Handy Tools for Your Shop

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Helpful Gear to Have On-Hand

By Ron Settler

Winter fixing season is upon us and many farmers are heading out to their shops to repair their vehicles and equipment.

The first tools mankind ever used were the rock and the stick. These are still in use today – even I still use them now and again – but thankfully tools have improved greatly over the years.

I remember when I was a teenager, and I was so happy with my first good set of wrenches. They lasted me for decades.

Here are some handy dandy tools that you might find useful in your shop. I bet there are a couple of them you don’t already have in your toolbox.

Block heater tester

This is very helpful in the winter months. Plug it in and it will show whether the block heater is drawing current. Make sure to wiggle cords and ends to check if you have an intermittent short in the cord. I checked the block heater on the school bus my wife Sheila was driving one time when it wouldn’t start. I picked up the dangling cord, plugged in the tester and it tested fine. Next day, no start! I then checked the cord in the normal position, which was hanging down, and found the block heater wasn’t working. It turns out that when I picked up the cord the broken wire in the cord reconnected. Lesson learned. The cost is about $25 to $30 but they can be hard to find.

Laser thermometer

This is a real handy gadget. Just point it and the thermometer will tell you the temperature of the spot where the laser beam contacts the object. This is great for checking for dragging brakes or hot wheel bearings on vehicles. Check all four wheels and compare temperatures. We use this in the fire department for looking for hot spots on machines or buildings. Some custom combiners check their bearings daily to see if any of them are warming up above their normal temperatures and need replacement. The cost is $40 to $100.

Relay tester

As we get to more electric parts on vehicles and equipment, we have more relays and fuses. I have the father-in-law’s manual for the John Deere Model AR tractor. It says that if you have the model with the headlights, you need to know where the fuse is located. My, how things have changed. Newer vehicles haves 50 or more relays and fuses.

The relay checker is a handy device to check relays. Just plug the relay in and push the button and the tester will check the relay multiple times, letting you know if it’s good or bad. Cost is $60 to $100.

Vacuum coolant filler

Years ago, this device wasn’t needed. Most vehicles had the radiator cap higher than the cooling system and it was easy to bleed the air out of the system. Now a lot of vehicles have the rad filler lower than many parts of the cooling system. Without this device, it takes a while to bleed the air out.

To use this tool, you must hook it up to the top of the radiator. Then use an air line to create a vacuum in the cooling system. When the vacuum gauge is at the right spot, flip a valve, then unhook the air line and hook up the suction line. Drop the suction line into the antifreeze, flip the valve open and the antifreeze 'schlorks' up into the radiator. This saves a lot of time bleeding the air out of the cooling system. Use caution with this tool. I suspect too much vacuum could wreck something. Costs about $100 to $250.

Trailer plug tester

This is a nice little helper for your shop. Plug it into your trailer plug and the LED lights up when each circuit is powered. No need to have the trailer plugged in. There is one for the 4-pin trailer plug and one for the 7-pin plug. The cost is $10 to $25.

Scanner

These are fairly common now. When you plug this in under the dash, it tells you if you have any error codes on your vehicle and what the codes are. They can also check antilock brakes and give you the wheel speeds as you drive. Plus, they can do hundreds, if not thousands, of more tests.

You can get a basic scanner for $200 or less and it can give you loads of information. However, you must decode that information and decide what needs to be repaired. Be careful how you make your diagnosis. We had one customer get us to install a component that his friend had said he needed when he scanned his truck. The customer bought the part and wanted us to install it, but the part was for a gas-powered truck and his was diesel. Free information can be wrong at times.

To keep our shop accreditation up-to-date, we had to get an expensive scanner that required a monthly subscription to keep it updated. It gives us tons of information and possible solutions. We can also operate many electronic controlled systems in the vehicle with the scanner. Most common scanners are designed for light-duty vehicles. There are also models for medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses. The cost is $200 to $10,000 and up.

Air gun

Here’s something we got for free. My cousin ordered it but figured she likely wouldn’t use it and passed it on to us. It’s a battery-powered air compressor that I’ve used a couple of times. It will fill up one 16-inch tire in about five to 10 minutes and then needs a charge. Not great, but enough to use in a pinch. There are more powerful units out there that work with your portable drill batteries. This one is good because you can leave it in your vehicle for use whenever you need it. The cost is $70 and up.

Online repair information

Yes, all the answers to the world’s problems are available free on the Internet, but do you trust the answers?

Often you can get lost in numerous posts and comments that suggest this or that.

Is it really okay to pour vodka in your oil to quiet that noisy lifter? How do you know what is right? How do you sift the wheat from the chaff?

One thing we’ve used for years is the Mitchell 1 DIY online repair manuals. (I’m sure there are other companies that offer this service, but this is the one we used.)

For a fee you can get a professional and complete online repair manual for a specific vehicle. Last time I checked, it was $20 per month, $40 per year or $60 for four years in U.S. dollars. We used this for years until we got a professional system that was much more expensive but covered all makes and models.

Typically, we could do many jobs without the help of the Mitchell 1 DIY but if we ran into trouble about repair procedures and specs, we could get the info online. It’s a small price to pay for the correct repair procedures.

Battery load tester

Another old favourite that has been around for decades. For years we used the basic type of battery tester that heats up a grid to test the capacity of a battery. They call them “toaster” testers.

Our tool and battery suppliers say these older types of testers aren’t the best, but they still give you an idea how good the battery is. The more expensive testers are more accurate.

Make sure to correctly set the machine before you test the battery as well as unhook multiple batteries before testing them. This costs $40 to $500 and up.

There you have it – some new tools (toys?) for the shop. Hopefully it makes your repair work more productive.

Enjoy the spring and make sure everything is ready for the planting season across Ontario. BF