Just bought a new Drill Master 18V cordless impact wrench (~85 ft-lbs torque) from Harbour Freight for $30 (made in China). Seems to work well for quickly tightening & untightening bolts, but I'm not sure about it's torque capability and if it can really be used for wheel lugs (4th gen 4runner requires 83 ft-lbs). Should I always do the final tightening with a manual torque wrench? Anyone tried this impact wrench?

 

Yes, always do a manual check, IMO

 

It's so damn loud though isn't it? Kind of embarrassing.

 

Lots of noise, but poor performance. It's torque is far less than the specified 85 ft-lbs. After making lots of noise on the wheel lug nuts, I found they had to be tightened still much further with a regular torque wrench to get to 83 ft-lbs. Perhaps I should return it to Harbour Freight.

 

Not to be a d!ck, but for $30 for a cordless torque wrench, what did you expect. DeWalt's are like $300. I have heard they work well.

Return it and buy a decent torque wrench.