What's your shop like?

[Puddin Tane]

I may be investing in a proper shop soon but need a plan for doing so that's more than a blank canvas, so I'm hoping some of you veteran B6 mechanics will share what your shops are like and any equipment you think is essential for PMing and fixing these cars. Thanks.

[EuroxS4]

Depends what you mean by shop, actual business? Or a home garage workshop?? What kind of work do you plan on doing? A good set of tools is essential as well as knowledge. Without knowledge tools can only take you so far.

[Puddin Tane]

Depends what you mean by shop

I want to do all preventive and routine maintenance on my own cars easily and efficiently. Right now my facilities are grossly inadequate and even oil changes are a huge pain. Plus I want to do the more common repairs on most systems, with pulling engines as the upper limit. Limited to parts changing, not interested in machining, fabricating, modding, or tuning. As for knowledge, I think my social stupidity around here has put you off. I don't know when to shut up but I'm technically adept. If it's something I haven't done before I'm very cautious and research the snot out of it until I know the whole procedure before lifting the first tool. Isn't that what you do and how you've progressed?

[EuroxS4]

Having a garage to work in and staying out of the elements is always nice. If your working at home a good lack is always a necessity, some jack stands, hell even a good set of ramps can go a long way, engine hoist for pulling engines, having oil, and various fluids on hand is a great idea so some shelving for consumables, gloves, paper towel/shop towels, hand cleaner, creeper if you don't have a lift, a good light depending on working conditions, a roll cart for tools or toolbox, bench to disassembly and repairs, either electric power tools or air compressor and air tools, air tool oil, air hoses,fittings and so on. Laptop with internet access to look up information, torque specs and so on. Battery charger, drain catch for oil and fluids. Those should be the basics for maintnance.

[Kevin C]

I built a home garage / shop a few years ago. To be honest, there is nothing super specific to work on the Audi. What makes me happy? Lots of light, I have 18 double bulb fluorescents and a few wall mount lights. The floor and walls are light colored to improve reflectivity. A decent air compressor, ultrasonic cleaner and an assortment of star bits and torque bits. I also have a computer with the Bentley manual and a decent internet connection. Add in a floor jack and some jumbo tool boxes. A bit of bench space is super nice.

Besides the lights having lots of storage for tools is what makes me happy. I can go out there work for a few hours and stay reasonably organized. I also have an assortment of non reuse items like spare CV bolts, trim clips and oil filters. I'm just happy to be inside and warm while I putter. A basic set of tools will take you a long way. A PC and a wifi connection to look things up with is also a good call.

I would say for me its less about special tools and more about having an organized comfortable place to work . That assumes you have a set of TQ wrenches and basic hand tools. Specialty tools can be picked up as you need them.

[Puddin Tane]

A big thanks to you both. Your answers boosted my confidence because when it comes to tools I'm already armed to the teeth. Now If I just didn't have to trudge back and forth 200 feet just to fetch that one perfect tool I need (car in driveway, tools in basement)... It's good for exercise I guess.

[deyrag]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

[inliner311]

I've found that it's alot easier to keep my tools organized and the stuff I use alot to keep it at eye level. I also like multiples of things like sockets, torx, hex, ratchets, wrenches, etc so I don't have to stop working to find a socket I misplaced while working.

I also have a bunch of extractors, drill bits, bolt outs, etc. As these cars get older things break or strip more and I have to turn to my drill, grinder, Dremel, and extractors.

I also like using ramps when I can instead of a jack and stand, I do wish I had a lift.

If you are building your garage/workshop from scratch, make sure to have tall enough ceilings to put a lift in. Tall enough that you can put another car in below while having a car on the lift. You might also have to get a roll up garage door instead of a normal one. Also wire it for 220v so you can put an big air compressor and use a welder if needed. I would also epoxy the floors so cleaning up the oil stains is easier.

[EuroxS4]

Don’t mind the mess this is my home garage.





Nothing beats having a 80gallon air compressor at home a lift that goes full height or having heat and AC in the garage as well as 220v outlets for the welder and welding table and of course storage. You need minimum 12ft ceilings for work on passenger cars and 14ft ceiling for suv's. The more room the better ideally I would love for my garage to be bigger. I may do that in a year or two or build another time will tell.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[seanf86]

I have a 22x30 detached I use for work, its got 50 amps of power, a heatpump/ac mini split,50k btu propane unit heater and 5kw construction heater for backup. The heat/ac really depends where you are, around here we see -40 to +40 temps between summer and winter.

For tools I've got an Autel bi directional scanner. B5/6/7 Bentley and Haynes manuals. I have a computer out here for looking stuff up while working connected to my house via cat5 and a full toolbox of various sockets/bits/power tools, I think snap on semi deep sockets are my go to, everything is is Craftsman or Mastercraft and a bunch of Milwaukee M12 ratchets/impacts/impact drivers, good 3 ton low profile floor jack and jackstands. Most importantly is a beer fridge.

I've got 10ft ceilings so a portable lift is next on my list.


Also keeping parts on hand is huge, I keep a whole front end control arm kit, wheel bearing, brake pads, oil/air/cabin/fuel filters on hand, spare set of rebuilt rear calipers, couple wheel speed sensors and whatnot.


Last pic of the garage is literally as I was about to install the last piece of fascia after the garage not being updated outside since it was built in the early 80s

[Cybersombosis]

I was considering the Quickjack for my 9ft ceiling garage but decided on the MaxJax. Haven’t looked back. I could get more height if I got a roll up door and removed my garage door opener. It lifts up 4 feet at maximum. If you are building a full height garage, I’d definitely go for a full height lift.

975EDCEC-45F8-4BF1-B0E9-6B135F087074.jpg

[Puddin Tane]

I've got 10ft ceilings so a portable lift is next on my list.

A real lift would be dreamy but so far I can't justify it, so I'm looking at QuickJacks instead. Is that what you're talking about? It'd be great to raise a car so it stays level instead of dicking around adjusting four jackstands.

Your attachments don't open.

Thanks everybody, great info

[Cybersombosis]

Well prices may be cheaper in the US but a set of QJ’s in Canada is $1800. I got the MaxJax for $3000 and it’s a totally different beast in every way. This has also given me the opportunity to help the Audi community where I live by keeping older cars on the road and offering services at a reasonable price. So much so that I bought a wheel and tire machine to offer those services too. A hobby that pays for itself and an opportunity to make some money too. You can go all out and get a sandblasting machine and a free oven off of Market Place and do some powder coating. The possibilities are endless.
83A3273D-323C-4EB6-A138-9CF0AE48E706.jpg
1E1324F2-811A-4785-B9F1-72795515744C.jpg
18C76CB0-4122-4806-B773-771CE3B800C3.jpg
5625AD46-6AC1-49C0-BC57-4B284174DAAD.jpg
2E12E56E-10BF-4BEE-A468-9D00DE91645B.jpg

[Kevin C]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

When I was building my shop I used to follow that site, fun to learn. I planned and built my own garage with lots of good advice. One criteria was it had to look good and fit in with the house. The house is not super huge so I set it to the back of the lot and painted it a darker color. That also some what limited the size and height. I worked to make it look like the house and fit in. You only get one chance to build so went with an insulated 6" slab plumbed for in floor heat. Under the slab I put in 2" XPS foam and a thermal break around the perimeter. The walls also got 2" XPS foam and R13 fiberglass. The idea was to spend on insulation up front and just do it once. All the wiring was run in metal conduit that is buried in the walls. It looks good and allows me to pull new circuits if the need comes up. I also added hot and cold running water and a sewer connection for a sink that allows a full bathroom to be added (ADU conversion friendly).

I'm not a tool snob and its all about what works. I have some Snap-On, Craftsman and Harbor Freight. My 3hp Sears compressor is probably due for an upgrade, I bought it new in 1984 or so. When I sand blast I run a Craigslist's special in parallel to get more volume. To get work done It's all about the CFM. That gets me to about 14 SCFM at 90 psi. An upgrade is planned.
Outside almost done
user90246_pic24024_1348417164.jpg
Slab with insulation and hydronic tubing
DSC02153.jpg
R23 super insulated wall
IMAG1173.jpg
I had to learn how to frame!
DSC02185.jpg
Dealing with decking the roof and rain.
Roof.jpg
Work area. I ran out of space and added a third tool box last year.
20191201_223523.jpg

One thing that has worked out really well is that the 5/8" thick sheet rock and foam insulation does a great job of deadening sound. I can run a die grinder late at night and not worry about disturbing my neighbors. I did most of the work myself and it seemed like I was never going to finish. Like what was I thinking? I think that's why working out there makes me so happy, Its my shop I built it and now I can enjoy it. Its not all that different than doing work on your own car. The shop is probably my favorite all time project. I can always add to it and make it better but its perfect the way it is. That said, I'm working on a set of hardwood benches to go along the back wall over the tool boxes. Last year I added hard wired gig ethernet and its own WIFI hotspot. I even pulled CAT 5 to every wall so that the TV and computer has a dedicated connection.

[seanf86]

I was considering the Quickjack for my 9ft ceiling garage but decided on the MaxJax. Haven’t looked back. I could get more height if I got a roll up door and removed my garage door opener. It lifts up 4 feet at maximum. If you are building a full height garage, I’d definitely go for a full height lift.

975EDCEC-45F8-4BF1-B0E9-6B135F087074.jpg

maxjax bolts into the concrete but is portable correct? the twin post is more my thing over the drive over as at least then I can drop a transmission without taking the engine out as well.

A real lift would be dreamy but so far I can't justify it, so I'm looking at QuickJacks instead. Is that what you're talking about? It'd be great to raise a car so it stays level instead of dicking around adjusting four jackstands.

Your attachments don't open.

Thanks everybody, great info

attachments fixed

[Kevin C]

maxjax bolts into the concrete but is portable correct? the twin post is more my thing over the drive over as at least then I can drop a transmission without taking the engine out as well.



attachments fixed

A lift would be nice. Even nicer if it only has a bolted down base that the top can be removed from. The right bay in the garage is reserved for my wife and is her gym so keeping the floor open is helpful. The garage is kind of a multi purpose room and a great refuge when its rainy out (I live in Portland OR). That and I will need to make sure not to drill into the hydronic tubes in the slab. I did a 6" slab and the tubes are 5" down and the jack instructions say to drill the holes 5" deep.... I know I can find them with a FLIR camera if I run hot water through them. What I want to avoid is clutter. One suggestion was that I build a separate shed for dirty work. The belt sander, TIG, MIG , grinder sand blast cabinet and table saw can all go out there. I have a storage area in the attic and a hoist to move stuff like winter tires up there with. I even put the compressors and air dryer up there. That frees up floor space and keeps the work area neat. One thing that helped was a getting a portable table saw that I can roll out of the garage, wood working sure makes a mess of things. The yard tools moved to their own shed a long time ago.

I went with 10' ceilings so I have decent head room.

Lots of tubes that I would rather not drill into.

DSC02153.jpg
A lift would be super nice.

[Cybersombosis]

Ya the MaxJax is portable. Has rollers on the bottom ends and handles up top so you can tuck them away. They are bolted to the floor so that when the bolts are removed, the anchors are recessed into the floor so you don’t trip over them. If you have multiple locations like a short garage and outdoor space, you can mount a set of anchors outside and move the lift to get full 4ft height. My limitation is the garage door and opener. If I get a roll up powered door I could gain another 18” and do trucks and SUV’s without having to shut the door.

[Puddin Tane]

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/

OMG, information overload! Woop Woop Woop! Warp core melting!! She can'na take it, Jim! Woop Woop Woop! AAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Thanks

[Puddin Tane]

I didn't know about MaxJax at all. A two-column low lift as portable and stowable as QuickJack and way more than twice as nice for only 1.5 times the cash. You can go everywhere under the car and, with 4' of lift, work off a creeper-chair as if standing up. The stowability even gives it an edge over full-height lifts. Dude, I'm all in.

[Puddin Tane]

One suggestion was that I build a separate shed for dirty work. The belt sander, TIG, MIG , grinder sand blast cabinet and table saw can all go out there.

An alternative to building another outbuilding would be installing a shop air cleaner out of the way on the ceiling (takes up zero useful space) and/or having a dust-control enclosure over a dedicated "dirty bench" or work area, ported to a dust collector that sucks away all the dusty air. The dust collector can be outside the shop under a small shed roof but your neighbors might not like it unless you also put walls around it. Add a floor sweep or two ("magic dust pans") for the big debris and presto no more dust problems. Dust, including wood dust, isn't just messy, it's also really bad for you.

[Cybersombosis]

Ya I was basically in the same boat as you considering the Quickjack and fell upon the MaxJax. When I see the guy sliding around on his reclining creeper, I was sold. And to have the safety locks to protect myself was priceless. I actually waited until version 2 came out with the locks as the previous model had bars you had to insert for protection.

For dust collection, I bought a blower which I was using for a table saw and mitre saw but while powder coating on the floor one day, I thought to myself, I need a little cabinet to not coat everything in powder. Went out to the yard and there was an old chest of drawers there so I cut a hole in it and shoved a pipe in and voila. It still blows a little powder around but no where near the amount as before. Also have it hooked up to the homemade sandblaster that I picked up for free. It’s huge but it came with everything including a vacuum for the dust which I pipe into the dust collector.

C1B02787-6977-4198-95DC-F4E17B95C01F.jpg

5F9E0B58-63D4-4876-9142-A85D97EAFC98.jpg

B0CB56C5-7901-49FF-8500-1A57C8DF34FD.jpg

6CC939AA-AA55-420B-BC28-F909E1A06DD5.jpg

[EuroxS4]

I honestly don't think its worth buying something that doesn't go full height from a price point of view.

[Puddin Tane]

I honestly don't think its worth buying something that doesn't go full height from a price point of view.

I'd appreciate it if you would recommend a specific lift or company so I can see what you mean. It's a niche market with lots of competitors and I don't know what's a good value & reputable.

[EuroxS4]

What I mean price wise a max jax is about $3200give or take a few hundred dollars yet you can purchase a 2 post full height Atlas 8,000lbs lift for 3 grand.

[Cybersombosis]

If you have full height in your garage, go with a full sized lift. If you only have 9 feet then something like the MaxJax is basically your only option for a lift. I guess I could have cut a hole in the ceiling but with engineered trusses, I didn’t want to fart around with all that. Plus the stupid garage door opener is my current height limitation. Roll up door would solve that but that equals more money. Currently 99% of the jobs we do are on cars so we really don’t have an issue with not being able to go full height. Plus if you want to put the lift away, you really can’t do that with a full sized lift.

[Kevin C]

If you have full height in your garage, go with a full sized lift. If you only have 9 feet then something like the MaxJax is basically your only option for a lift. I guess I could have cut a hole in the ceiling but with engineered trusses, I didn’t want to fart around with all that. Plus the stupid garage door opener is my current height limitation. Roll up door would solve that but that equals more money. Currently 99% of the jobs we do are on cars so we really don’t have an issue with not being able to go full height. Plus if you want to put the lift away, you really can’t do that with a full sized lift.

Lots of things to consider. Another is that some of the full height high capacity lifts have a 5.5" tall jack pad. Lots of good discussions on the garage Journal.

[Audi4kq]

I too have garage height constraints and replacing the ceiling mount garage door opener with a direct drive unit like so...

https://www.chamberlain.com/wall-mou...ener/p/RJO20MC

Makes a huge difference. When you only have 9', another 10" is a substantial gain...It's much quieter too. I've considered getting a QuickJack setup but I just can't commit. The low rise scissor lift seems like another good option.

https://www.twinbusch.com/product_in...?products_id=8

[canonball]

Anyone have any experience with these? They've been on my mind for a while and been thinking about pulling the trigger on them after I get a few other house projects taken care of. I don't have the space in my garage for a full lift without making things really tight (I also have a dang load bearing support smack dab in the middle of my garage ). This seemed like a good solution to be able to quickly get the car up without taking up a lot of space. Curious if there are any other alternatives that may work even better?

This is an awesome thread by the way! I have two small humans to run after and very often the garage is the last place in the house that gets any love and tends to be a catch-all, seems like I'm lucky if I can get out there and clear off the work bench! lol This is inspiring to get out there and really get it straightened up. There's nothing more satisfying than going to get a tool, knowing exactly where it should be, and voila, there it is Maybe I'll post a snap of my setup... after a bit of cleaning.

[kwilson]

Anyone have any experience with these? They've been on my mind for a while and been thinking about pulling the trigger on them after I get a few other house projects taken care of. I don't have the space in my garage for a full lift without making things really tight (I also have a dang load bearing support smack dab in the middle of my garage ). This seemed like a good solution to be able to quickly get the car up without taking up a lot of space. Curious if there are any other alternatives that may work even better?

This is an awesome thread by the way! I have two small humans to run after and very often the garage is the last place in the house that gets any love and tends to be a catch-all, seems like I'm lucky if I can get out there and clear off the work bench! lol This is inspiring to get out there and really get it straightened up. There's nothing more satisfying than going to get a tool, knowing exactly where it should be, and voila, there it is Maybe I'll post a snap of my setup... after a bit of cleaning.

I have one of these. Works well. Ideally, it would lift a little higher, but very portable (hangs on the wall) and not too bad setting up each time. I used to have a Kwik-Lift, which is another option. Pros are that you can just leave it in place, parking on it so no setup. Cons are that the car is sitting on the wheels, and while you can jack them up, it's kind of a PITA.

With the Quick Jack, I find myself going back to using ramps for things like oil changes, as it does take a bit of setup for the lift. I got mine from Costco, where they are often on sale.

[Mike Tries]

My home-gamer garage is set up quite nicely. It's a two-car garage, but it has a workshop area set up along the one side. Probably a 10 x 10 foot square. I call it a "five five-hundred" garage because you could fit five Fiat 500s in it. (One day, I may!) This is handy because I lined the walls of it with workbench-topped tool chests, and I use the space in between all of the tool chests to park stuff that I randomly encounter throughout my week so that I can't get to any of my tool chests or have any space to work in. Up until this week, there were a bunch of chairs sitting in there. Usually, the welder is parked there, in the way. Sometimes, I like to get decorations out of the attic, leave them in this space so that they trip me up and block access to my drawers, and then never put up the decorations (happy Halloween-in-November, Audizine!). My favorite thing is when other people in my house borrow the space, too, so that I have bottles of bubble mix and empty McDonalds bags sitting on top of my miter saw, which is supposed to be over in the cabinet on the other side of the garage--just over there. Oh, wait, those bubbles and McDonalds bags are mine--let me just.... put them over here on top of this wrapping paper holder that I parked out here that's empty because wrapping paper rolls are longer than this is tall (thanks, Rubbermaid). The workbench top of one of my workbench-topped tool chests has a vice mounted securely to it. The surface of the workbench is not mounted securely to the top of the work bench though, so I weigh it down with all of the tools that are supposed to be put away neatly within the tool chests... and also that bottle of bubbles and a McDonalds bag.

Sometimes I like to work on my car in this garage.

[Puddin Tane]

My home-gamer garage is set up quite nicely...

HA HA HA You boosted my confidence most of all! I know I can do all that.

[shurur9]

Outside in FL heat and rain.
AL ramps, tarp on ground and tools in car.

I hate you one and all, damn your eyes!

[Kevin C]

An alternative to building another outbuilding would be installing a shop air cleaner out of the way on the ceiling (takes up zero useful space) and/or having a dust-control enclosure over a dedicated "dirty bench" or work area, ported to a dust collector that sucks away all the dusty air. The dust collector can be outside the shop under a small shed roof but your neighbors might not like it unless you also put walls around it. Add a floor sweep or two ("magic dust pans") for the big debris and presto no more dust problems. Dust, including wood dust, isn't just messy, it's also really bad for you.

Not a bad option. I do have a shop vac for dust collection and a dirty area but I know I can do better. The upside is I'm not really into woodworking, I just own a really old house. Most work is outdoor summer work and having a saw on wheels solves 98% of that issue. The metal working is not all that bad. I still want to get some of the equipment out of the garage and its way too easy to end up with too much stuff. At some point I would like to pick up a knee mill and a lathe. I can see having a dedicated area for that. My grand plan is to take out a set of large garden beds that are next to the garage and replace them with a patio and large pots. 1/2 the beds are not very productive thanks to my neighbors bamboo thicket ( way too much shade) so I might as well make it a nice work area. If I put a shed up behind it I have storage and a nice out of the way shaded work area. If I make it a big shed I have a spot for a lathe and a mill.

Today I'm just going with clean up what I have and work on a bit of de cluttering. I'm sure this has never happened to anyone else; I finished a couple of projects and never managed to fully put my tools and the old parts away. Also it also turns out that the oil drain pan does not empty itself. Time to test out the new generator I picked up, and of course find a place to store it.

[Kevin C]

Outside in FL heat and rain.
AL ramps, tarp on ground and tools in car.

I hate you one and all, damn your eyes!

I feel your pain. I did the apartment thing for a while. No car work in the apartment parking lot so I build cars in the parking lot at work. It was less than ideal but I got stuff done. It was a phase that I'm glad to be past.

[EuroxS4]

Likewise I've dropped engines out and transmissions out on jack stands in driveways. All I can say is fuck that noise never again.

[shurur9]

I upgraded from apts to a trailer, by the swamp and under the power lines for that very reason.

I want a place inside or in shade to work on my cars and wife wants a kitchen with actual stove, vice a hot plate..

We have a dream..

Love these threads though and stealing all you guys ideas..

[Puddin Tane]

I want a place inside or in shade to work on my cars...

For now, put up a fabric carport canopy (or this one; a little stronger I think). Your biggest bang for the smallest buck. Both snap together in an afternoon but need anchoring too so the wind doesn't send the whole thing into orbit, or weight each leg down with canopy sandbags, like so
sandbags.jpg
Both canopies are 12' x 20', a good size for a work bay; 10' wide (more common) is too narrow. The open sides keep it from becoming a solar oven (maybe add a tarp wall to the south side for the same reason). Does great keeping the sun and weather off you and your car, beats hell out of working out in the open. A level, finished concrete slab under it would be real nice (placed and sized for your future garage).

[Turbo510]

OK, my "shop" is a two car garage, which I had drywalled, with LED panels in the ceiling, speakers, a pull-down ladder for storing stuff above, and epoxy-floored - soon after moving into this house. After two apartments/carports and two previous houses with bare concrete floors and bare stud walls, I wanted something more appropriate for car work. Besides the everlasting 3.0 parts on the workbench, there's an Audi 5-inline head gasket and on top of the cabinet, the differential from a 5000CS Turbo which we had years ago.

[Puddin Tane]

Thanks. I really like your epoxy floor. I remember you saying the speckle is bad for losing small parts and I'm thinking solid white or near-white is the way to go, to reflect maximum light when you're under a car.

[Kevin C]

Thanks. I really like your epoxy floor. I remember you saying the speckle is bad for losing small parts and I'm thinking solid white or near-white is the way to go, to reflect maximum light when you're under a car.

I did a light blue epoxy with an epoxy clear coat. The blue has been great the clear coat not so much. The clear yellowed and does not look all that. A poly clear over the epoxy base would have been better. Also, some vendors will swear that all you need to do is an acid etch and apply the color coat, total BS. Grind, primer, color and a clear is what works. If I remember right a polyaspartic clear is preferred, non yellowing and tough. Part of this is I did not want a chip type floor, just color.