u/_The_Space_Monkey_

Im going to be getting a set of ratcheting wrenches and im trying to decide between a set that is fixed head but reversible vs a set of flex heads that arent reversible. Im really leaning towards the flex heads, but my one irrational concern is the fact that (with a non reversible) if you back a bolt out and dont have enough clearance to get the wrench head out, it cant be reversed to turn the bolt back in. Ive heard horror stories of guys having to cut the wrench head in half to remove it. I say irrational because its such a low percentage occurrence, but the thought of all the extra work I could cause myself has me wondering if I should just go with the reversible set. Am I being overly cautiou? Should I just get the flex heads because they're more versatile, or get a good set of fixed reversibles instead? Any brand recommendations are also welcome.

The old pump/thermostat lasted a solid 140k miles, but finally bit the dust on Thursday. Ordered new parts from FCP Euro on Thursday night, disassembled on Friday, part showed up and installed on Saturday. Everything went smooth, and shes running great honestly, but after seeing how caked with carbon my intake valves were im going to be tearing it back down to walnut blast sometime soon. I was pretty suprised to see how much carbon buildup I had given I only use 93 octane and change my oil every 4000 miles with Castrol Edge Euro Car extended milage formula. And tips for doing the carbon cleaning with a walnut blast media? If anyone has a good kit they want to link id appreciate it.

I was really appreciating the cost friendly tools I got from HF recently. I had to do a water pump, thermostat and intake manifold gasket on my VW this weekend and like 75% of the tools that came in clutch were from HF.

Im going to be changing the water pump and thermostat housing on my 2015 1.8t jetta and was wondering if this kit from Urotuning would be a good recommended replacement? I usually like to stick with OEM for these types of parts, but it seems like the general concensus is that the water pumps VW use (at least on this gen) are kinda trash because they use a plastic impeller that is a common point of failure. Should I replace any other o-rings or hoses while im there?

If any VW techs or ppl with experience with this repair have any advice, tips or recommendations i would greatly appreciate it. Ive also seen two main methods of doing this repair. One being to remove the intake manifold which gives far better access. The second is to mainly just remove the airbox, a coolant hose and some electrical connections and you can do the job with very likited access.

I want to avoid removing the intake manifold because it seems to add about an hour (maybe more with someone of my experience) to the disassembly and re assembly. My only concern is that I want to thoroughly clean the area before I put the new waterpump on and im not sure I'll be able to really do a good job without the added access of removing the intake manifold. Does anyone have thoughts on this? Am I overthinking the cleaning part and will be good just covering the opening and hitting it with some brake cleaner and rags or should I make sure the mating area is spotless before reinstall of the pump?

Thanks to anyone that can help and if you have any good videos or forums as a guide please link them.

Does anyone know how Craftsman handles warranties on items that have been discontinued? I have this max axess socket set that I love using, but it kills me that my 18mm is split. I've tried reaching out to them through the portal on their website but havent received a response yet. I've found an 18mm for this set on ebay but its like $20+ after taxes and shipping so im hoping they keep some kind of replacements in stock.

Through looking for a replacement I learned these sets are kindof expensive now. Apparently Craftsman got sued over this design and had to discontinue them. If anyone knows of an exact replacement from a different brand shoot me a link please.