Impact wrenches (what do you use)?

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sontakke

Senior member
Aug 8, 2001
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Factory Service Manual spec says 150-18 ft-lb. The C3 gun is spec'd at 200 ft-lb. I do not know if it was fluke or what. The other axle needs to be replaced and I will try it on it too.

If anybody is in the market for a cheap cordless impact wrench, this one fits the bill. I got the one with the two batteries and a bag. These days I only see the single battery version without the bag at local Sears.

- Vikas
 

SooperDave

Senior member
Nov 18, 2009
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Good for you if it does what you need... The "nine line bind" is just figure of speech meaning "in a very bad way"... 2 things with your last statement 1st yes I do take my gas powered compressor down the road (service truck)
snip

Wow. No PTO driven compressor? The biggest piece of shit service truck I ever had still had a hydraulic driven compressor. I am currrently running a T300 with 500k on the clock. Has a Maintainer bed. Not nearly as nice as a Dominator. Watcha got?
 
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Gillbot

Lifer
Jan 11, 2001
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My problem is, if I go air, I know it is going to get really expensive, really quick. And I strongly doubt a little 10 gallon or so tank is going to be up to the task.

So ATG, what do you use?

Old post, but i'll say for certain, don't sell a small tank short if the compressor is up to the task of supplying the air. I have a cheap-o harbor freight impact and a porter cable pancake compressor with a maybe 2 gallon tank. It runs my impact perfectly fine.
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
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Just figured I'd bump this after my most prolonged use of it yet:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...2&blockType=G2

Brother came out the other day with his 01 Jeep GC to replace the front brakes and rotors, as well as his rear shocks.

The impact wrench above never missed a beat. And apparently, my dad has the el cheapo type from HF that my brother had grown accustomed to. At some point, when driving a bolt, it would stop. When it stopped, you knew it was as tight as it could get it.

Well, I started using mine to remove bolts here and there. I let him use it to get the bolts a little tight on the brake parts. Problem is, he kept holding the trigger, waiting for it to stop. I told him to stop once, but he didn't. Eventually, he ripped the bolt in half.

This led to a long drive to a parts store that was open at 8pm so we could buy new hardware to get the job done and get his vehicle out of my garage.

Long story short, this thing seems to have plenty of power.

However, there was a rear shock where the bolt was rather crusty. Penetrating lubricant, breaker bar, and impact were all little match for this guy. After using a bit of everything, we got that bolt free. But it took a long while. I can't say that I put that on that wrench not having enough power, just a real stubborn bolt.

In any case, I can't recommend this impact wrench enough. Lugnuts were no problem at all. Just don't expect it to fix the rustiest crustiest bolt you got.

As for a air based tool. I am sure with the right compressor they work fine, but the air compressor I received for Christmas is the tiny little 2 gallon with an extremely crappy compressor from HF on it. When the tank drains, it takes 5 or more minutes to fill. Given that the capacity is so small, I can't imagine waiting on it every other job. I'd like to get a better one, but at this point, I don't need it.
 
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jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
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Glad to hear it's working out for you!

I am in the market for an impact gun and have $300 in Amazon GC's sitting here...part of me says go cordless for the convenience, but the other part of me says go air for ridiculous torque.
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
3,793
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Ya know, now that I think about it, it might not hurt me to grab:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-twin-hammer-air-impact-wrench-94803.html

That way, I'll have something with some extra torque for the few moments I need it, and I can more often just lean on the cordless when I don't.

My guess is more torque would've helped a bit in that situation, but the convenience of that cordless was easily worth the purchase price, for me. No waiting for the tank to fill, no dragging an extra cord around. Just slap on the right socket and go to work.

But, having an air impact hooked to my piddly air tank would be handy for those rusted/crusted bolts that take every bit of strength to get out.
 

sontakke

Senior member
Aug 8, 2001
895
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How long did you try the C3 cordless on that rusted bolt? When you are trying to take it off, even fifteen seconds seems an eternity! What you should have done is to take the corded HF and just let it bang for minutes. The bolt might have eventually given up. There is great writeup on internet where somebody actually timed taking off the crankshaft bolt with a corded Dewalt. It took him like 6 minutes and 37 seconds! If I can find the URL, I will post it hare later.

With a corded one, it does not lose oomph but a cordless will after few seconds of continuous banging.

- Vikas
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
3,793
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How long did you try the C3 cordless on that rusted bolt? When you are trying to take it off, even fifteen seconds seems an eternity! What you should have done is to take the corded HF and just let it bang for minutes. The bolt might have eventually given up. There is great writeup on internet where somebody actually timed taking off the crankshaft bolt with a corded Dewalt. It took him like 6 minutes and 37 seconds! If I can find the URL, I will post it hare later.

With a corded one, it does not lose oomph but a cordless will after few seconds of continuous banging.

- Vikas

We went back and forth on that sucker. Hold the trigger for a few seconds, release, repeat etc. Let it run for 15 seconds.

And, also, we had already broke one bolt that night, and didn't want to have to try and buy another, so we were trying to coax it out. Basically screw in, screw out. Impact then cheater bar.

In any case it took a helluva lot of effort. Heat may've helped, but I am a newb. Also, from my impact wrench thread, jlee reminded me that air units have considerably more torque. Not sure if my little tank would be enough though. In any case, eventually the job got done. But some other tools may've made it easier.

One last note, didn't actually have another impact on hand at the time. Just my cordless. So the cheater bar was our only other tool.
 

stikman56

Junior Member
Sep 9, 2012
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Air is cheap if you do it right. Get at least an oil type 20 gallon tank.....Craigslist is a good place to start. I found an almost new Husky 80 gallon 15.3 cfm at 90 p.s.i. on there for $300. If you're just doing lug nuts though a cordless impact is good. Ebay is a good place to look for a deal. Older Snap on CT3450 or CT3850 is strong and pretty cheap. I bought a Chicago Pneumatic 1/2" cordless kit for $80 on there. For air there are a lot of good deals on strong and durable wrenches,look at Harbor Freight 1/2" Earthquake, US General composite 1/2" if you can find one...( I have 2)these things are strong, durable and the best bang for the buck AKA the ATD2102, the Nesco NP745XLT, Northern tools also sells it and several others like Viking, Jonnesway,Carquest etc. Also a small very light and stupid strong wrench is the Cornwell CAT4135 or CAT4150 AKA Napa 6-1123...I have one of each and they are great to use and very strong. (1200 ft. lbs.) I have a Sanborn composite in my tool box at work that is very very strong as well and was about $20 on ebay. Also IR 2131 is a great wrench AKA Craftsman 19905. Cheap in used condition and reliable and 600 ft. lbs.
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
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I know it's an old thread. I have a harbor freight one and it works fine. I use it with a HF 10 gallon oil compressor.

I was hesitant to spend all the money, but now I couldn't live without a compressor. I use it for inflating tires, blowing things when I need air, and a nail gun. I think for most uses 10 gallon is fine, it's not the end of the world if it's refilling fairly often.
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
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Well, just got a random gift out of the blue of $250. Got me thinking... COMPRESSOR.

Looking for some recommendations. Only deal breaker is the seller must accept Amex, otherwise, I am looking anywhere.

I will add that I can now readily agree with the notion that small tanks are fine if the compressor is up to the job. My dad had purchased a couple of random deal type compressors with smaller tanks, and while one had a broken component, the other worked flawlessly and recharged quickly and easily. I could blow and blow and blow, and it had nearly as much pressure while the compressor was running when compared to when the compressor was stopped (IE - the tank was full). Needless to say, that there validated that my compressor blew (pun intended).

I'd like to not have to spend all of the $250, but I also would like to buy something that I'll have for a long, long time. My guess is that oil-based is going to be preferable for that reason. Just not sure which brand to trust. Makita on Amazon seems to be highly reviewed, but generally much higher in price and lower tank capacity.

Shoot me some ideas. Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon, Sears, etc. are all options, as is Harbor Freight.
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
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Neeeccrrroooo!

$250 might buy a decent little compressor. You'll need to find a deal, though...I wouldn't go smaller than a 30 gallon tank, or the thing will run constantly, even without super high-volume tools. Whenever I manage to get one for my garage, I'll be looking for a 60-80 gallon.

The price difference between tanks isn't usually that big, as a lot of them use similar compressor units. You just have to weigh it taking longer to initially fill the tank versus the compressor running more often.

I haven't looked in a while, but for a >HF unit, I think Craftsman and Husky are usually regarded as pretty decent for the price. I know there are others, but I can't think of them at the moment...I would probably avoid the mentioned HF units. You really just don't save much over a Sears or hardware store brand...but maybe I'm just being naive in even thinking the latter stuff is any less cheap and Chinese.

As far as impacts...IR2131QT. Period. I've been using mine since 2005. Makes plenty of torque and is about as loud as a baby squirrel farting.

Two random tips on compressors: Oilless = scourge of the earth. And maintenance = important. If you don't totally drain the tank after every use (recommended if you're not going to use it daily), at least make sure any water at the bottom of the tank is out.
 
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phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
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Think about what tools you want to run, and look up their CFM requirements.

An 8 gallon tank is a joke unless the compressor filling it was hand-crafted by Jesus or something.

http://www.drshannonco.com/pdf/biodiesel/GPM versus CFM.pdf

A decent impact gun rated for 4-5cfm will empty 30 gallons in one minute of use. And I believe that's the freewheel rating...I think it's more when the hammers actually start hitting.

Something with more constant flow like a die grinder is barely usable on a 30 gallon compressor. 8? Forget it.
 

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
3,793
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http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...-1&keyword=husky+air+compressor&storeId=10051

I have this one.

Works fine for my IR impact gun, needle scaler, air chisel, etc. The only time I've ever had to stop is when I was needle-scaling an entire rear subframe and four suspension links. It will work fine for 99% of what a home mechanic wants to do.

I would upgrade if I was getting a sandblaster, a pneumatic sander, or a spray gun.

How long have you had it?

Oil free is supposed to be a bad deal in terms of longevity. Granted, my oil free pump is a 1/3 hp cheapo from HF, but I've been led to believe I should look at nothing other than oil based pumps.
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
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I don't know about the longevity of oil free, but the racket they make is kind of horrifying.
 
May 13, 2009
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Longevity is a big problem with oil free pumps. Oil-less pumps run hotter because there is no oil to cool the pump. Usually they are made the cheapest as well. Oil bath pumps are usually cast iron which helps to dissipate the heat. There is no comparisons as far as sound output. Oil free pumps are ridiculously loud.
I recently have been looking for an air compressor. I almost bought a refurbished 60 gallon compressor from northerntool but stumbled upon a used oil bath compressor for $20.
20121019_151947.jpg

Changed the cord as it was chewed by mice for $15 and a pressure relief valve for $6 and it works fine. It's a 12 gallon 1 HP oil bath pump. I thought that I would need at least 20 gallons to run an impact but this thing has been doing the job just fine. I've removed rusted suspension bolts and took off tires with my 1/2 impact and it has kept up just fine. I am just a weekend warrior so ymmv. I would suggest a 20 gallon at minimum just to be on the safe side but if you run across a 12-15gal on the cheap somewhere you'd probably be surprised with it's performance.
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
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Don't forget to check craigslist, btw. Someone might be selling something decent. I'd rather have a good old compressor than a cheap new one. Just need to make sure it has oil in it and the tank seems solid, and you probably won't have any issues.

And yeah, I figured oil-less couldn't last but have no experience with them...other than hearing the damn things. How exactly do you run what is essentially a little piston engine (but with no combustion, obviously) without oil?
 
May 13, 2009
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Don't forget to check craigslist, btw. Someone might be selling something decent. I'd rather have a good old compressor than a cheap new one. Just need to make sure it has oil in it and the tank seems solid, and you probably won't have any issues.

And yeah, I figured oil-less couldn't last but have no experience with them...other than hearing the damn things. How exactly do you run what is essentially a little piston engine (but with no combustion, obviously) without oil?
Exactly. Make sure the thing pressures up and stops, release some pressure to make sure it kicks back on, check the cord for damage, check tank for rusty spots and leaks, lastly drain the tank completely and see what drains out. If a cup of rusty water comes out of it leave that thing alone. Should be little to no moisture come out and semi clear. If the moisture comes out dark red (rust) I'd be nervous.
 

PottedMeat

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
12,363
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almost like mine!

lol i bought something similar at a garage sale - 'broken' 12 gallon craftsman compressor for ~$15.

i had to spend ~$20 to replace the 1/2" copper piping from the compressor to the tank and from the tank to the unloader/switch/regulator. works perfectly, cast iron/good tank/1.5hp motor all made in usa :awe:
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
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Exactly. Make sure the thing pressures up and stops, release some pressure to make sure it kicks back on, check the cord for damage, check tank for rusty spots and leaks, lastly drain the tank completely and see what drains out. If a cup of rusty water comes out of it leave that thing alone. Should be little to no moisture come out and semi clear. If the moisture comes out dark red (rust) I'd be nervous.

I dunno, around here, I've worked with smaller compressors, draining them every day, and brown water comes out pretty much every time. You can't compress >90% humid air and expect water to not form.

I really wish there was a regulation that made them coat the inside of the tanks or something.
 
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