linuxrunner

Just how powerful should an impact wrench be? i got a new set of mastergrip air tools for Christmas that included a 1/2" impact wrench. The wrench turns at 7000 rmps and has 230lb feet of torque. I also got a 4.5 hp 15 gal porter cable compressor (more than enough to run the tools) but today when i tried the impact wrench out it couldn't take off the bolts that hold my tow hooks on... should this be able to take those bolts off? I have been able to take them off by hand before so i figured the impact wrench would have no problems.

ldivinag

the more the merrier.

you can always dial it down. but never up...

on my cheapie harbor freight one, there is a 4 position dial at the bottom of the grip. goes from 1 to 4. you have have set yours at 1

linuxrunner

I tried 1 (I can hold the socket easly with my hand) 2 (it's a little bit harder and i can start to feel the hammer impact part ) 3 (lots of impact with 3 but i can still hold in one place) 4 (at 4 i have a hard time holding it and the socket will spin in my hand a bit)

So yes i have that setting too and i had it set at 4, but still couldn't take the bolt off

Jimmeh

Is there a regulator on your compressor? I believe that most air tools run best at 100 PSI. If it is too low, you won't be able to take off the bolts.

linuxrunner

I'll look into the regulator, the compressor has two gauges, one is for the tank and the other i think is for the output to the tools, the output gauge stops at 100psi, but goes to like 200 or something.

toy283

Also, the bigger (diameter) the hose, the better. Make sure you have a 3/8" or better. 1/4" hoses can be too restrictive and most of those coiled hoses are worthless when it comes to high-cfm tools.

Nic

I bought an air wrench and could not get mine to work very well. It turned out it was a coupler on the end of the hose. It wasn't allowing enough air thorough the line.

I found that out by unplugging the hose from the tank and hooking the air wrench directly onto the coupler on the tank.

Might be worth a look see.

surf4runner

powerful enough to remove the crank bolt from a 22re. i broke 3 snap-on's, including a 1", trying to remove mine

linuxrunner

Well i am using a nice big hose, but i'll try connecting it to the tank. I am using those quick connect things could that cause air flow restriction?

Nic

It was a quick connect that was bad on my hose. They have a spring in them, and I don't know what else exactly.

I guess it would also be a possibility the connector could be bad at the tank too. It just happened to be bad on my hose.

celica

there are 2 different impact guns - the one you have is the 230# one which you will find won't do a lot of the bigger stuff. You need to get the professional ones - they range from 500# to 700#.

Yoda

Set your line air pressure to the max the tool can use (usually 120 psi)

I have a Craftsman cheapie (free with my compressor) that won't do squat.
It sometimes works better if I have just added oil to it. It is very safe to use running down lug nuts, because it WILL NOT overtorque them. I hand torque lug nuts anyway

I have a real impact for home Ingersol-Rand 231 (1/2" 500 ft lbs) and a Snap-on AT380 (3/8" 150 ft lbs)

At work I have a Ingersoll-Rand 212 (3/8* 180 ft lbs), Ingersol-Rand 244 (1/2" 600 ft lbs), Ingersol-Rand 252 (3/4" 750 ft lbs) and a Snap-On AT1300AL (1" 1300 ft lbs)

91_4x4runner

What is the output of your compressor at 90psi? (should say somewhere on the side of it, in cfm). When I went to Sears last time, most of them were able to torque past 500ft. lbs., and consumed between 5-10cfm at 90psi.

seanz0rz

from what ive read on this board, those tow hooks are really difficult to remove. the usual recomendation is to take it to a muffler shop to have them removed.

Bighead

All a muffler shop will do is the same thing he is trying...hitting it with an impact wrench.

I used a 1/2" breaker bar with a pipe extension (no air tools) to remove mine.

linuxrunner

the compressor is 7 scfm @ 90psi. So than 230# isn't that powerful? Should i be able to take off lug nuts?

91_4x4runner

7scfm @ 90psi is a pretty good air compressor and should be able to handle "most" air tools. There are only a few that require more than that. 230# isn't that powerful of an impact wrench. If you check harbor freight, sears, northern tools etc, you'll see that most wrenches are quite a bit more powerful than that.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...321&pricetype=

EDIT: Here is a list of air tools with consumption estimates:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ai...ols-d_847.html

piercedtiger

I had one like yours that came with my compressor kit. I bought a Stanley from Walmart since it was the only thing around and I needed to get some bed bolts out. Its rated at 500lbs of torque with "twin hammer" technoloy so I figured what the hell? lol

It's amazing the difference it made with the same compressor! I haven't had trouble getting any bolt or lugnut loose since then.

I have a 15gal 125psi max. Cambell Hausfield. Not top of the line but works well. You'll be surprised what buying a better impact wrench will do. Just check the package for the torque rating. I got the largest one I could find.

MTL_4runner

I'd bet it's the gun causing you the trouble, not the compressor or the hose.

I assume this is the set you got....


The gun you have is fairly low quality (I have a similar made by Campbell Hausfield, except for the 2" anvil, they look identical) and they all get around that 220 or 230 ft-lb number and they are found in just about every air tool set sold from here to kingdom come (the air ratchets that come with the "kits" are junk and won't even stand up to much homeowner use before breaking). The air grinder and air hammer should last through homeowner use if you keep them dry and well oiled. The impact gun is enough to take off lug nuts, but that is about the max they can do (I had to break out the IR2131 when replacing all the steering bushings because the smaller gun wouldn't even get close to budging any of the nuts/bolts). If you want to get those tow hooks off yourself, you should move up to a better gun (the better/higher end impact guns at sears are made by Ingersoll Rand by the way) with at least 500 ft-lbs (pref 600+ ft-lbs) in reverse and keep the other as a backup. After that there shouldn't be a nut or bolt on the truck you can't remove. Your 7 CFM @90 PSI compressor can handle it, mine has about the same airflow and I use my IR2131 gun with it all the time......no problem with a 3/8" hose, swivel connector and quick disconnects.

I have 3 guns I use regularly for maintenance on vehicles:
1) 1/2" impact IR2131 (600 ft-lbs reverse, 4 power settings) - bought used on ebay for $45 + S&H
2) 1/2" impact CH (230 ft-lbs reverse, my lug nut or assy re-install gun) - dirt cheap, $25-50 retail
3) 3/8" impact IR2112 (260 ft-lbs reverse, 4 power settings) - bought used on ebay for $60 + S&H

You can see that even my Ingersoll Rand 3/8" gun beats the wimpy 1/2" gun on torque by quite a bit.

Something like this for $129 at Sears should get the job done (same as the IR2130, 580 ft-lbs reverse)
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

For a little more torque and money, you could get this for $169 (same as my IR2131 gun, 600 ft-lbs reverse):
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Most power you can get in a 1/2" impact gun, but it's also $259 (the IR2135 Ti, 1000 ft-lbs reverse!!!):
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

The last one is way overkill for anything I'd do, but I'm sure we'd all like to just have it in our toolbox anyway.

profuse007

the last one isnt over-kill. I keep one aside for special ocassion, and only had to use it 3 times. You'll call for one in the future.

15 gallon tank isn't enough if you decide to get a more powerful 1/2". I have a 25gal speedaire belt-driven and its barely enough to break some tough bolt open.

always keep the air tank free of moisture build up. It will ruin your air tools.