Mark Lue

Just sharing, for those of you looking for a good impact gun check this one out... great value.

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-too...nch-68424.html

My buddy picked one of these up and I gotta say this one rocks even when compared to pro quality impact wrenchs. Mine is on the way... .

petee_c

Ahh.... the earthquake....very highly regarded on the Garage Journal Forum......

I've got the Stanley 1/2" impact wrench from CT. Recommend that one if u can find it on sale with the 3/8" ratchet for $99.....

The Stanley took off my axle nut with a few short blips....

P

BIMMERMIKE

What air compressor are you using?

petee_c

Mike,

I have a 20gal. oil lubed, belt driven compressor which runs on 110v.... no idea the CFM, but the impact wrench doesn't draw that much. Compressor keeps up fine.... I can take the lug nuts off at least 3 wheels before it fires up.... Takes maybe 30-60seconds to refill to max psi (I have it set for about 130)



It's old, I got it off kijiji to replace the loud, oil-free direct drive CT Campbell Hausfield one that I bought 10 yrs ago.

Mark Lue

Hey Pete, you shouldn't operate the air tools at 130 psi most are only designed to operate at 90 psi, or risk blowing out the seals.

petee_c

thx mark....

i have a cheap regulator on there now.... (That's an old pic).... sometimes I cheat though and have it up at 100+psi.....

Mark Lue

Mine is a basic 22 gallon CF, SCFM of 5.5 and max 125 psi regulator, I wish I had oil lubed like yours. I always set the psi to 90 and everything work great. People make the mistake of buying the compressors with the big air tanks and high psi regulators but alot have low SCFM ratings. What makes the impact wrenches like the Earth Quake shine is the SCFM rating, make sure it is higher than the SCFM rating of the impact wrench for max torque output.

EDIT: OH ya, make sure you don't choke off the air tools with small diameter air hoses.

Sultan

Thoughts on this one for a DIY virgin:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows....jsp?locale=en

Benny771

No, you need a gun that will remove the wheel nuts safely. That gun is not it. I purchased a Husky with 500lbs torque. It worked.
Now snap-on has a amazing gun with 1200ibs torque. And there are 2 other manufactures that are in that range now.
Get yourself a good gun 150.00+ you will have it for the rest of your life.

P.S Snap-on is 450.00ish

Mark Lue

Hi Sultan, it can be frustrating when with confidence you try to remove a fastener only to find out that your impact gun is no stud but a dud. This one is OK as a starter for light work but you will eventually buy a better one... .

IXLR8

Safely? What do you mean by removing a wheel nut safely? How do you remove one unsafely?

On what fasteners do you need 500 or 1200 lbf.ft. on a car?

IXLR8

7.5 HP, V-4 cylinder, 2-stage, 80 gallon, 24 CFM at 175 psi.

This ain't no toy.

Mark Lue

Stuck axle nuts and engine crank shaft pully comes to mind, they may be torqued to 250 ft lb but after the bolt has been on for a long while it generally take more torque to loosen them. 1200 is alot tho, for that torque wouldn't it be best to get a 3/4 inch impact gun.

BYW make sure you use the black sockets, in a pinch I've used the silver ones but I've also broken a couple. Wear eye protection fellas.

IXLR8

Not being one to use my impact for anything other than to loosen rusty fasteners and those can only be found on my daily driver, I'll likely be using my 3/4 inch breaker bar on something like my axle nut when that time comes. The flywheel bolts will get the 1/2 inch flex handle.

Black sockets only...I like my Snap-On tools too much to abuse them.

BTW, Canadian Tire has a 75% off special on a very complete set of impact sockets this week. $49.99 for a 44 piece set that includes both SAE and Metric, Standard and Deep sockets. CTC item number: 199-0189-0...till Feb 18th...no rain checks.

Benny771

Yeash, by safely (refering to gun) socket comes flying off, my last cheap gun fell apart in my hands and a piece hit the guy beside me, as stated above use impact sockets only, others will snap.
Trailers that the wheels never come off, or my fathers truck.
500-1200 is the break away torque, and yes, sometimes you do need it.
Thats why they sell them.