ok guys i don’t have a air compressor so i was thinking about a half inch heavy duty electric impact wrench. just for changing tires and for some rusty bolt.are they any good.
If you buy a name brand its better than having your arm break off at the shoulder and watching it flop around the driveway.
Black & Decker made #6513 Bulldog. Don’t know if they still do. Dewalt is the professional/industrial version of BD and they would offer a version.
Just bought one from Snap-on and it works great. You should be good as long as you buy from a major brand.
If your going to use it often get a name brand as SteveC76 suggests.
I no longer need professional grade tools so I bought the Chicago Electric from Harbor freight. Its fine for lug nuts but it really huffs and puffs on axle nuts.
Here’s a discussion of your options:
I’ve got a 5 hp compressor with air lines in the garage, shop, and basement. I’ve got a cheap impact wrench but I use it less for breaking bolts loose or torquing them down, than just doing the work of spinning the nuts off. I hand torque my nuts and don’t trust the impact wrench. Just depends on how often you’re going to use it but you use a compressor for a lot more than wheel lugs.
A GE (good enough) compressor costs about $100 and doesn’t need oil. It is good for tires and footballs. The Patriots won’t invest in anything better for reasonable, plausible denial. Your air impact wrench will work well in short bursts which is about all you will need. Lug nuts will be easy to remove.
If properly installed and properly torque a 4-way lug wrench will quickly remove lug nuts from any passenger car or light duty truck.
I’m in the small/cheap compressor/cheap air wrench camp. Check craigslist or a pawn shop for the compressor and then Harbor Freight for a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench. THEN you get air for a buncha other cool things like inflating tires and air toys and blowing dust or water off stuff. The list is endless. For $125-$150 you get cool sounding air tools to impress your neighbors!
OP’s not looking for an air compressor, right? I don’t know why he used that for a question title…
“OP’s not looking for an air compressor, right?”
Correct.
He is looking for an “inpack” wrench.
Aw hell just do it the old fashioned way. Put a long box end wrench on the lug and smack it with a sledge hammer. That ought to be enough “inpack”.
Yeah good luck finding an electric inpact wrench.
That’s the thing about asking a question though, everybody is free to answer anyway they want. Useful or not is up to the OP.
I’ve got a DeWalt corded electric impact wrench, and it works quite well. Makes short work of lug nuts, and is useful for removing stubborn bolts and nuts elsewhere as well.
I always put lug nuts back on with a manual torque wrench.
Do yourself a favor. Don’t cheap out and use your normal sockets with it. It’ll make short work of those as well, and the people at Sears will be onto you pretty quickly when you keep coming back with cracked sockets. Get yourself a dedicated set of impact rated sockets.
I bought a Ryobi 1/2" battery impact wrench recently and I am pleased with it. So far I’ve used it to remove the wheels and disk brake calipers. For things like the brakes, a universal joint attachment is useful. I’m a bit concerned about binding when using the universal attachment and just use it to loosen the bolt slightly.
It’s Big, It’s Heavy, it’s long . . . It’s Cheap!
I too am the proud owner of a Harbor Freight corded, I/2" impact wrench. I got it for just over 40 bucks on sale.
It has only rudimentary forward and reverse and an on/off trigger, but provides that rat-tat-tat-tat-tat rattling that helps with the rusty nuts and bolts that were referenced.
I have regular SAE and Metric regular and deep socket sets (lifetime warranty) from Advance Auto Parts that were unbelievably inexpensive (with a 40% online discount code).
I have impact universals and wobble socket extensions that were dirt cheap at HF, too. Check out their 3-piece impact wobble socket extension set if you just need a little angle once in a while.
I got mine because I only need them occasionally, didn’t want to spend a lot, and also because I live in the middle of nowhere and need an extra option when the going gets tough.
CSA
I bought a half inch electric impact wrench at Lowes and I LOVE it for working on the car. From lug nuts to brake bolts the thing is a beast.
So is that the Kobalt brand?
I have an battery powered impact wrench by Kawasaki. GREAT unit…love it.
“Dewalt is the professional/industrial version of BD”
I didn’t know that, until just now
My opinion of Dewalt just went WAY down, because I have a very low opinion of Black & Decker power tools
As for Ryobi, I also have a very dim opinion of their power tools. Throwaway tools, in my opinion. When the battery fails, might as well throw the whole tool away. Because the tools aren’t that good, to begin with. And the batteries are very expensive, relative to the cost of the tool