San Diego Housing Market News and Analysis

harbor freight tools are definitely cheap. I found them in Texas a few years back on some property purchases. Definitely priced really well but the quality of them kind of sucks. Still if you are looking for something you need and will not need it much at all, it is a good deal.

I'm totally into the cheap crap throwaway stuff now. Once upon a time I use to try to buy higher quality stuff, but you know what? The cheap crap I would probably end up going through more sets, but still come out ahead. Kinda goes with the POS project car...If I blow up the engine, throw it away and get another...heh heh...

Like SD Realtor's comment, definitely a good place to pick up items you don't mind tossing out at the end of the project. e.g. paint brushes, drill bits, extenders etc. This said did find some useful tools that lasted more than a project - multi function tool, electrical testers, garden tools etc.

Be aware you might make several trips once you find the store :-) Also check the frequent 20% coupons online/mailers.

Need a ball joint separator...

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter...

Often times walking through the stores, I find items that I did not even know existed. HF has definitely expanded my gadget awareness....

With Harbor Freight, I found that the quality is all over the place. Some very good, some crap. The wrenches are actually pretty good. SnapOn, Matco, Sears make theirs out of Tool Steel. The hand wrenches @ Harbor Freight are made out of Chrome Vanadium.. much tougher than Tool Steel (Chrome Vanadium is what impact wrench sockets are made out of, as well as the frames of old model T Fords - which is why the body of a 'T' would rot away, but the frame would still be good).

Might work.. though I don't like the threads on the 'screw' portion. Threads used for anything generating high pressures should be square profile, no triangular profile. Triangular profiles tend to wear out or break very quickly under high repetitive turning stresses. Suggest liberally lubing the screw with high pressure axle grease (lithium or moly-lube) before using. Work it through the female threaded segment as well..

I have tried this type without too much success.. so I tend to use pickle-forks instead.

Build it right.. and it won't blow up. Take a look at con-rods and pistons on the Miatas.. weak point when increasing horsepower & revs. Then start looking at the head gasket sealing. From what I remember, Miatas use an open deck block.. which does not like too much 'boosting'.

I need to work on the suspension first... And after lighten the car up...No need for me to add power to the engine (yet)....

I just might blow up a stock motor just because I have no idea what the condition was beforehand.

Nice thing about autozone is they loan out a lot of tools for 90 days. Except certain things they don't have.

The brute force hammer on pickle fork is next for me if this doesn't work.

You might be right on the longevity on the above tool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vweCmGwBiU

Then again, I'm not planning on using an impact wrench on it.

A strong air impact is your friend..

I would do a quick check of the bottom end of the engine.. pull a center main off and use plastigauge to see if you are in tolerance. Same with one of the con rods-- don't forget to retorque after putting the caps back on (after removing the plastigauge). Also take a light an shine it up the cylinder that has the piston closest to TDC.. check for scraping.. should still see hone marks.. could take the time to rotate the crank and check each cyl. Also do a compression test.

If all is good, should last provided you don't over-rev and keep good oil in it. I would suggest running with oil level near the full mark on the dipstick (there are two marks.. one full and one 'add'). Keeping it near full helps reduce likelihood of uncovering the oil pickup and pumping air on a hard corner.. until you get a proper windage tray. You may burn slightly more oil near the full level, but you will be more likely keep the engine together.

If you look at time index 0:40, you will see that he did not lube the threads before using.. the silvery look on the threads is galling.. from high-pressure, non-lubed sliding.

There's some pretty good deals in this week's flyer.

http://www.flutterby.com/images/2012/10/...

I'm definitely picking up that nose picking set. That is a steal!

Honestly though, I love Harbor Freight for all the crap tools that I tend to lose before I break. For things I tend to break before I lose them, there's always Sears.

I buy my autoparts from here:

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_pag...

The got a good deal on 710 cap,

a super suspension lowering kit
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_pag...

and great performance upgrades like cross drilled brake lines.

http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_pag...

Great flu, just what I have been looking for,
I ordered a Flux capacitor and a kuhneutson valve,

Just as soon as I get this installed,I figure I will already be retired 10 years now.

That is awesome. I prolly should stock up some of those high intensity road flares.

Harbor Freight is the bomb! I've purchased both less-expensive and more-expensive items from them over the course of many years and I'm not disappointed! I bought a chipper/shredder on sale for around $110 or so 4 years ago and it worked like a charm. I fired it up after sitting outdoors for two years and there were no issues. The blades were a bit dull, but what else should I expect by storing it outside? I also purchased their 1/4" 18V cordless impact driver a couple years ago to install some drywall in my garage. One of the best purchases I ever made for power tools ever. Period. The uber cheap batteries still work better to this day than the Riobi's I bought at HD. The prices for their shop bench brushes and split leather gloves can't be beat and their Pittsburgh impact socket tool set is still kicking butt for me after 4 years. I highly recommend Harbor Freight.

bump...

Dude... Mig welder for $169!!!!

http://www.harborfreight.com/a-b-hp10091...

Ever since I realized they are in Miramar, totally bad news for places like sears.....Couldn't find anything made in america, except a tool chest liner... Oh well....Times are tough...

Yea, I tend to pick tools up from them for projects. Basically, I need a tool for the project. The next time I'm going to use that tool is the next time I have a similar project, which is maybe never and easily more than a year or more away.

Why buy? Well, I can buy it cheaper than I can rent it from HD.

Thanks China, Taiwan, India and Korea!... Go world!

Yea if it was not for them CPI would be like... well it would be like hmm,

I mean it would have to reflect true inflation.

I pick up tools on Craigslist and estate sales. Money stays in America that way, and the tools are often high-quality stuff.