The General Technician Equipment (GTE) Tools MasterPry LED, is an interior/exterior trim panel tool set with 30 lumen on-board LEDs. This tool provides a straight edge and fork tip tool, precision edges for scraping and tight plastic panel separating, an angle wedge tip, an easy-grip ergonomic body, a no-slip knurled finish and batteries. This tool is made of military-spec advanced polymer plastic.
The review
The GTE Tools MasterPry LED was the first “plastic clip tool” Philip Fournier had ever used. “I like it better than the metal ones that I have always used,” he says.
The plastic construction appealed to Fournier. “(It) makes the tool safer to use where a slip can cause a nasty scratch if using a metal tool. This is of particular importance on door panels where scratches are obvious and irritating to customers.”
Fournier, owner of Phil’s Auto Clinic in Hemet, Calif., also likes the light feature. “I’ve never even seen one with a light. The light is a nice feature and sets my hands free from having to hold a flashlight, my usual mode of operation.”
Fournier recently used the MasterPry LED for hybrid battery work. Typically, he says, the batteries are covered with interior fabric panels and held “with multiple clips in dark places.”
“I used this tool on several battery installs. While I don’t worry about high voltage much anymore as I have lots of experience around it, it is still a bit of a comfort to know that the plastic tool does not conduct electricity, should I slip and hit a high voltage circuit for some reason.”
He also used the tool on a Ford van. Fournier says, “I used the tool to pull panel clips on a Ford van in order to remove the rear evaporator to replace the rear expansion valve. The tools worked very well to extract the tight clips.”
Lou Fort, lead technician at K.A.R.S. Inc. in Huntingburg, Ind., also provided feedback for the MasterPry LED.
The tool was “super easy” to use, says Fort. “There was some time savings with this tool set, freeing up one hand from having to hold a light, the amount varied by the job.”
To use the tool, Fort says he only had to remove the tab from the batteries, which is there to keep the batteries from making contact and draining the batteries before use.
Fort has used the tool to help replace a heater core on a Ford F-250, to replace a radiator in a BMW 328i and to work on a timing belt and water pump on a Honda Accord. He found it most useful when faced with having to remove the interior of a Euro Van CV.
Both reviewers liked the built-in light feature of the tool. For Fournier, the LED offered additional benefits for his eyesight. “This is a pretty simple tool but the LED lighting is definitely a help for an old guy like me. I can’t see well anymore, especially in trunks or inside the car where plastic clips have to be removed and the LED right on the subject is very helpful.”
Fort has used this tool before. “I own around a dozen, and use plastic pry tools every day, but have never used any with a built-in light or that have resisted marring as well as the GTE set has so far.”
To improve the tool, Fournier suggests a variety of end designs for a wider variety of clips. “I’d also like to suggest some kind of an automatic (light) shut-off,” he says. “I have problems with the battery life on battery-powered tools, as I forget to switch them off.”
Fournier found that the plastic wasn’t always strong enough to complete the job at hand. He says that the tool may bend and slip before the clip can be extracted.
He adds that it may not work with every clip due to the tool’s size and shape. “Sometimes a narrower tool is necessary and sometimes the rigidity of steel is necessary.”
Fournier says overall, the tool worked in a wide variety of applications. “It became the first choice of a tool for pulling clips when I had to make a decision about which tool to try first.”
An admirer of the tool’s quality, Fort says it is, “Well-made and innovative.” He adds, “They (the tools) should last a long time. The fork tipped one has a built-in step / wedge nicely placed back away from its end for added leverage. That comes in handy when dealing with push-type retainers and door panels when needed. The other tool has a wide, flat tip.
As an improvement, Fort would like to see the tool with two working ends and a light for each. “There is only one working end on each of them. The other end does have a hole if one cares to hang (the tool) on a peg board hook or attach a lanyard. Not having a timer for the light is also a drawback, it is far too easy to leave the light on unintentionally.”
“If that isn’t possible, a third, small-tipped, tool would be the next best thing.” Fort adds, “I would also be interested in seeing a version that had an LED on both sides of the tool body. “I realize that being able to use a AAA would bulk up the tool body but think it would be worth it, especially if they remain with only one working end.”
