Front load LG washer about 9 years old started leaking from the front door. Got the new boot ordered, washer disassembled, installed...er, nope! The pieces that hold the secure the boot seal on the inner and outer parts of the tub (wire with a tightly coiled stiff spring to clamp it down) require a special set of pliers to get back on. I have tried all the tricks but no dice. 56 bucks for a tool that isn't cool to show off to the friends when they come over...sigh.

Did you check to see if there's a Youtube video that could give you a way to do it without the special tool?

Not so much specialty tools as ones needed for a one time use. Time and again, they can collect dust for years then be needed again. It's not uncommon to find tools I've never used again and totally forgot I had.

Point being, maybe those funky pliers will be useful some time again. You're set when that day comes.

$135 broken spark puller for the abominable Ford 4.6-3V engine. Needed to remove the ONE plug that broke in the hole.
Will likely NEVER need it again.

quote:

Originally posted by BDA220:
$135 broken spark puller for the abominable Ford 4.6-3V engine. Needed to remove the ONE plug that broke in the hole.
Will likely NEVER need it again.

And yet I was about to say that you can rent most specialty automotive tools. I rented a slide hammer one time when I swapped out a clutch/pressure plate/flywheel. Haven't had a need to use one since.

Lots of Ford engines V8s and V6s require a cam holding tool to reinstall the cam sprocket if you ever have to remove one. There's no spline or key on the cam to sprocket interface. Of course the dealers all have the tool. Screw you DIYers.

Saw a video of a Mini 4 cyl teardown and had the same setup.

Maytag washer bearing replacement tool.

https://www.amazon.com/Install...-wJ-1azQL&ref=plSrch

Will i ever use it again. Not likely.

 
MasterCool hydraulic flaring tool, with all the dies. It saw good use when re-running all new brake lines for an FJ-40, but has sat idle ever since.

Dual point manometer to measure inches of water column for when I installed an on-demand 199k BTU water heater and some direct vent natural gas heaters. Of course I needed it ASAP so I had to pay full retail. About $200 or so IIRC.

I have a big toilet auger that I haven't used in 20 years. However, that doesn't hurt my feelings in the least. When you do need a big toilet auger, even Amazon Prime cannot get it to you fast enough.

It's the tool I'm happy to own but never use. Oh, fire extinguishers too. I'm happy when they expire unused.

Snap ring pliers. I needed to replace my motorcycle's shift lever, haven't needed the plier set since. Not a huge expense, just weird they couldn't attach the thing with something more conventional.

This could turn into the tool sharing thread

My problem is I buy the speciality tool for one time thing and by the time I need it again I have lost it and end up buying it again

O2 sensor socket.

Most of the tools mentioned aren't really "specialty tools," unless you never do maaintenance of any kind...then every tool is a specialty tool.

Items like snap ring pliers, 02 sensor sockets, brake adjustment tools, etc, are pretty standard in most mechanics boxes.

Most mechanics will have a drawer or two full of tools they've made. I've lost track of the number of wrenches and sockets and screwdrivers I've heated and bent, ground down, or specialized for a task.

The seal on the washer can be done with bent screw drivers for leverage, ground and filed so they don't catch or score the rubber. It's finding a tool to get into the correct position that's tricky, and that's easily fixed with any torch warm enough to enable bending the part. Same for pliers that can be bent, or any other tool. In cases like that, harbor freight or craftsman are your friends; they're cheap enough to mod all day long and not worry.

I have tools in my box that I bought just because they looked handy, and sat unused for 20 years...but that ONE time I needed them, they paid for themselves and the long wait, because nothing else would do. I've encountered all kinds of speciality applications on engines that required grinding and bending a wrench to fit a tight spot with a tight clearance; it might be the only application for that tool, but if it's needed, it's needed.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

Most mechanics will have a drawer or two full of tools they've made. I've lost track of the number of wrenches and sockets and screwdrivers I've heated and bent, ground down, or specialized for a task.

In cases like that, harbor freight or craftsman are your friends; they're cheap enough to mod all day long and not worry.

When I was working as a mechanic at a rental place, I got into a situation where I needed to modify a wrench to fit. I didn't have one of the right size, so I told the guy I worked with that I was going to run down to the auto parts place and get a cheapie.

He said "Don't bother" and hauled out a SNAP ON wrench, ground it down, heated it up and bent it to shape and handed it to me.

I about shit...

for 15 years I owned a set of piano dolly's,
that was back when I had a truck, when I sold the truck, so went the dolly's.

I got them from a guy for forty dollars.

I think I used them a half dozen times in 15 years.


a couple of people who knew I had them ,
looked at me like
What the .......?

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:

When I was working as a mechanic at a rental place, I got into a situation where I needed to modify a wrench to fit. I didn't have one of the right size, so I told the guy I worked with that I was going to run down to the auto parts place and get a cheapie.

He said "Don't bother" and hauled out a SNAP ON wrench, ground it down, heated it up and bent it to shape and handed it to me.

I about shit...

I've done that to quite a few snapon tools. Some of the tools, like thin wall sockets, will work where no other tool will fit. I've seen it often. When it comes to adapting a tool, sometimes a good snapon is the way to go. I've used snapon and mag tools to make other tools, heating, bending, welding, to get what I needed. There's a distinct difference in the quality of the tool.

A novelty to own, not fun to buy or use.
Family business... the cesspool business.
Big wrenches to change the valves on the tank trucks.



This is the smaller of the two we had. Don't know where the bigger one went, loaned to someone in the business never to return.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
Did you check to see if there's a Youtube video that could give you a way to do it without the special tool?

I had the same issue with my LG washer. I did find a youtube video that showed how to do it with a pair of pliers and your foot holding it down. Saved me $60.00 on something I would never use again.