Cheap and Nessasary Tune-up Tools

I see a lot of us on the forum asking questions about vacuum, timing, dwell, voltage, amperage, etc.... and I know there are also a lot of folks out there that may not have, or know the basic diagnostic tools they should own to help get/keep the CJ running correctly. Hopefully the items listed below will help you see that it doesn't have to cost a lot to have some cheap and decent tools for us shade tree mechs.



I have been fortunate enough to acquire the basic stuff over the years but if you are just getting started, for a fairly cheap investment, you can have a nice set of diagnostic tools in your tool box. They may not be the newest but they work and accomplish the mission.



Feel free to post up your stuff



1) SEARS CRAFTSMAN VINTAGE ENGINE ANALYZER ($35 on Ebay)

This has a tach, dwell angle, voltage, amperage gages and supports 4,6,8 cylinders.







2) Inductive Timing Light ($30 on Ebay)







3) Mityvac® Pump/Kit($50-$60 at any auto parts store)

This can be used for more than just a vacuum gage, so while it is the highest cost item you will be glad to have it when you do the brakes by yourself.





4) Multimeter (see this recent thread)

If you don't have the cash to invest in a multimeter right now, just use item #1







For less than $200 you can have a pretty nice setup. I hope this is helpful.