electric impact wrench

[74-911]

Removing rear shocks to check and adjust (koni reds). Driver side came right off, can't get bottom bolt on passenger side to break, just can't get enough leveridge on it. My air compressor isn't big enough to run a pneumatic impact wrench. Has anyone had any luck with the electric impact wrenches. Specifically, HF has one on sale for $50 (240 ft/lbs).

thanks in advance....

Jack

[greglepore]

No way it will do that bolt. First time I took one off, I jacked car up, put a socket on a craftsman breaker bar (1/2 in) on it, then used the handle from my floor jack (3/4 in diameter, 4 ft long) as a cheater on the end of the breaker and stood on it.

[anthony]

My air compressor isn't big enough to run a pneumatic impact wrench.

Are you sure? I have a nice IR impact gun that will do 600 foot pounds of torque in reverse. It runs easily off my smallish 20 gallon compressor.

[74-911]

Greg:
That's basically how I got the driver side off, however on the passenger side you have to lift on the cheater bar and lifting just causes the whole trailing arm/shock to raise up until I run out of clearance.

Anthony:
My compressor is a 6 gal. made essentially for powering finish nailers, brad nailers, etc. Don't think it will drive a pneumatic.

thanks,
Jack

[ZOA NOM]

Use a small floor jack under the end of a box wrench and use the car's weight to break it loose.

[ewave]

Originally posted by 74-911

My compressor is a 6 gal. made essentially for powering finish nailers, brad nailers, etc. Don't think it will drive a pneumatic.

thanks,
Jack

You really shouldn't need that big of a tank to run a impact wrench for a few seconds... Not that large of a volume of air will be consumed in the short time it takes to break the nut loose. Crank up the tank presure to max and then try it.

[Wil Ferch]

Little hint...

I had this problem and used the air tools at my friend's shop. At first we used a regular, long-ish chromed socket....and after that didn't work after a while, my friend ( correctly) suggested I get the proper, SHORT, black oxide finished socket ...like for an impact wrench.

.....Worked !

It appears a long socket will act like a torsion spring...the shorter socket less so, and will impart its' energy on the nut or bolt better.

- Wil

[Wil Ferch]

This might be of general interest, too...

CORDLESS impact wrench

- Wil

[74-911]

Originally posted by ewave
You really shouldn't need that big of a tank to run a impact wrench for a few seconds... Not that large of a volume of air will be consumed in the short time it takes to break the nut loose. Crank up the tank presure to max and then try it.

Just got back from HF. Picked up a 1/2" pneumatic impact wrench on sale for 17.99 and a set of metric impact sockets for 8.99. Figure I can't go wrong with those prices even if it doesn't work. As you said, all I want to do is break it loose. As soon as get clothes changed and a fresh cold beer will go see what transpires.

If that doesn't work, will probably just put it back together and drive to local mechanic and use his BFH impact to break it.

[anthony]

Originally posted by 74-911

My compressor is a 6 gal. made essentially for powering finish nailers, brad nailers, etc. Don't think it will drive a pneumatic.

You only need air for that initial burst. If your tank goes up to say 125 psi then 6 gallons you should be fine. Beware that the cheaper Harbor Freight guns aren't always that great. I have one. It works ok and is a whole lot better than nothing but I eventually upgraded to an Ingersoll Rand IR2131. The difference is light night and day. Bolts that the Harbor Freight gun couldn't bust are a piece of cake for the IR. It was only $125 on ebay and one of the best tool investments I made.

[Crachian]

Picked up a 1/2" pneumatic impact wrench on sale for 17.99 and a set of metric impact sockets for 8.99. Figure I can't go wrong with those prices even if it doesn't work.

...until you ruin the $7 (+4 days + $3 in gas) worth of genu-wine Porsche hardware you're trying to remove.

HF tools suck. Period. You get what you pay for, and hopefully you won't hurt yourself.

(Look, I know how this sounds and I hate sounding like a jerk, but try to see the forest here. Do you really want to have a go at your car's suspension with a 99 cent impact socket?)

[efhughes3]

I've got a Makita electric impact wrench. It does a pretty darn good job, it's removed anything I've attacked, including the rear hub nuts. These are torqued close to 200ft-lbs.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by Crachian
...until you ruin the $7 (+4 days + $3 in gas) worth of genu-wine Porsche hardware you're trying to remove.
HF tools suck. Period. You get what you pay for, and hopefully you won't hurt yourself.
(Look, I know how this sounds and I hate sounding like a jerk, but try to see the forest here. Do you really want to have a go at your car's suspension with a 99 cent impact socket?)

I disagree. Some of the HF stuff is actually pretty good. The "Central Pnuematic" impact wrenches work well. I got the heavy duty impact wrench and a set of impact sockets from them years ago and am still beating the hell out of them.

[74-911]

Originally posted by Crachian
...until you ruin the $7 (+4 days + $3 in gas) worth of genu-wine Porsche hardware you're trying to remove.

HF tools suck. Period. You get what you pay for, and hopefully you won't hurt yourself.

(Look, I know how this sounds and I hate sounding like a jerk, but try to see the forest here. Do you really want to have a go at your car's suspension with a 99 cent impact socket?)

I don't disagree with your statement that you get what you pay for per se. When I buy tools I really need and will use often, I will pay the bucks and buy good quality tools. I just haven't needed a heavy duty impact wrench and the compressor required to really support one often enough to justify buying one. Although the HF wrench wouldn't break the shock bolt, I feel I will get what I paid for out of it and it was worth a try. The good quality electric impacts (DeWalt, Makita, etc) run from $150 and up, again more that I could justify spending.

As someone else stated, many of the HF tools are actually of decent quality and will get the job done.

As to the shock bolt itself, a third try with a cheater bar and it finally broke lose.

[JeremyD]

Leverage is your friend on those - the longer the better.

[yelcab1]

My Ingersol Rand is the best tool in my box. The only thing that would be better is a Snap on air impact wrench.

[greglepore]

The HF impacts are servicable, but have MUCH less ultimate force than a good IR of the same rating. Nonetheless, I keep one around the shop. Their electric stuff is great for lugnuts at events and not much else.

[anthony]

HF tools suck. Period. You get what you pay for, and hopefully you won't hurt yourself.

I've noticed that often the super cheap tools at Harbor Freight are exactly the same as those you'd find at Sears with a different label. I've bought tons of stuff from Harbor Freight. I see the stuff as disposable but with the light duty use in my garage it will last years and years.

[ChrisBennet]

Originally posted by yelcab1
My Ingersol Rand is the best tool in my box. The only thing that would be better is a Snap on air impact wrench.

I don't know about that. My buddy with a Snap On wrench borrows my I.G. (2135Ti) when he needs to get a tough bolt off.
I had a IG2131 before this and I agree they are great.
-Chris

[aigel]

I think it's all been said. I just wanted to weigh in:

1. Yes, your air compressor tank volume is not very important if all you try to do is break loose a single bolt. Different story, if you want to take 4 wheels worth of nuts off in one minute or run a DA sander...

2. HF tools are crap, as soon as there are more than 3 moving components. A cherry picker and a jackstand is about as complicated a tool as I'd buy there. And yes, I have done it, just because there isn't much else out there in terms of jackstands. Tools are one of the few things we can still get made in the USA. HF is not the place where you'll find them. Some of you guys drive a $20+k toy car, save a bundle by working on it yourself and then start getting frugal when it comes to the tools you work with. I just don't get it. All while praising the great German engineering and the smoothness of our cars.

3. If you need good impact, IR is the best bang for the buck. I own one of their composite cased ones. My buddy who is a tech used it for 3 years before he got their newest model and I got his old one in a trade.

4. You must understand that a cheap HF impact will not deliver the torque a quality impact wil. You may end up saying "my compressor is too small", or "the bolt is stuck, I can't even get it of with the impact", when it would have come off like butter with the quality tool.

George