ok so im in the market for a impact gun at first i wanted to get a air impact but realized i do a lot of work on the road now im looking in to buy a cordless impact gun I saw a craftsman impact link at the bottom pretty much i need to take of lug nuts, axle nuts, crankshaft pulley bolt, strut bolts and I work on some motorcycles that wheel bolts that stuck on and just keep spining. So is 300ft lbs going to meet my needs or should i get the more expensive 400 ft lbs gun there’s like a 100 dollar difference between the two whats your thoughts
@krod619
Whatever brand or model you get, make you always take 2 fully charged batteries with you. One in the tool, and a fully charged spare, for when/if the first runs out
it has been my personal experience that lithium ion batteries go “balls out” until they suddenly need a recharge. No warning signs whatsoever
personally, I don’t think 300 ft-lbs is quite enough for some crank bolts, not to remove them, anyways
krod619–I have the Milwaukee 2663 1/2 " drive cordless impact, rated at 450 ft lb. As a professional mechanic, I selected it for the same tasks you described–lug nuts etc. But I found half the time I had to get out my 1/2 air impact gun–just for lug nuts. Pretty frustrating. So I got this:
This gets lug nuts off of cars & light trucks 90% of the time but of course I decided to by a lot of 3/4" drive sockets to use with it, since a 3/4" down to 1/2" adapter would “soak up” available torque. I bought mostly Sunex sockets; they make 3/4" drive sockets down to 15mm socket size. Pittsburgh & Grey Pneumatic also make cheap but decent 3/4" sockets too, unless you wanna SPLURGE & go with Snap-On!
Also, the 2764 is stubby & compact–not much bigger than its Milwaukee 1/2" drive counterpart.Let us know what you end up doing.
I’m amazed that a cordless impact is capable of 300 lbs of force. My compressor at home is limited to 110psi and none of my 1/2 impacts can come close to that.
Thanks for the feedback but 750ft lbs is crazy good but with battery and charger I’m looking at 400 dollars and I’m going to have to think about that investment to see if will bring more money than I spent on the tool and also so in your opinion 300ft lbs wouldn’t take a crank bolt pulley
With a good 6 point socket attached directly to a 300ft lb impact I can’t imagine an harmonic balancer bolt on an automobile that can’t be removed. It is often necessary to lower the engine several inches to get the crankshaft bolt below the sub frame to get access for a direct hookup. With a sloppy fit or using extensions and swivels a great deal of torque is lost but I have removed lug nuts on dump trucks with an old 1/2" C-P impact.
I can imagine a few harmonic balancer bolts that couldn’t be removed . . . seriously
Remember, it takes a lot more to remove a bolt than tighten it
One of my co-workers had a Ford P-U, frget which engine, he couldn’t get the crankshaft pulley bolt off with a Snap On MG725 1/2" air gun rated at 810 ft/lb. We used my “cheapo” Central Pneumatic 3/4" gun with a 1/2" I.D. air hose which took it off with ease.
The crank pulley bolt on the front of our Accord took a 1200 ft/lb rated 3/4" air impact wrench to remove it. I bought the pulley holder adapter and tried to remove it with a 36" 1/2" drive breaker bar and only ended up bending the breaker bar.
If you buy a tool and it doesn’t do the job you need it to do, then it doesn’t matter how cheap it was, it is still a waste of money. Those battery powered impact wrenches are mainly for the construction industry and are used to screw in large lag bolts.
BTW Karl, that Snap On air gun didn’t budge the Honda’s crank bolt either.
karl
You’re comparing 1/2" drive air impact to 3/4" drive air impact
Brand aside, that’s still not a valid comparison
One more thing . . . I’ll bet you lunch you weren’t using a 1/2" ID air hose with the snap on 1/2" drive air impact
The size of the air hose makes a big difference, as you well know
"Those battery powered impact wrenches are mainly for the construction industry . . . "
Where do you get this information?
Walk in to ANY Snap on, mac, or matco tool truck, and you’ll see plenty of battery powered impact wrenches for sale, for auto mechanics
They’re not even the same models you’ll find for those construction folks you just mentioned
That would be milwaukee, dewalt, or something along those lines
There are tons of mechanics aross this country using battery powered impact wrenches. The newer lithium ion technology only makes them more attractive
db4690–re the Ford P-U crank pulley bolt: I was showing in an incremental way, the tremendous amount of torque necessary to break loose this particular bolt, which actually, is in perfect agreement with your earlier statement: “I can imagine a few harmonic balancer bolts that couldn’t be removed . . .”
Also, my cheap 3/4" air gun out performs my $400 Snap On gun when they both use a 3/8" I.D. hose.
This doesn’t mean the 3/4" gun is better or worse. Much more often I use the Snap On: smaller & I have more 1/2" drive sockets. The 3/4" air gun is just for those really, really stubborn bolts. Not a black & white issue here.
I stand corrected, I have only seen the ones used by the construction industry. Most are powered by 18V lithium ion batteries.
While it is within reason that someone could have run across a frozen harmonic balancer bolt even on their first and only timing chain job I will say that I have never had a problem removing a balancer bolt once I got access to it. I will admit that I have cheated and used the starter on occasion due to difficulty getting at the bolt with an impact but in the vast majority of times it was possible to remove the bolt with an impact with no problem. Often a 3/8" drive air impact was used.
Rod, have you tried a Honda? You can’t use the starter motor because a Honda engine rotates the other way. The pulley bolt on a Honda is torqued to 186 ft lbs. Our Honda was recalled early on to install some retainers on the oil seals so the pulley may have been removed for that and they may have used the 3/4" impact wrench to install the bolt back on. I can only say that the only way to get it back off was with a 3/4" impact wrench with a 1200 ft/lbs rating.
I have replaced several Honda timing belts with no recollection of any problems getting the harmonic balancer off. Like most manufacturers Honda used a thread locker on that bolt but it never caused any great problem.
I was a against electrics for years. Just recently bought a Snap-On 3/8 cordless gun and wish I would have years ago. Many guys in the shop are moving to the electrics and are happy with them. Snap-on and Matco make good products I have not used the Craftsman brand.
SteveC76–the little cordless tools make work so much quicker, simpler. The 3/8" cordless impact gets tremendous use. Plus I got a Milwaukee 1/4" cordless ratchet. Great for, like if you’re doing a head gasket-- all the little crap that’s gotta come off first!
I can see where a 1/4" cordless ratchet could be a real time saver. I may get one and try it out. What does Matco get for theirs.
Rod::
That’s for the whole kit: charger, 2 batt & tool.
For bare tool: