The Auto Shop Quiz

When working under a car that's jacked up, good mechanics know to never go any further without putting jack stands into place. If the jack fails or shifts — and they do from time to time — a jack stand will keep the car supported and off the worker under it. Jack stands can be life savers.

If you work on cars — or any type of machine — for any length of time, you're going to run into the need for a socket set. A good wrench, a variety of sizes of sockets (both English and metric), Allen keys and extensions are great items to keep handy.

While socket sets are often more convenient than an open wrench, there are times when you need a set of these to get the job done — the nut could be in a confined space, or you might need to counter-hold a bolt when getting it loose. A good set of wrenches has been a time-tested tool for mechanics throughout the ages.

When a fuse blows, something in the car stops working. The fuses are easily replaced but are usually packed together in a tight enough grouping where it can be difficult to get your fingers on the right one. A fuse puller grasps the fuse firmly but not so hard as to break it.

When working on a vehicle, you'll undoubtedly have a supply of screws, nuts, washers and other small pieces you'll need when it comes time to put it all back together. A magnetic tray or bowl will make sure that the tiny pieces stay put — and no batteries are required!

There are few things as annoying as locking your keys in the car — you look through the window and they're RIGHT THERE! A door air wedge can get you back in by inserting it between the door and the weather stripping and then inflating it so you can slip a rod in and unlock the door. Presto!

Even the most careful mechanics will drop a screw, nut or other small object down into a crook that's too small or too far away to be reached by hand. By using a pick-up tool with a magnet on the end, however, the part can be easily retrieved, and the work can go on.

Pneumatic tools are a great help when working on vehicles, but they require one thing to function — compressed air. A single air compressor can power a number of different tools as long as it's big enough to provide the pressure required.

When putting new tires on the rim, the job is not done until the wheel is properly balanced and spins smoothly at speed. By using this machine, the tech will know where to put counterweights to make sure everything will roll evenly for better handling and ride comfort.

Some have a needle gauge, some are electronic, and others simply have a stick that pops out to give you a reading, but whichever type you prefer, keeping a tire pressure gauge in the glove compartment is a no-brainer. They're cheap and if used regularly, will prevent flats and extend the life of your vehicle's tires.

When you spend a lot of time under cars, it's best to keep your back off the ground and be able to move around with a minimum amount of effort. A creeper can make the job of fitting in tight places a lot easier, and if a nap happens to take place on one every now and then, who's it hurting?

Tightening a bolt is a simple action, but if a mechanic uses too much force — as we're all tempted to do — it can strip the bolt or, in some cases, shear it off. By using a torque wrench, the mechanic can set it and hear a click when the required tightness is reached. It will also make it easier for the next mechanic to take that bolt off when the time comes.

Removing or installing the spark plugs can be tricky in some vehicles, depending on the structure of the engine. A spark plug socket, however, can make changing them a breeze. The sockets come in two sizes — 5/8 inches and 13/16 inches — and often have a rubber insert to hold the plug firmly without damaging it.

Vehicles often have different sizes of lug nuts, and the tool that comes with the vehicle often isn't big enough to provide the leverage you need to get a stubborn lug nut off. The four-way lug wrench not only works with multiple vehicles but gives users all the leverage they should need to get the job done.

There are times when the engine needs to be removed from the vehicle for repair or a rebuild, and the engine hoist is the key for lifting it out from under the hood. Through the use of chains and hydraulic levers, one mechanic is able to maneuver the engine to where he or she needs it.

All cars come with a jack that can be used by the roadside or in the home garage, but if you need to elevate a car quickly and much more easily, a floor jack is the way to go. You can roll it to the preferred place under the car's frame and with just a few pumps of the lever, you're ready to go (after you set the jack stands, of course).

This probably isn't a necessary piece of equipment for a home garage, but for businesses that do a lot of oil changes, this oil collection and storage system is a great use of resources. This item keeps things nice and clean and stores the spent oil until it can be permanently and properly disposed of.

For older car engines and other engines with distributors, timing lights are a great tool to make sure the internal combustion process is timed to maximum efficiency. The light helps the mechanic determine if the spark plugs are firing at the correct interval to combust the fuel/air mix in the cylinders.

When repairing or replacing struts, getting the high-tension spring off can be a challenge — after all, it's designed to support the weight of the car's frame. With this tool and a wrench, a mechanic can compress the spring down to the point where it can be removed from the strut's frame.

Although it sounds violent, the breaker bar is as a lever that allows the mechanic to put much greater force on a stubborn bolt. By increasing leverage, one person can generate a great amount of force, and this is the tool that puts that force to use.

When you turn the key and nothing happens, you've most likely got a battery issue. A jump starter can be used in cold weather or when the vehicle has a dead or depleted battery. It can help a mechanic find out what's happening with your vehicle.

For proper operation, the battery's terminals must make good contact with the rest of the electrical system, but corrosion and other matter can form on the terminal posts over time. By using a bit of cleaner and using a terminal brush, however, the posts can look as good as new!

When you need to check a fuse, make sure that a circuit is being completed, or are tracking down some other electrical irregularity, a multimeter is an indispensable tool. It has a bit of a learning curve to know how to use one effectively, but once you're up to speed, you'll find the problem in no time!

When changing a spark plug, the new plug must have a specific distance between its electrodes in order to make the right spark at the right moment. By using a gapper, you or your mechanic can set the gap at the recommended distance — usually between .02" and .1" — for your vehicle to run its best.

In order for the new gasket to make a tight seal, it's vital to get all the remains of the old gasket off the surface, and the best tool is one designed to scrape off old gasket pieces and residue. A set of these will offer different sizes and shapes that will allow the mechanic to prepare the surface for the new gasket and make a tight seal.

The rotors or drums of your braking system can become warped with overuse, or they can become pitted because of worn pads. If the warp isn't too bad, however, a brake lathe can give the part a new lease on life. This tool allows a mechanic to turn the surface flat and smooth.

Transmissions are a major part of a vehicle's drivetrain and also one of the heaviest pieces of equipment on the automobile. By using a transmission jack, mechanics can more easily maneuver it around and get it at an angle where it can be serviced.

Your vehicles onboard diagnostic (OBD) system can provide you or your mechanic with codes that can tell you how the engine and other systems are functioning — and even let you know what the "check engine" light's deal is! To read the codes, however, it requires that a scanner be plugged into the ODB port, usually under the dash near the steering wheel.

When bent over under the raised hood with their heads deep in the engine compartment, mechanics are going to come into contact with the fenders and grille. By using a fender cover, they can protect your vehicle's paint job from zippers, dropped tools and other scratching hazards.

When replacing the brake pads, the calipers that push the pad against the rotor must be compressed. While something like a C-clamp can be used to do this, a spreader is easier and quicker to use.

When you need to get pulleys, gears, steering wheels, harmonic balancers, flywheels and other items that were designed to stay put out of the way when working on the vehicle, your best bet is to grab a master bolt grip set and get to work.

After it has been in operation for a while, your air conditioner will need a coolant recharge, and a machine such as this is a mechanic's best friend for the procedure. This device will capture the spent refrigerant, test the system for leaks, refill it with new coolant and give a report about what it has found.

While oil is the main lubricant of your vehicle's engine, parts like the steering system, suspension system, drivetrain and other elements require a lube job, which involves putting grease in various fittings and spots around the vehicle. A grease gun is the right tool for this job.

It's a good idea to keep an eye on the condition of your antifreeze from time to time. If it becomes unable to do its job, your engine will pay the price. By squeezing the bulb and sucking a sample of antifreeze out, you can easily test you coolant's condition.

A car has many seals that have to be removed during repairs or maintenance. The right tool for the job is, of course, a seal puller. This tool has different sized edges for various types of seals and works by providing you with added leverage to pull seals off quickly and easily (or at least that's the theory).

An inspection camera, sometimes called a borescope, offers a flexible tube with a light and lens at the end that transmits the image back to a screen, allowing the user — in this case, a mechanic — to get a better look at a hard-to-reach area. This saves time and effort because the other option is to remove parts to get a better look.

There's nothing wrong with using a little elbow grease, but when you have tools available that can save you the strain, why not take advantage of them? When coupled with an air compressor — or in the case of cordless wrenches, a can of compressed air — a mechanic can make quick work of tightening and loosening bolts, saving time and energy.

When installing a new windshield, it can be hard to get a grip on the glass, and you certainly don't want to break it! By using a set of windshield suction cups, you can get a handle on the replacement part, making the work a piece of cake. Get a grip!

When a vehicle's oil is changed, the oil filter also needs to be changed. Because they're sometimes on very tightly and it's difficult to get both hands on the filter, the best tool for the job is a special wrench designed to easily remove the filter. Some have a band to wrap around the filter, and others have jaws that grip the filter, but they're both designed to get the part off without spilling oil all over the mechanic.

The serpentine belt is an important part of the engine, providing power for several systems, and has a long life. As with all belts, however, there will come a time when the belt needs to be replaced. With this tool, the mechanic can loosen the idler pulleys, replace the belt and restore pulley tension.