Essential Tools and Equipment for Undercarriage Maintenance

Undercarriage maintenance can be tricky because it’s difficult to access your vehicle’s underside without the proper tools and equipment. There are a lot of sensitive components that need to be cleaned and/or maintained that you can’t reach without crawling beneath your ride.

Fortunately, having the right gear can make undercarriage maintenance significantly easier.

Creeper

Creepers are one of the best garage tools for undercarriage maintenance because they help you slide in and out from underneath your vehicle quickly. They’re essentially boards with wheels that support your weight. There are some that are composite material, contoured for your back and allow you to be even lower than a standard wooden creeper.

Flashlight, Drop Light, or Headlight

Because of its location, the undercarriage is typically dark, making it hard to see what you’re doing unless you have a light source. So keep a flashlight handy if you’re going to perform maintenance or repairs yourself. You might want to use a drop light or one of those handy LED rechargeable headband lights.

You won’t be able to inspect your vehicle in darkness without a flashlight (although youngsters tend to do this), and even in a well-lit garage, there will be dark spots that light from the ceiling can’t reach.

Lights come in many shapes and sizes, so you’re sure to find one that’s easy to use while working from underneath your vehicle.

Floor Jack

Floor jacks are a type of jack that’s mounted horizontally. They lie flatter against the ground and have steel casters that allow the jack carriage to roll as the lift arm is raised, which is extremely necessary, as you’ll discover the first time you use a floor jack. You can easily move these jacks around your garage.

Caution: Always put the jack’s lift saddle under a level part of the frame and never get under a vehicle that is only supported by any jack; always use jack stands.

Floor jacks are operated using pump handles that are used to lift heavy objects from underneath. The fact that they’re flat and low to the ground means they can lift from a bigger surface area, making them stable, safe to use, and ideal for undercarriage maintenance.

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Safety Glasses

Another must-have item to keep in the garage for undercarriage maintenance is safety glasses. This prevents foreign objects, debris, and other unwanted hazards that accumulate in the undercarriage from reaching your eyes.

It’s dangerous for substances like dust, metal powder, and oil to make contact with your skin, especially your eyes. Chemicals, in particular, can cause permanent damage and even blindness if they get into your eyes.

Bottle Jack

Bottle jacks are mounted vertically, which lets them lift tremendous amounts of weight at the expense of stability. Note that they are usually too tall to use on a vehicle that isn’t an SUV or pickup because they won’t fit under the lift points.

While they perform a similar function to floor jacks, they’re relatively smaller and more portable, making them easy to store. But again, never work under any car that isn’t supported by jack stands. Hydraulic lifts in a shop have locks that support the vehicle after it is raised.

Tool Kits

Though the tools inside vary from kit to kit, every kit typically includes wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers, not to mention sockets, extensions, and a ratchet. Some include Allen wrenches, wire cutters, ratchet straps, and zip ties as well. All of these will have their uses when working on the undercarriage and outside of it.

The equipment found inside a tool kit will be necessary because you won’t be able to inspect, repair, or replace any of your vehicle’s parts without them. It’s why a garage isn’t sufficiently equipped without a toolbox in an easy-to-access location.

Car Ramp

Car ramps are a good alternative to floor jacks for drivers keen on performing undercarriage maintenance. All you have to do is drive over it, and it’ll raise your vehicle high enough for repairs or upkeep. Of course, when the wheels are sitting on the ramps, there are some things you won’t be able to do, so there’s that.

These ramps are also cheaper than the average floor jack due to their simple make, though they take up more space and are difficult to store.

Grease

Applying grease is an essential part of undercarriage maintenance because it protects various components — especially moving ones.

Pro Tips are nuggets of information direct from ASE-certified automobile technicians working with CarParts.com, which may include unique, personal insights based on their years of experience working in the automotive industry. These can help you make more informed decisions about your car.

Pro Tip: Don’t just smear grease on everything. Use a grease gun to pump a bit of grease into the fittings – and not every vehicle even has grease fittings.