There is a category of tools that often look strange, their use a mystery until they are seen in action. Then, one can see that they are perfectly and elegantly suited to their task. In fact, they are clearly the most convenient, or even only, means of accomplishing what they do. These are called special-service tools. On every car, some type of job requires them sooner or later, and they are generally not found in the Craftsman catalog. One catalog filled exclusively with them is that of Sir Tools, a family-operated business founded in 1974. John Sir owned a service station and foreign-vehicle repair facility in El Segundo, Calif., and was persuaded by visiting tool distributors to manufacture the tools he had designed for his own use.
Today, Sir Tools has a 45-page catalog of special-service tools. Nearly every foreign marque is touched on, but the bulk of the catalog is oriented toward Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche, with extensive selections for water- and aircooled Volkswagen, Audi, Volvo and Saab as well. Some highlights include a hub and bearing puller which allows the bearings of front- and rear-wheel-drive vehicles with independent suspension to be changed on the vehicle. It eliminates the necessity of disassembling the suspension and placing the uprights in a press, netting significant savings in time and equipment.
Another highlight is the unique spring compressor for Mercedes-Benz vehicles. An independent source reported that without this tool changing springs is nearly impossible, but with it the task takes only minutes and doesn't even require removal of the wheel. Several pages of the catalog are given to cooling-system pressure adapters, enabling one to find and fix leaks without running the engine and getting the system hot. I have sampled several Sir Tools and found them to be of superb quality and most effective in their intended use.
