Finally gave in and tried that 'smoke machine' trick for finding vacuum leaks on my buddy's old Ford truck.

I was sure it was just a flashy gimmick, but after 20 minutes of spraying carb cleaner and finding nothing, the machine showed a tiny crack in a hose behind the intake that I would've never seen, so has anyone else found a tool they doubted that actually saved a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_murphy9d ago

My old torque wrench seemed like overkill until it saved a head gasket job.

finley_shah649d ago

Had a 2005 Civic that kept blowing head gaskets. Third time, I borrowed a buddy's Snap-on wrench. Turns out the shop was over-torquing the middle bolts by like 20 ft-lbs. Warped the aluminum. Used the wrench, followed the manual pattern exactly. That engine ran for another 80,000 miles. Never guessed a simple click could fix a repeating nightmare.

murray.robert9d ago

Used to think they were just for show. Then I under-torqued some lug nuts and nearly lost a wheel. Now I won't touch anything critical without one.