18 must-have diesel technician tools

When talking to people who are looking to step into the diesel industry, one of first questions usually asked is, ‘What tooling is required?’

Below is a list of the different diesel technician tools a Diesel Technician to Senior Technician may use daily at Schneider. While Schneider does not provide most of the tools named, we do supply tooling over ½”, specialty tooling like Torque wrenches and new tooling for the latest technology.

This can also be used as a general list for new technicians who are looking to purchase tools for their first job.

Diesel technician tools list:

1. Adapters
   • ¼” to 3/8”, ¼” to ½”, 3/8” to ¼”, 3/8” to ½”, ½” to 3/8”, ½” to ¼”, ½” to ¾”, ¾” to ½”
2. Allen drivers
   • Standard
     • 3/32” - 3/8”
   • Metric
     
     • 3mm - 17mm
3. One-quarter inch drive socket set
   
   • Standard (SAE) (Deep and shallow)
     
     • 3/16” - 5/8”
   • Metric (Deep and shallow)
     
     • 5mm - 15mm
4. Three-eighths inch drive sockets
   • Standard (SAE) (Deep, shallow and Impact)
     • 5/16” - 1”
   • Metric (Deep, shallow and Impact)
     
     • 7mm - 20mm
5. One-half inch drive sockets
   
   • Standard (SAE) (Deep, shallow and Impact)
     
     • 3/8” - 1 ¼”
   • Metric (Deep, shallow and Impact)
     
     • 10mm - 27mm
6. Extensions
   
   • 2”, 6”, 12” (24” optional for reaching bellhousing bolts on transmission)
7. Feeler gauge set
   
   • Red handle for exhaust, blue handle for intake
8. Hammers
   
   • Dead blow, Ball Peen, 4 - 5-pound sledge hammer
9. Impacts
   
   • ½”, 3/8”, ¼” (Air or battery powered)
10. Multimeter
    
    • Digital readout
    • Auto ranging
11. Plyers
    
    • Needle nose, adjustable, standard, vise grip set
12. Pry bar set
    
    • Small 12”, medium 2’ and large 3’
13. Ratchets
    
    • ¼”, 3/8”, ½”
    • Standard ratchets and breaker bar
14. One rolling toolbox or cart
15. Screw drivers
    
    • Flat heads, Philips (long, medium, short)
16. Torque bit drivers
    
    • T10, T15, T20, T25, T27, T30, T40, T45 (medium and long shaft drivers)
17. Wiring equipment
    
    • Hand held torch, wire cutters, wire stripping tool, crimping tool
18. Wrenches
    
    • Standard (SAE)
      
      • 5/16” - 1 ¼”
    • Metric
      
      • 8mm - 22mm

Purchasing your tools

There are a couple of different ways you can buy many of these must-have diesel technician tools at a low cost starting out.

Some technicians have tool sets they’ve invested in or were given to them by the school that they graduated from.

Some start accounts with MACO, Mac, Snap-On, Conwell and other companies. Or, you can build a startup set by going to Harbor Freight or Sears and investing in tool boxes that are sold at Lowes, Home Depot, or Harbor Freight

You can also shop online and buy full sets from technicians who are retiring or looking to move to a different industry.

Overall, Schneider recommends purchasing quality tools that have a lifetime warranty, such as Snap-On, MATCO, Mac and Craftsman. Working with high quality tools is the key to safety.

Growing as diesel technician

Over time, you can replace these tools with higher quality ones as you start to make money and have time to invest. You can then take the older tools home and have a second set to work on projects on your own time

At Schneider, we do not go through this list to make sure you have everything; we understand this is an investment over time. Your leader will work with you and can put together a timeline of when tooling will be needed.