5 ACDelco Tools Every Home Mechanic Will Want In Their Garage

Anyone with enough space and a few tools can perform basic car care, shining up panels and windows and replacing old wiper blades. However, if you're looking to get really serious about car upkeep at home, to the point that you would never need to visit a mechanic, then you're going to need some serious tools to match. After all, a car is one of the heftiest, most mechanically complex things you can own, so regular old tools from the local dollar store aren't going to cut it.

If you're in the market specifically for tools meant for tightening and loosening those big bolts around your car, as well as keeping the exterior of your car sufficiently spiffy, you might want to check out the line of products from the automotive brand ACDelco. While ACDelco specializes primarily in automotive parts, it has its fair share of high-grade tools that wouldn't be out of place in any home mechanic's garage arsenal. All of these ACDelco tools are available for purchase on Amazon and backed up by reviews from both users and professionals. More information on our selection methodology is available at the bottom of the page.

The purpose of a torque wrench, in relation to your car, is for when you want to tighten something, but not tighten it too much. For example, if you're tightening one of the gaskets on your car, you want it to be tight enough to stay in place, but not so tight that the whole thing gets crushed. This is why precision is the name of the game for torque wrenches, and it doesn't get much more precise than a digital readout.

ACDelco's Heavy Duty Digital Torque Wrench features a convenient LCD that allows you to set the wrench's precise level of torque in four kinds of measurement so you get exactly as much force as you're looking for. The display also features both an audible buzzer and a flashing LED to inform you of exactly when you've reached your selected torque, so you never over-tighten. There's also a quick-release button on the head, as well as a reverse switch for on-the-fly adjustments.

ACDelco's Digital Torque Wrench is available on Amazon for $139.99, where it has a user rating of 4.5 out of 5. Tim Johnson of Shop Tool Reviews called this tool a great mid-range torque wrench, with its relatively smaller size compared to larger torque wrenches making it perfect for adjusting components in the internal engine and suspension.

When you need to ensure that a fastener is properly tightened, but the fastener in question is in a somewhat obtuse spot, that's when you bust out the ratchet wrench. A regular ratchet wrench tightens bolts with a simple repetitive hand motion, but if you're doing a lot of tightening, that motion can get pretty tiring. If you're concerned about your wrists, then forget the tightening motion and just let an electric motor take care of it.

ACDelco's G12 Cordless Ratchet Wrench swaps out the traditional ratcheting method for automatic, 12V engine-powered rotation action. Just flip the switch, and the motor outputs up to 45 ft-lbs of torque, tightening those stubborn bolts with little to no effort on your part (though you can still give it the ol' twist if you like for some extra muscle). If you're working in an especially cramped and dark nook, just activate the built-in work LED to light your way.

ACDelco's G12 Cordless Ratchet Wrench is available on Amazon in a bundle pack for $79.99, which includes the tool, eight sockets, a battery pack, and a fast charger. The bundle currently has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5; users find the tool to be sturdy and dependable, putting in hours of work on a single charge, and more cost-effective than similar powered ratchets from some other major hardware brands.

If you're dealing with larger, heavier fasteners and components on your car, a handheld ratchet might not cut it. If you don't have a tool that's outputting enough power, you won't be able to budge them at all. If you've got a large fastener in a front-facing spot, then it's time to switch to something a little more heavy-duty.

ACDelco's G12 Cordless Impact Driver is your weapon of choice for more stubborn bolts, packing a mighty 82 ft-lbs of torque to really spin things up. With its variable speed trigger, you can switch at a moment's notice from any rotational speed between zero and 2,400 RPM. Don't worry about overdoing it, though, because this driver has an electric brake switch that automatically halts the drill when the trigger is released. As a part of the G12 product line, this driver is compatible with any 12V battery pack sold by ACDelco.

ACDelco's G12 Cordless Impact Driver is available on Amazon in a kit with two extra batteries and a fast charger for $98, where it has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5. While some users were initially skeptical of the driver's relatively small size, it won them over with its impressive horsepower and convenient battery life.

If you've got an especially old car on your hands, then the odds are good that some of the fasteners have been decisively over-tightened or completely rusted down. In such circumstances, not even an impact driver could hope to remove them from their perches. If you've reached the absolute pinnacle of fastening and unfastening situations, then it's time to reach for the proverbial nuclear option.

ACDelco's Heavy Duty Pneumatic Impact Wrench is one of the most powerful tools the brand offers. Using the power of an attached air compressor, this tool unleashes 500 ft-lbs at up to 8,000 RPM. If this thing can't loosen those stubborn bolts from your car's wheels or other corrosion-susceptible metal surfaces, nothing can. If you don't need to go quite whole-hog, the tool has four speed settings for a finer touch, plus one reverse setting. Don't worry about getting your hat blown off, as the special handle exhaust helps to keep the air exhaust blowing away from you while you work, not to mention keep the noise down.

ACDelco's Heavy Duty Pneumatic Impact Wrench is available in a kit on Amazon, which also includes a bottle of lubricating oil and an air hose adapter, for $69.99. The tool has a user rating of 4.6 out of 5, with users considering it a great value for its impressive strength. One user said that the tool was invaluable for removing tires and replacing struts.

So, you've successfully done all of the removing and fastening you were looking to do on your car, and the repairs are done for the day. Before you lock up the garage, though, there's one last favor you need to do for your favorite car: polish it up. While a hand clean is fine for simple stains and scuffs, if you've got any more stubborn smears, you'll likely need a high-speed cleaning tool.

ACDelco's G12 Cordless Mini Polisher may be small in stature, but don't let that fool you. With a variable speed trigger giving you responsive rotation from zero to 2,400 RPM, you can buff out even the trickiest imperfections. Thanks to the ergonomic anti-slip soft grip, along with the two-position side handle, you won't need to worry about the polisher flying out of your hands as you lay on the pressure.

ACDelco's Cordless Mini Polisher is available on Amazon in a kit that also includes a charger, two 12V battery packs, two backing pads, a compounding pad, and a pack of sandpaper, all for $99.99. This polisher has a user review of 4.5 out of 5 and comes recommended by Dan Maxey of Tools in Action. As a test, Maxey utilized the polisher to buff a large scratch off of his truck. After only a few minutes of polishing, the scratch was completely removed with no leftover marring.

The preceding products were chosen from high-rated ACDelco tools available on Amazon, with preference given to tools that have at least a 4 out of 5-star rating based on at least 100 user reviews and/or positive feedback from a YouTube channel with at least 1,000 subscribers.