I agree that the craftsman impact socket sets . . . when they’re on sale during club saver days . . . are a terrific bargain all around
Especially because they’re so easy to warranty when/if they do break
It’ll be a sad day when craftsman tools break, but Sears isn’t around anymore to warranty them
I haven’t seen a cornwell tool truck in years. I know the company is still around, though
My mechanic friend says that the reason many guys buy the snapon and mac stuff is for the convenience of warranty replacement, since broken tools will be replaced when the truck comes around once a week, instead of driving to Sears. Fair point, since I have had several craftsman tools sitting for months waiting for me to remember to get them replaced.
It’s a fair point, but it’s usually quicker to stop by sears after work, versus waiting a few days for the tool truck to come by
Then again, sears isn’t much of a detour when I drive home
It might be a different story for other guys, especially with some sears now closed
The Sears here is in the process of liquidating inventory and scheduled to be shutdown early next year. It’s about 20 years overdue because the place has been pretty much an Egyptian tomb as far as activity is concerned.
I’m guessing (?) that K-Mart will continue the Craftsman warranty and possibly Ace Hardware which has been carrying Craftsman tools for a while.
Even if the Craftsman name sinks along with Sears I’m pretty confident someone will buy that name and keep it alive. This was done with Hostess Twinkies…
The only question might be quality control which has been slipping some the last few years anyway.
I cringe every time I walk into my local Kmart
Many of the shelves are empty
If they’re not, they’re full of stuff no self-respecting person would buy
And half of the store’s inventory is strewn about the floor. Don’t they have anybody to clean up the mess?
“The only question might be quality control which has been slipping some the last few years anyway.”
you’re being too kind
I was trying to be diplomatic about QC. My true feelings are not printable here on a family friendly forum… 
Where my son works, when someone breaks a Snap-On tool they toss it into a plastic bucket and then haul the bucket to the Snap-On truck when it shows up.
Well, the truck didn’t show up for over a month. They found out the driver was having medical issues.
So what did they do? They ran to the Sears store nearby and replaced all the broken Snap-On tools with Craftsman tools.
Tester
Don’t get me wrong. I like Craftsman tools just fine and own a ton of them. Sockets, wrenches, and screwdrivers are great. The issue for me has been ratchets stripping with little effort, breakovers snapping the drive off or distorting it to the point where a socket won’t fit it anymore, and Craftsman electrical tools.
Matter of fact, if I were offered a choice between a box of Snap-On screwdrivers and a box of Craftsman with the stipulation they were for use only and not to be resold, I’d take the Craftsman screwdrivers.
I also think many of the Craftsman tools are good
Craftsman professional soft grip screwdrivers . . . sadly, no longer being sold
impact sockets
the chrome sockets are okay, but the chrome tends to flake off after a few years
craftsman professional USA-made full polish combo wrenches . . . not sure if they’re still available
What I don’t like are the Craftsman ratchets and extensions. The ratchets just don’t seem to fit as well in the palm of the hand. And the extensions aren’t knurled. The locking extensions also have a lousy lock/release mechanism
I started off with many craftsman tools, then as I earned more money, progressed to snap on. The craftsman tools then found their way into my garage at home. Whenever possible, I try to buy used snap on tools on ebay. Actually bought a few broken tools on the cheap, then got them warranted by the snap on vendor
Craftsman ratchets used to be pretty decent tools but the ratchet mechanisms anymore seem to be very sloppy and prone to stripping.
The Sears store here wasn’t even replacing a stripped ratchet; they would take them apart and replace the guts only.
The Snap-On ratchets, including my Snap-On torque wrenches, are flat indestructible.
@ok4450
I’ve had my snap-on ratchets fixed a few times. But it was no big deal, because the guy had the repair kit on the truck
Didn’t cost me anything, except a few minutes of my time
I’ve had great luck with my snap-on clicker torque wrenches. Not so my digital torque wrenches. Garbage. Fixed once under warranty, fixed once good-will, paid for the fix once. The next time, I just said to h . . . with it and brought my snap-on clicker from home
Then again, anything electronically controlled seems to be more temperamental than pure mechanical
db4690
That seems to be true of almost everything. Was there anything more reliable than the old gas stoves you lit with a match, or the round,USA made Honeywell thermostats with the mercury switch?
BIggest mistake I ever made on my home central unit was ditching the old round Honeywell thermostat with the mercury switch and replacing it with a digital programmable unit. It’s a POS whose days are numbered.
I still have my old Honeywell thermostat. It looked old when I bought my house 35 years ago. It’ll stay there til I croak. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.
I just finished replacing the head gasket. I replaced the valve and spring, and put the head back on with a new gasket. It is running great now. I have not had a chance to drive it on the road, that will wait for tomorrow. But the miss is gone. I’m not sure why unplugging the fuel injectors on cylinders 5-6 had no affect, but it runs good now.
The first time a tried to start it, it did nothing. checked for spark, no spark. climbed under the truck and checked wiring, still nothing. checked all the wiring going to the coil, still nothing. Suddenly, it occurred to me that the distributor would work better if I put the rotor on. After berating myself rather brutally for the oversight, I replaced the rotor, and it fired right off.
I need a break.
Happy motoring! Thanks for reporting back.
I, too, am mystified about the 5th and 6th injector disconnection having no effect. With the exhaust valve hanging open, the intake openning on the cylinder #4 would draw heavy from the exhaust. At the same time any injected fuel would go up toward the throttle body. The next intake valve to open would be #1 which should draw in exhaust plus a minimal amount of fuel. The next cylinder to draw is #5 followed by #3; followed by #6. By this time all of the exhaust should be cleared out of the intake manifold and MAF or MAP sensor stabilized so #6 should be back to correct.
Look at the layout of the intake manifold. Is there some oddity that cause the exhaust gulp of #4 to remain in the #5 and #6 runners to upset the combustion of #5 and #6 cylinders?
If you ferret out the clue, let us know. ???