normal. My wife would always comment “your hands are so clean”.  Then back into the grease I would go until another year passed and it was vacation time again.

Read the rest…

Photo coutresy of Nashville City Paper

Dave Ramsey is becoming more and popular these days, especially with the troubling financial times we are finding ourselves in. Dave Ramsey is a financial expert and writer, his most popular book is called The Total Money Makeover. He’s earned the title of financial guru by learning the hard way about finances and the risk of going head over heals in debt. Dave was leveraged in real estate investments to the tune of four million dollars over twenty years ago. As fate would have it, he lost it all when his short term loans were sold and the new banks demanded payment before it was possible for Dave to deliver. This experience has caused Dave to change his thinking on loans and personal finance. He now advises people to pay debt off and cut up the credit cards. I personally like his country boy, down to earth, shoot it to you straight mentality. Dave Ramsey reminds me of a teacher that I had back in high school. Frank Gentry, my old marketing teacher, had a similar laid back teaching style. Dave Ramsey’s lessons encourage you to think and grow. Few teacher’s names are remembered years later in life unless they have truly affected your way of thinking and how you view opportunites. Dave, like my old marketing teacher is definitely a “glass is half full” type of guy. If your sick and tired of living your life “pay check to pay check”, then you’ll definitely want to listen to what Dave has to say.
Read the rest…

Video inspection scopes are now quite affordable.

Doctors have used fiber optic bore-scopes and endoscopes in the medical field for a longer period of time than automotive technicians have used inspection scopes in the automotive repair field. The high cost for these gadgets in the past prevented lower income fields from justifying the purchase of them. 

Read the rest…

See the quality difference in the Heli-Coil (top) & the Calvan (bottom)

In this automotive repair/tool blog we cover Ford spark plugs blown out of cylinder heads, it’s still a huge problem. To date we have sold hundreds of Calvan spark plug thread insert tool kits and have had no one call back to say it was too hard or it didn’t work. The included video makes the spark plug insert repair easy to understand and answers all the questions about how this job can be done in the vehicle saving thousands of dollars. We are commonly asked if the Calvan spark plug repair kit will work after TimeSert, Heli-Coil or some other thin, weak repair has failed and have blown out AGAIN. The answer is yes, Calvan inserts are much thicker than the competitor’s inserts and will work much like an over-size oil drain plug will work in a stripped out oil pan. Since the Calvan insert is not just a coil of wire like the Heli-Coil it is much stronger. And since the Calvan insert is thicker than the Time Sert, many times it can be used when the Time Sert is spit out.

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.
Read the rest…

New Specialty tool for handling Ford broken spark plugs!

If you’re a subscriber to our automotive tool blog, you know we pointed out in a previous post, the need for a less expensive alternative to the Ford Rotunda 303-1398. The SPX Rotunda 303-1203 removes broken spark plugs on some Ford 5.4 engines, 2004 and up. But it only works after the broken porcelain piece is out of the way. That’s where the new Lisle LIS 65600 automotive specialty tool, comes into the picture. The best way to try to prevent Ford spark plugs from breaking to begin with (per a Ford Technical Service Bulletin-TSB) is to loosen the spark plugs slightly and then soak them with penetrating oil. Sometimes the carbon build up around the electrode shield will still separate from the main part of the spark plug. So, in many cases the porcelain part of the spark plug will stay in. This prevents the use of the 303-1203. Rotunda offers the SPX 303-1398 to remove the porcelain or ceramic piece, but the pins included in this six hundred dollar kit can only be used once. The pins are secured into the center of the broken spark plug (where the electrode was) with loc-tite, then the puller is used to hopefully pull the ceramic piece out of the way, so the two hundred dollar 303-1203 can be used to remove the metal electrode shield. Read the rest…

OTC 6521 Smoke Machine – Auto Specialty Tool

OK, so this smoke machine is an automotive specialty tool for Evaporative leak testing and not the type of smoke machine your kids will be wanting for Halloween. But, we have a great deal on the OTC 6521 smoke machine and decided to add it to our first annual Halloween, automotive tool sale. It’s on sale with free shipping and no sales tax charged outside the state of Florida (see current listing).

Engine Fault codes like P0440, P0442, P0455, P0456 and P0457 can be caused by EVAP system leaks. And for those pesky Evaporative codes, nothing beats having the right tool for the job. Leaks are the most common cause of EVAP codes and if it’s not just a loose gas cap, the OTC 6521 will provide a quick easy way to find the source of the leak.

Vacuum Leaks can also be traced easily with the OTC 6521 smoke machine. Fault codes for lean conditions like P0172 and P0174 are typically due to a vacuum leak. If the vacuum leak isn’t a huge obvious hissing leak, then a quick smoke check with the OTC6521 smoke machine will make short work of finding the source of the problem. Just remove any engine vacuum line and block off the throttle body and the smoke will reveal the leak.

Smoke Testing directions using the smoke machine can be viewed in much more detail in our exclusive tech article. The adapter cones that come with this smoke machine will allow much versatility when attaching the machine. Exhaust leaks are easy to find by using one of the included cones to attach to the tail pipe (after the car has cooled off). This is a particularly good test when a cracked exhaust manifold is suspected. So, why not consider a smoke machine for year round use? This smoke machine not only makes smoke, it makes money!

It seems that with all the new choices for wireless automotive scan tools now, information is hard to come by. Our recently revised automotive tech article compares the top three wireless, touch screen automotive scan tools from Snap On (Verus), OTC (Pegisys) and Launch (X431Tool). Snap On known for it’s quality tools and yes, high prices. Snap On has the Verus to offer shops that are looking for a good all around scan tool that works well with many different types of vehicles and systems. The good news is that there are other choices for premium wireless auto scan tools that have wireless capabilities and an Internet connection feature that is really a plus when it comes to diagnosing today’s cars. The OTC Pegisys is sure to become a very popular choice and will most likely surpass the OTC Genisys scan tool in sales in the years to come (see our previous post on the Genisys Scan Tool). Genisys isn’t done yet though, for shops that want a bargain scan tool with plenty of capability the Genisys scan tool still certainly provides that. And then there is the Launch X431Tool, a new wireless scan tool that you may not have heard about, but has been a popular choice outside the US for some time now. For shops that want a premium wireless scan tool at a great price, the Launch is worth considering. One of the best things about the Launch is that it includes Domestic, Asian and European coverage with free updates for one year directly from their website. With Launch, updates can be done every week if desired and Launch is constantly upgrading the software. So, many technicians are taking advantage of being able to update often. Vehicles are becoming more complex all the time, fortunately for auto techs of today, scan tools are providing the capabilty to diagnose these complex vehicles without losing productivity.

The Rigid brand video inspection scope is called the SeeSnake 

Rigid Micro SeeSnake is an option with a 3 foot reach, a magnet and clip on mirror included. The main drawback with this tool is that the camera at the end of the wand is 0.70″ and that prevents the use of this tool in smaller areas like in an engine’s cylinder through a spark plug hole. A better size for the probe on borescopes and video endoscopes is under 0.50″ this allows access to much tighter areas. The Micro SeeSnake inspection camera has a 2.4″ color LCD screen that has 160 x 234 resolution.

The Visual Optics brand inspection scope is called the Video Stik 

The Visual Optics video inspection tool is called the Video Stik, Visual Optics’ inspection scopes come in 36″ or 72″ and are made in the USA. The Video Stik with it’s 320x 240 pixel resolution, provides a more defined image compared to the Rigid SeeSnake with it’s 160 x 234 resolution. The camera on the end of the wand is smaller too. Compared to the Rigid brand that has 0.70″ diameter, the Video Stik has a 0.42″ diameter, allowing access to more spaces. The Visual Optics Video Stik also comes with accessories. The magnet an mirror are small enough to access very tight areas, after-all if they don’t fit into the area needed they are useless.

Automatic Focus allows for ease of use when compared to fiber optic borescopes. Fiberoptic bore scopes were at one time the only game in town when it came to affordable inspection scopes. New technology in affordable video based inspection scopes has changed this forever. New electronic gadgets like these, are sure to spawn more competition in the new Affordable Inspection Tool Arena, DLT’s top pick for automotive inspection is the Video Stik.