Just dropped $400 on a new scan tool and it's already paid for itself

I was fighting with this 2017 F-150 for two days, chasing a weird misfire code that kept coming back. My old basic code reader just gave me the generic P0300. I finally bit the bullet and got that new Autel scanner, the one with the full bi-directional controls. The first thing it did was let me command the VVT solenoids while the truck was running. Found out the right bank solenoid was sticking about 30% of the time, something my old tool would never have shown. I had the part swapped in under an hour. The shop rate would have been double what I paid for the tool just for the diag time. I know it's a big chunk of cash up front, but man, when it works, it works. What's the one tool you guys bought that felt expensive but ended up being a total game changer?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicaw111mo ago

Oh man, I feel that! I dropped way too much on a good torque wrench last year and felt sick about it. Tbh, it's saved me so much time and guesswork on suspension stuff. Totally worth it.

linda_clark1mo ago

My buddy stripped a caliper bolt on his truck because he was just going by feel. Cost him a tow and a whole new bracket. Ever since then he won't touch a wheel without his click wrench set to the exact spec.