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Today some friends and I (all mechanics) were talking about the nicest tools to have as diesel mechanics. The ones that make life so much easier if you have them but make you want to consider a career change if you don't. I just want to give you a breakdown of the tools we discussed and why they are so valuable. First and foremost, is the basic multimeter. If you plan on working on any vehicle, your or not, you really want to have one of these. Today's automobiles have computers with sensors, switches and relays. If one of those goes wrong it can throw off the entire engine. I mean everything. A good multimeter will include modes for checking A/C, D/C, continuity, ohms and amps. Often times a problem will be electrical rather than mechanical. If you don't have one of these you can forget it.

Next is a baring socket. Most people probably have never heard of this thing. If you need to find top dead center (TDC), you can try bumping the engine but that task is almost impossible in a diesel. TDC is used to time certain fuel pumps, well almost all heavy equipment fuel pumps. A baring socket slides in to interlock with the flywheel to slowly turn the crankshaft so the desired piston will be at top of it's reach. There by allowing you to time that particular injector. It is also a pretty easy way to determine the stroke of a piston.

Compression testers are an invaluable tool to have if you are working on a diesel, especially one that is lacking horsepower. Since diesel engines rely on compression to achieve combustion, if you start to lose compression you will before long lose combustion. In addition to lacking in horsepower, fuel mileage will be lost too due to the wasted fuel that is getting injected into the cylinder and not being burned. Also, a serious compression issue will result in hard starting and the untimely death of a starter. A compression tester will also help you to determine if you have a glow plug problem or a compression issue to avoid the guess work of diagnosing a starting problem.

A double flaring tool kit is also nice to have. To be honest, this is not something you really miss until you need it and don't have it. Flaring kits provide ease in re-flaring a fuel line, brake lines or other steel or copper lines that may kink or get broken. I'm not aware of any other way or tool to achieve a double flare. Some people will opt for a single flare, thereby decreasing the strength of the flare by at least half, resulting in future problems. Last on the list of most popular tools is a set of line wrenches. They look like box end wrenches but with a notch cut out of them. Anyone who had ever had to loosen a fuel line on a diesel will swear by these things. They allow you to lift up the wrench to turn it to get a better bite without actually having to take the wrench off the line. If you've ever done this with an open end wrench you'll understand. They work just as well for any other purpose that a regular wrench would be used for too but with the added benefit of expanding your options. Every diesel mechanic should have a set of these in their box. You won't be sorry.