want to buy an impact wrench mainly just for wheel removal. will an electric or rechargeable do the job ? if so what are the minimum specification that I should look for ? I figured for what I want to do, this would be a cheaper way to go than buying an air impact wrench, compressor etc.

thanks for your input.

 

I bought an Ingersoll 1/2 impact gun. (Not cheap) Its air driven. But, once you have the compressor, you'll find a million other uses for it. If your using an air tool that is intermittent (like an impact gun) you can get away with a relatively small, inexpensive, compressor. See you at breakfast tomorrow.

 

roughly 100 ft/lbs of power to get lugs on and off.

still have my good ol cheapo goodyear impact wrench (electric) from pepboys, I don't know if they sell it any more but it was like 80 bucks and not strong enough to overtorque the lug nuts that I was able to finish them off with a torque wrench.

of course I do have the huge compressor and about 4 different air impact guns in the big shop but thats a nice cheap portable one and keeps you from getting into trouble, just thread the nuts on by hand, don't start them with the gun or you can cross thread.

 

IR 2135 Titanium, takes out crank bolts like a ****, all the cool kids have this

 

DeWalt 18V cordless heavy duty XRP impact gun. Rated for something like 300ft-lbs max torque.

Never seen anything this won't take off, including brake caliper bracket bolts. Wheel lugs are a breeze.

I have plenty of air tools including an IR impact gun and with out a doubt, the DeWalt cordless is my favorite by far.

 

780ft/lbs max!!!

if you get a stuck lug nut, goodbye elbow joint!!!

http://www.ingersollrandproducts.com...px-am_en-33452

 

I just bought a Husky air compressor at Home Depot. It is a 26 gal, 1.8 hp, 150 psi max upright compressor. It came with an 1/2" impact wrench and a 1/4" ratchet for $239.00.

 

No question, it's an awesome tool. I have several IR tools, and they are workhorses.

Still, can't beat the ease and portability of the DeWalt. Find myself using that the most.

 

I inherited my grandfathers IR air tools, he was an auto mechanic. These are made out of steel, they are very heavy. I don't have a compressor but I know they work. I wonder if they have any value left to them. I would say they are from the 1970s or 1960s.

 

Went out for errands tonight and stopped at Lowes for some other stuff and picked up one of these DeWalt cordless impacts. (A friend has one and swears by it). At $300 it comes as a package with a case, charger, and two 18 volt batteries, is good to 300 ft lbs of torque and will be a Godsend for track days I'm sure.

 

300 ft-lbs isn't jack when Bubba puts your lug nuts on with an impact wrench. My gun is rated for 300, and when I put the wrench on the lugs last month (haven't been off since I bought the car), it just sat there and went "Brap Brap Brap Brap" and wouldn't move. Half inch drive breaker bar, heavy duty socket, 6 foot cheater bar and a couple hundred pounds of force eventually got all of them off without breaking a stud, but that was a fortunate break.

The point here is: DO NOT PUT YOUR LUG NUTS ON WITH AN IMPACT WRENCH! If you put them on with a torque wrench to the spec (and a tiny smidge of grease on the threads if they are really dry), pretty much any impact wrench will take them off with ease. Bang them on with the impact, and be ready for some heavy guns to take them off. I am sure I exceeded 1000 ft-lbs on a couple of mine before they would move.

 

I have the same gun. Very good for everyday use. Stong, light, reasonably quiet and not too pricey.

 

You'll love it Ed.

Not a problem for me. Bubba (or any one that's stupid enough to put on lugnuts with an impact gun) doesn't touch my car.

And just because a gun is rated for 300ft-lbs, doesn't mean it's really 300ft-lbs. That's why quality brands are more expensive than the $30 Harbor Freight special with the same "specs". (not a knock on your tool, just clarifying, sounds like you had a **** of a nut).

I'm in the market for a new AV reciever. Looked at one that says 840W (120x7) yet the back rates it at 120VAC @ 350W!!! Guess they figured out a way to create power from nothing. Point is, some manufacturers stretch ratings. Some brands are more truthful than others.

 

The only person who installs any of my vehicles wheels is me, and I torque them to spec along with any other fasteners that I have the torque specs for that I value as important (caliper bolts, etc) The impact wrench is a great tool when used properly by someone who actually cares to do the job at hand correctly. The gun is adjustable in torque strength (just not a calibrated value), and will be greatly appreciated by this old guy when doing many R & Rs not just wheels. The gun will ALWAYS preclude the use of my torque wrench. The torque specs are just as much for the safety of the fasteners involved, and I've seen way too many friends crank the wheel lugs on by hand much too tight, and maybe even tighter than the rookie at a dealership (shudder!) while using his impact gun 'til the threads on the wheel studs are screaming. The impact will be very helpful in the removal of some very tight torx headed attaching bolts on my cars (that come from the factory immersed in Red Loctite, as well as the on and offs at the track, but will NEVER replace the exacting values and disciplines of the torque wrench. I look at the impact gun in a similar way as I do my Porter Cable Orbital polisher, in that it helps an old guy like me get the job done with less physical, not faster or tighter.

Ps. The 300 ft lbs of torque is just a certain model. They have a few "sizes" available. The 300 model just seemed to be the best chiose for what I need it for. I still think good of the purchase.

 

I hope you didn't get me wrong here, there is nothing wrong with a 300 ft-lb rated gun. If I thought there was, I wouldn't have bought mine!

I agree with most of your post. I use the gun as a "removal tool" much more often than anything else. I bought it because the vibrations that came back through my old cheater bar set-up were bothering the crap out of my elbow, so I wanted something a little easier on the aging joints. Actually though, in the interim, a friend of mine gave me a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar with a rubber handle on the end that fits perfectly inside the cheater pipe. The rubber dampens those nasty vibrations wonderfully, so when I opened those stuck lugs, it didn't bother my elbow at all. So now I have two options for stuck fasteners, and there's nothing wrong with that!

 

I agree Paul! I have been using a 28" - 1/2" drive breaker bar for these duties for as long as I can remember (along with my two torque wrenches) and am fine with their function too. But I am looking forward to being able to use the gun for a lot more jobs other than wheel lugs especially at the track (in the heat!). One of it's uses I'm looking forward to is the removal of the brake caliper bracket bolts needed to R & R when swapping out brake rotors, and those torx headed devils that mount the wheel bearings. I am also in hope that the "New" gun will work better than the "Old" arm when under the car and in a position that this older body doesn't do as well as it use to.

 

[QUOTE=PKguitar;

The point here is: DO NOT PUT YOUR LUG NUTS ON WITH AN IMPACT WRENCH! If you put them on with a torque wrench to the spec (and a tiny smidge of grease on the threads if they are really dry), pretty much any impact wrench will take them off with ease. Bang them on with the impact, and be ready for some heavy guns to take them off. I am sure I exceeded 1000 ft-lbs on a couple of mine before they would move.[/QUOTE]



I just changed a friend's wheels on a Mercedes 550 AMG from her summer Vossen wheels to the stock AMG winter wheels. She had one wheel taken off at a repair station to check it for a slow leak over the summer. They used an impact to put it back on and I could not budge the lug nuts on that wheel. I tried my cheap Cummings impact and then a breaker bar with all of my weight on it and they would not move. I had to take the car to a gas station and use their pro SnapOn impact with 250 ft/lbs to remove the lugs. I never install with an impact wrench and use the criss-cross step-up process with a torque wrench to get lugs to 100 ft/lbs so that I do not warp a rotor.

 

ended up buying a Kawasaki electric impact wrench from Pep Boys. $59.99 with a $10 mail in rebate. Is good enough for my purposes.

I had bought a Sears air impact wrench but any compressor that would put out 4.1 CFM was $300 plus. just didnt make any sense. If I ever decide to do more involved work on my cars, I will invest in an air set up.

thanks for all your info.

 

I have yet to come across a bolt or nut mine wasn't able to take care of

 

I have a 1/2" Aircat. quiet as a church mouse and great torque.