• 3/8-inch and 1/2-inch ratchets, extensions, and universals, plus deep-well sockets and speed handles
• Wrenches, open and box (metric)
• Assorted screwdrivers, pliers, and locking pliers
• Mechanics mirror with extendable handle
• Mechanics magnet with extendable handle and a pick-up tool
• Thread chasers
• Dead-blow plastic mallet
• Brass drifts (punches)
• Feeler gauges
• Assorted scrapers
• Breaker bar with a long handle
• 3/8-inch and 1/2-inch torque wrenches in ft-lbs and in-lbs
• Engine hoist (can be rented if unable to purchase)
• Engine stand
• Oil dry
• Bags for cataloging and storing parts
• Paper towels
• Engine assembly lube
• Small LED flashlight
• 6-inch and 12-inch steel scales and straight edge (24 inches or longer)
• Air tools are helpful for removing and installing flexplate and flywheel bolts (use with hardened 1/2-inch sockets and extensions). Always use caution when using air tools during assembly or disassembly. I only recommend using air tools for removing and installing the flexplate and flywheel. During engine assembly, your air tools should not be used. All final fastening or torque applications should be done by hand with a wrench, ratchet, or torque wrench.
• An air compressor is not a required tool; it is considered a luxury item.
• A digital camera doesn’t take the engine apart, but photos can show you exactly how something went together before you took it apart so you know what goes where at reassembly.
Tech Tip
Metric bolts are used throughout the Gen III Hemi engines except for the bellhousing, which may be a mixture. Be sure that your sockets and wrenches are metric sizes. ■
Mechanics mirrors (top two) can be quite handy when looking inside the engine. The extendable magnets (bottom two) are needed to retrieve a dropped nut, screw, or bolt from somewhere that it should not be.
Generally, you would not need a dead-blow hammer (top) until you install the piston-and-rod assemblies, but they can be helpful during engine disassembly. The same is true for the brass drifts (middle), which can be used to focus the hammer blow to a small area. The feeler gauges (bottom) are used to measure small clearances, such as spark plug gaps in the 0.035-inch area and rod side clearances that run in the 0.005- to 0.015-inch area. Ring gaps are also measured with feeler gauge.
You will need a variety of torque wrenches, including 1/2-inch drive (top) and 3/8-inch drive (bottom). Additionally, you need to torque wrenches that read ft-lbs (the top three) and others that read in-lbs (bottom two). It is easier to torque head bolts and main cap screws with a long handle on the torque wrench (top).
You will need measuring devices, including dial vernier calipers (top two), a straight edge (middle), and 6-inch and 12-inch steel scales (bottom).
Engine Building Tools
The following tools are needed specifically for engine building and rebuilding. They probably would not be used in other non-engine projects.
• Degree wheel and pointer
• Bridge with dial indicator
• Three-finger gear/damper puller
• Damper installation tool
• Oil passage/water jacket brush kit (assortment)
• Cylinder head stands (2)
• Piston ring expender
• Piston ring compressor
• Valve seal installer
• Plastigauge
• Top Dead Center (TDC) positive stop (optional)
• Band compressor
• Rod guides (brass or plastic)
• Scribe or permanent marker
• Ridge reamer (optional)
• Valve spring compressor
• CC-ing equipment (burette, plate, colored fluid, bridge and dial indicator, degree wheel, and pointer)
• Valvetrain organizer
• Tappet holder
• Camshaft guide (optional)
An air tool is very handy for removing or installing flywheel bolts and/or flexplate bolts. This is done before the engine is bolted to the stand. To properly and safely use an air tool, you should have hardened sockets and extensions.
The ring expander (left) is only used for removing or installing the top two compression rings on the piston. The ring compressor (right) and its Allen wrench are only used to compress the rings once installed onto the piston to allow the assembly to be installed into the cylinder.
There are several styles of tools used in removing and installing the piston-and-rod assemblies. The band compressor (upper left) is used to compress the rings at piston-and-rod installation. The long black U-shaped tool’s ends are placed over the rod bolts once the cap are removed (inserts into the beam on the Gen III Hemi), and then the flat side provides a surface to exert force on in order to get the used piston and rings to move past the ring at the top of the cylinder bores. The long and short plastic tubing and the long tubing with a wooden dowel insert (middle) are used during the piston-and-rod installation to guide the rod past the crank and to protect the crank from nicks and scratches caused by the rod. The scribe and two markers (bottom) are required to label the rods and caps because you are not supposed to number stamp them for identification.
Some tools will probably only be used for building engines. The bridge with dial indicator (top) is used for finding deck heights (top of piston to top of deck) and for finding the piston dome/dish heights, which are very important in determining the engine’s compression ratio. The degree wheel and the bent coat-hanger pointer (bottom) also fit in this engine tool category.
The tools required to measure a combustion chamber in the cylinder head are very unique and not used for anything else. The long tube is the burette, which measures the volume