Impact wrench questions....

Engine troubles? Try here.
Post Reply
SparkEE
United States of America
Posts: 13
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:33 am
Location: Georgia

Impact wrench questions....

Post by SparkEE »

Looking for a cordless or corded impact wrench for the Pinz. Unfortunately, I don't have a compressor big enough for air tools.

What would be the most cost effective tool that can get most jobs done? What is the minimum amount of in-lbs that I should stay above? Lowes and Home Depot have a few, and I'm hesitant to purchase one from Harbor Freight.

Thanks!
User avatar
rmel
United States of America
Posts: 1394
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 12:19 pm
Location: Woodside, CA
Contact:

Re: Impact wrench questions....

Post by rmel »

I'm biased -- AGAINST impact tools esp. air as they tend to be uncalibrated
and can do more harm than good.

I must have turned almost every bolt by now from suspension, pinch bolts,
flywheel etc etc and have found manual tools are the best. Get yourself
1/2" and 3/4" breaker bars and hex sockets. Invest in a high quality torque
wrench; I found that 3 are necessary, one big bad boy for 200+ Nm range,
one pipsqueak for the 30 Nm range and an intermediate.

You may want to look into HF's latest tool line from ICON, they are Tiawanese
not from China, though it's behooves you look and see what's stamped on them :o
They do seem to be a HUGE step up from the El Crapo stuff they usually sell.

Most of my day in day out tools are SK and Craftsman. Though the Craftsman
tools are now pretty questionable, the ones I have where made when Sears
owned them and got them make in the U.S.
Puller: 71' 710K 2.7L EFI aka Mozo
Follower: Sankey MK 3, 3/4 Tonne
Rescue Pinz: 73' 712MK

Driver: Ron // KO0Q
User avatar
djw
United States of America
Posts: 306
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2012 5:00 pm
Location: Colleyville, TX

Re: Impact wrench questions....

Post by djw »

IDK what your specific use case is, but for my needs air impact is fine and works ok with a small compressor for what I do.

I limit impact to removing/loosening stuck bolts/nuts that may have been over torqued or damaged. Since this is typically a short blip or two, a small compressor and a butterfly wrench or 1/2 at most works for what I am trying to tackle. I find impact will damage things far less than gorrilla-ing things with a breaker bar.

For example on one motorcycle disk replacement project, the impact would remove and salvage the disk bolts instantly and easily, a wrench and breaker bar with lots of muscle would invariably twist off the heads.

Another was removing the over torqued fan/belt nut on my 710K. I did not have the holder tool yet and couldn't loosen the nut, the nut was a bit rounded to begin with. A butterfly air wrench took it off in 2 seconds without a holder.

That's it (removing certain fasteners) for my use case.

If I want to spin a bunch of bolts on quickly, I will use a hand battery drill with a socket driver and get them up to where they can be seated to save time, and then finish with a proper torque wrench.

YMMV, but my use case is pretty narrow.
'74 710K (ÖBH Austrian Rehab) mostly unmolested original - the unicorn (everything works!)
collecting pinz docs since 2012 - pm me if I can help
User avatar
VinceAtReal4x4s
Admin
United States of America
Posts: 2035
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 10:36 pm
Location: Ca. or lost in South West USA
Contact:

Re: Impact wrench questions....

Post by VinceAtReal4x4s »

I'm not saying this lightly: This is the best and most surprising tool I have ever invested in!

I always carry it with me when going on off-road/road trips. It makes changing a tire, for example, actually enjoyable. People throw the term "game changer" around recklessly these days for new products but I think it applies here!

I bought it used for less than other brands new price.

s-l1600.jpg
s-l1600.jpg (65.88 KiB) Viewed 3254 times
"For those who risk, life has a flavor the protected shall never enjoy"

Your donation makes this site possible!

Image
ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Re: Impact wrench questions....

Post by ChickenPinz »

I have to agree with some others: an air impact wrench can be a life-saver at times. Removing crankshaft pulley nuts, corroded shock absorber bolts, VW 36mm axle bolts, flywheel bolts....there are many cases where you need the sharp jolts of an impact wrench to remove either corroded fasteners, or ones where it's hard to prevent the assembly from turning. For all these cases, even the smallest of pancake compressors will likely meet your needs. I happen to use an old (vintage?) Craftsman 1/2in drive unit.

Oh, and almost never tighten something with that tool -- too risky.
710K
Post Reply