Rechargeable Impact Wrench

[Levitan]

Was wondering if anybody uses one of these. If so, how do you like the results? What brand would you recommend? Know where a lower priced one might be located, yet still have excellent quality, i.e. a non-namebrand or whatnot? I'm intersted in getting one to make jy adventures more tolerable.

thanks,
Dan "Levitan"

[rolla4me]

:arrow:

[rolla4me]

i used Dewalt.. i got the 3/8, 1/2 and the hex impact.. so far i never encountered any problem..

[rolla4me]

:arrow:

[Arnie]

I've used the cheaper harbor freight impact and its okay for removing lug nuts and the such. not good for tightening the main nut on a strut. The problem is that the impact wrench acts like a drill unless it meets a minimum amount of resistance, then it starts to hammer. When using it on a strut, it just spins the piston rod rather than hammering. I use a conventional corded Craftsman impact for that and have never had a problem and I've installed over 300 sets of struts on WRXs.

[Sp33dY]

Whats wrong with good old socket sets and spanners ?? :lol:

Do all these expensive battery powered impact wrenches have built in Torque meter, or do u still have to do that with the old torque wrench, or a digital torque tool?

[jglutz]

The problem is that the impact wrench acts like a drill unless it meets a minimum amount of resistance, then it starts to hammer.

All impacts work this way...not typicaaly notice aor air or electric powered because they free spin in excess of 6000RPM.

If I were lokking to add to my collection of tools...I think a battery powered impact would be low on the list.

I work on every aspect of cars all the time and my impact is not frequently used. What I use frequently are my pneumatic ratchets.

Be carefull...battery powered impacts are not accurate or repeatable.

Also, I rather use a corded (air or electric) tool of smaller size and weight than deal with a battery.

[elcamino1]

I junk cars for a living and use a 1/2" drive cordless inpact made by SnapOn that puts most air inpact to shame.
The most powerful cordless on the market right now.
And the most expensive. $500, impact,2 batteries, charger and case.

[festivaWES]

i have a cheap goodyear racing one from pepboys when it went on sale for 69 bucks. It hasn't let me down yet, I've taken off lug studs, axel stake nuts, every suspension bolt on a festiva tranny to engine bolts. You name it.

[jglutz]

I junk cars for a living and use a 1/2" drive cordless inpact made by SnapOn that puts most air inpact to shame.
The most powerful cordless on the market right now.
And the most expensive. $500, impact,2 batteries, charger and case.

If I took cars apart all day, I would also use a corless impact. However, taking cars apart and puting them back togeter are different task.

Here's an example: If I were to changing the clucth on my '92...I would use my impact to remove the the sway bar and engine cross member...the rest of the fasteners....hand or pneumatic ratchet.

Pneumatic impacts, or for that matter, any pneumatic tool requires a good air compressor.

Snap of cordless products are supplied my Milwaukee and some of them come from Panisonic.

[elcamino1]

^jglutz just so you know I've been a mechanic for 45yrs.
I have every air tool known to man,I was always told to work smart not hard.
It would take me about a month to sit down and tell you how much I know about repairing just about any type of motor vehicle.

[jglutz]

^^I'm not denying or trying to challange anyone's experience. I also have just about every air tool possible. I'm just trying to state my expeience also...that is...an impact wrench would not be high on my list of purchases....I made that mistake...bought an impact years before a ratchet and since that time I bought my ratchet, I've used it a zillion times more than my impact...That's all.

Worrk Smart not Hard....I could not agree more....also in the same philosiphy...."SlowerIs Faster" For those who don't understand that, it means, spend a few seconds to think about what your doing...or...smarter not harder.

[Icedawg]

get one!

I had a cordless impact and I could not live without it when it broke after 2 years! They are great, but they are not perfect. I use it racing, and it is perfect for lug nuts. It is also great in the junkyard, and when you don't feel like turning on the compressor and dragging the air hose around. But cheaper ones do not generate the torque of an air impact. My first one was rated for 200 ft-lbs, but based on the lug nuts I would say it acted like it made about 120. Really stubborn nuts still need breaker bars, but medium stubborn ones come apart a lot faster in the junkyard with a cordless impact. (That said, the expensive snap on unit probably is indeed as good or better than many air tools - you get what you pay for with these things) If you work in a garage you don't need one, and air tools are a lot better performing in general, but if you have mobile applications they are great.

You know that old advice to use the search function? You can learn a lot about what is available by an advanced ebay search using cordless impact wrench as the key words, and searching the automotive category.

Princess Auto in Canada imports cheap tools like Harbor Freight does in the US. My Princess Auto unit worked for 2 years and then the internal clutch (or whatever it is that drives the hammer) broke. Fortunately, they have an almost endless return policy so I got my $ back. I had to wait 6 months for new stock to arrive and got their 24 V unit when it came in. It has better torque, closer to 150-200 ft-lbs based on actual use (rated ~250). But I would not have bought another of this brand except for the great return policy.

The Princess Auto impact is actually made by Techway, who build for lots of cheap suppliers with in house labels. http://www.techway.com.tw/about_us/index.php
I found the same product (for sure) sold as an Xtremediecast by the Auctiva store on ebay. I've seen other rebranded versions of the same unit on ebay too.

Several years ago I bought a $20 cordless from Harbor freight and it worked for one lug nut and spun its internal clutch. Ya get nothin for nothin!

A friend bought a DeWALT unit (the higher torque end of the product line) and is very happy with it. I was going to, but the new Princess Auto units came in and I succumbed to being cheap (120 vs ~$200).

[Levitan]

" You know that old advice to use the search function? You can learn a lot about what is available by an advanced ebay search using cordless impact wrench as the key words, and searching the automotive category. "

I'm not to sure why you put this in your thread. I don't think I'm known for not researching. I searched the keyword impact, again, after reading your comment. I went through all the titles and viewed every one I thought might pertain to my topic and found zero answers. I, then, keyworded "cordless impact wrench", per your recommendation, and found one thread, this one. FYI, not counting a few when I was new to the site and had to be ejubacated, I think my questions are direct and refined to not be confused with the typical questions we get on here all the time, such as "what square tires and oval wheels will fit my 1987 Festiva GL Super Sport 4 door diesel rotary motor with a 6 speed automatic transmission, eh."

[b8kedbeans]

Kragen has one marked down from %99 to $39 today
http://www.partsamerica.com/ check out the closeout section under tools. Use coupon code "closeout" for another %15 off. I also bought a set of two-way radios for $8.95 great for keeping track of the wife at costco!