Been doing this by hand for years.. Looking to upgrade, and thought I'd start here for current ideas.
Been doing this by hand for years.. Looking to upgrade, and thought I'd start here for current ideas.
Impact wrench?
Shotgun??
Is this a trick question?
Cordless impact will change your life
Figured cordless impact. Looking for specific recommendation on brand? Lots of choices out there, is there any consensus on which brand is best for home/track use? Or just go with cheapest and replace as needed?
JG gave a pretty glowing recommendation for the newest DeWalt 20v 1/2" impact gun in a recent FB live session.
Kobalt 24v does a good job and they have batteries on sale for $10/ea at lowes right now. Might end Monday.
I have found that a long breaker bar is the tool of choice if someone else has put the tires on. Most home impact wrenches don't have the power to undo the moron at the shop, definetly not a cordless one.
Also, I love this thing:
Are those double ended sockets with the drive in the middle ?!?
I have same thing from Harbor Freight but they have swanky no mar covers.Lug removal goodness
einy wrote: Are those double ended sockets with the drive in the middle ?!?
Yes, pretty common in a pro setting, you can even buy a special sized one for those crappy Chrysler nuts that are always either missing the stamped covers or swollen from rust under said covers, one end oversized one end undersized.
Before springing for a cordless impact, check the price on additional batteries. I have a DeWalt 18V that works great but I already had other DeWalt 18V tools and additional batteries. If not, a single battery can run $100. If the Kobalt unit does the job and has batteries for $10, I'd grab one of those and 2 extra batteries.
Milwaukee M18 FUEL 1/2" Impact Wrench Kit w/Battery.
Picked one up earlier this year new with two batteries plus charger for $300. It's worth full price, but that deal made it sweeter. It didn't bat an eye when I swapped my winter wheels. Didn't even seem to use up any of the battery.
It's great not having to unravel the air hose, fire up the compressor, etc. Just stick the socket on it and go to town.
I use an Ingersoll Rand cordless. Tim Suddard put me on to it - it's got a much more precise feeling mechanism inside than most others I've tried, including the Snap-On ones some of the guys at the shop have. Battery's good for a full week-long rally :) Mine's an older one (8 years) and runs 18v. They run higher voltage with bigger torque ratings now.
breaker bar followed by impact.
I have a Ryobi 18V from Home Depot. It has knocked off stuff that my friend's DeWalt couldn't. I even use it to bust off axle nuts.
If you ever find yourself in a situation where the car has locking lugs installed and no removal tool in sight as i have with half a dozen auction vehicles i have purchased in the last couple of years simply take a good quality 12 point socket 13/16 or 7/8 or metric that will drive on the outside of the round locking lug with a hammer(this is why i said good quality as in guaranteed replacement if it goes wrong!)once you drive it on simply use the tool of your choice to spin them off(i generally use a breaker bar for feel to make sure they start)then a trip to the bench vise with the jaws set to the right width and drive the offending lug out and repeat the process 3 more times so far it has worked every time
glenn
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