Impressed with the Harbor Freight ball joint press set

Joined
Jun 5, 2003
Messages
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Location
Apple Valley, California
My Jeep needed ball joints. Something we do not get into where I work. Checked with some local shops we deal with and decided that the $70 for the ball joint press kit was a bargain. One of those " if It only works once" things.

Now the Toyota Fj needed ball joints. Same thing. I am too cheap to pay what they want to install them.

Out came the $70 tool and a couple hrs out of my day. Got the passenger side upper and lower installed as those were very bad. Will do the other side next week.

I did have to fanagle with adaptors and use a big socket as the kit did not have the correct size adapter for the upper on the toyota. Still saved me $800+ in labor.
 
OK weird I had the exact same need for a larger "adapter" ring on my HF set. I think I ended up renting a BJ press from AutoZone that had the larger ring and was able to get the job done that way.

But yeah the quality on the HF unit seems about on par with the OEM branded one I rented from AZ.

Just make sure you grease those threads!
 
If it only needs to work once, get the loaner tool from Autozone or Advance Auto.

"Quality" is an elusive thing at HF. One specimen of widget will be fine. The next may have show-stopping defect(s).
 
Had a simular experance. Needed to change lower A arms on a Honda. The $27 Harbor Freight ball joint tool I used pulled the passenger side no problem. Pulling out the driver side I thought it would break, it did not. If I remember the whole job cost me under $150 tool + parts. No idea how much I saved. It's just how I operate. Thank you Harbor Freight and Rock Auto.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
If it only needs to work once, get the loaner tool from Autozone or Advance Auto.

"Quality" is an elusive thing at HF. One specimen of widget will be fine. The next may have show-stopping defect(s).


No thanks.

I rented a ball joint press years ago and it turned out to be broken. Same with a fuel pressure gauge I rented last month. A bad fuel pressure gauge also acts like a bad fuel pump.

If I need a tool for a job, it's worth buying too.
 
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theres usually another boxed kit available that has nothing but sleeves and adapters. often costs about as much as the press itself, but worth having...maybe hf has that as well.
 
Originally Posted by Zaedock
I have a Matco press kit. I've always had everything I've needed to get the job done.


I looked at that. $800! If I did front end work often I could see the need for buying a quality kit.
 
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Originally Posted by Dave9
If it only needs to work once, get the loaner tool from Autozone or Advance Auto.

"Quality" is an elusive thing at HF. One specimen of widget will be fine. The next may have show-stopping defect(s).

Never available here. People rent it and do not return it or the waiting list is too long.
 
How well did it work on the FJ? My Taco (same setup as the FJ) is going to be due for some suspension work within a year and id rather not send it to a shop for that work.
 
Originally Posted by dlundblad
Originally Posted by Dave9
If it only needs to work once, get the loaner tool from Autozone or Advance Auto.

"Quality" is an elusive thing at HF. One specimen of widget will be fine. The next may have show-stopping defect(s).


No thanks.

I rented a ball joint press years ago and it turned out to be broken. Same with a fuel pressure gauge I rented last month. A bad fuel pressure gauge also acts like a bad fuel pump.

If I need a tool for a job, it's worth buying too.


Then take it back and get a different one. If breakage was too common then they would switch to a different supplier. I've used them many times and a couple there were pieces missing when I went to get it, so I just always inspect the kit before leaving with it.

If you buy discount tools, you also risk it breaking but then a lot more hassle to get a replacement that you probably don't want because your confidence in the brand is gone, if they won't issue a refund without a hassle and if it's mail-order or warranty replacement then "somebody" is paying return shipping. Depends on where you bought it and how long ago, and of course if a short warranty has expired, you eat the loss.

Guess it could also depend on how far away an Autozone or Advance Auto is, here there are 3 within 3 miles that I drive by daily and for a while one of the Autozones was open 24/7.
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Guess it could also depend on how far away an Autozone or Advance Auto is, here there are 3 within 3 miles that I drive by daily and for a while one of the Autozones was open 24/7.


Where I live it's 15 minutes to a NAPA (that closes by noon on Sat and 5 during the week?), another 5-10 to AAP, another 15 after to get to Autozone and a bunch of stores. If I drive in the opposite direction it is more like 30 minutes to get to several stores.

I can see the reason to avoid cheap tools but man would I be mad to drive all the way only to find a rented tool was busted.
 
Tons of AAP stores and they have plenty of tools to rent. If you don't like the kit, they can have a brand new one tomorrow. I don't know how they make money loaning those things for free.
 
As a shade tree mechanic, I only have a need for these types of tools every year or two. Certainty not often enough to justify several hundred dollars for my own kit.

I've rented from AZ and AAP at least a dozen times. I always check the kit for all the pieces when I pick it up. I've never had a bad experience. Other's experiences will certainly vary, but I'll never buy those rarely used sets.

Cheers!!!
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted by Dave9
Originally Posted by dlundblad
Originally Posted by Dave9
If it only needs to work once, get the loaner tool from Autozone or Advance Auto.

"Quality" is an elusive thing at HF. One specimen of widget will be fine. The next may have show-stopping defect(s).


No thanks.

I rented a ball joint press years ago and it turned out to be broken. Same with a fuel pressure gauge I rented last month. A bad fuel pressure gauge also acts like a bad fuel pump.

If I need a tool for a job, it's worth buying too.


Then take it back and get a different one. If breakage was too common then they would switch to a different supplier. I've used them many times and a couple there were pieces missing when I went to get it, so I just always inspect the kit before leaving with it.

If you buy discount tools, you also risk it breaking but then a lot more hassle to get a replacement that you probably don't want because your confidence in the brand is gone, if they won't issue a refund without a hassle and if it's mail-order or warranty replacement then "somebody" is paying return shipping. Depends on where you bought it and how long ago, and of course if a short warranty has expired, you eat the loss.

Guess it could also depend on how far away an Autozone or Advance Auto is, here there are 3 within 3 miles that I drive by daily and for a while one of the Autozones was open 24/7.



This is a good BITOG frog hair splitting extra anal post. My bad fuel gauge was a show stopping defect. I replaced the darn fuel pump with 15 gallons of fuel in the tank.

Take it back and get another? It was a rental. The store only has one. You're saying I should wait and waste more time on finishing the job? How about I have the counter guy call me when it's in and wait some more? Maybe I should have putted all over town and try to find another store that had one. Maybe I should have driven 20 mins north and tried all of their stores too. At that rate, I'll just drive to the big city and try all 6 stores of each major car parts retailer. I don't operate this way. I'm always go go go. Can't sit still. I drive my wife nuts at times, but she likes my work ethic.

It seems to me that your issue is with HF as opposed to my mindset of simply buying the tool. That is fine and you're certainly entitled to your opinion, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say anything a parts store has for a rental is about the same as what you'll get at HF. The rental stuff fails all the time. I used to work at Oreillys. Saw it a lot. They just replace the components as needed. The large c clamp in a ball joint set for example.

Inspect the kit before leaving the store. Good one! Just exactly what does one look for in a faulty gauge if it's guts have been destroyed?

Happy Friday and weekend my friend.
cheers3.gif
 
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