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Impact wrenches


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School me on impact wrenches. In the market for a 1/2, and 3/8 impact and don't want to get a POS. Don't really want to spend top of the line money, but definitely want something that can get the average job done. What brands and models do you recommend. Air or electric. If electric, I would prefer corded so dead batteries aren't an issue.
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pneumatic 1/2" or 3/8" only, I dont do electric.. But you also have to have a good air compressor that puts out enough PSI to support it..

 

Snap on makes GREAT 1/2" and 3/8 battery impacts. But I would not drop the money on one because I have an air compressor..

 

When my MAC impact took a shit for the 10th time I got sick of sending it out to get fixed. So I ordered this ingersoll 1/2".. It is great.. its the quiet version, so its not loud.

 

http://www.tooltopia.com/ingersoll-rand-2135qtimax.aspx

 

I bought a new 3/8 impact from snap on. I wanted the ingersoll quiet 3/8 but I got a great deal on the snap on truck for this.. Although when they first came out they were 425$..

 

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=power&item_ID=647601&group_ID=681943&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

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I got a few I like.

 

@ Home i got inudstrial Duty Craftsman work fine for light duty minor work.

 

@ Work I got Snap On 3/8 & 1/2 love them

 

My buddy has a ingrosol and LOVES It I havent seen anything yet that it couldnt break loose.

 

I have a Snap On Cordless Impact and its awsome for race track. I have a Craftsman 19.2 Volt Cordless Impact thats pretty impressive for the price it was. I bought just to see the quality

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I've actually been very happy with the Harbor Freight Impact. Only the Central Pneumatic Earthquake line. It's surprisingly strong, and holds up well. Stay away from cheap Craftsman ones, they're crap!

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-professional-air-impact-wrench-68424.html

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_11115.jpg

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I've been using Aircat impacts and ratchets at work for about 5 years and love them dearly. They're about 1/2 the price of tool truck impacts and the quietest air tools I've ever found.

 

http://www.amazon.com/NitroCat-1355-XL-8-Inch-Composite-Mechanism/dp/B002YKBJ8Q

 

 

A lot of the aircat impacts are the same thing MAC sells.. Which is why my MAC impact broke so many times..

 

 

I would also not waste any money on air tools from harbor freight.. But thats just me.

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yea there is a guy at work that uses the earth quake line from the freight and not many problems. He buys all his tools there lol. I have used the cheap craftsmans they are junk they ones I got are the best you can buy from sears lol
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I mean I started off with cheap stuff, craftsman, napa brand.. When they took a shit I upgraded.. Ive seen through the shops ive been in when people cheap out on air tools.

 

I have seen the harbor freight impact CASE explode when trying to take off a wheel. 10 hammers inside the impact and it exploded..

 

Im not a fan of snap on 1/2" impacts because they are super loud and overrated on power. They dont put out near as much as they say.

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Harbor Freight has several different impacts, the cheaper ones are the ones that have problems, but very few people have trouble with the Earthquake series from what I have seen. I plan on buying one myself to go with the Central Pneumatic air compressor I just bought.
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Harbor Freight has several different impacts, the cheaper ones are the ones that have problems, but very few people have trouble with the Earthquake series from what I have seen. I plan on buying one myself to go with the Central Pneumatic air compressor I just bought.

 

All depends on how much you use it.. In a shop, they dont last. In a garage, they may be worth the price.

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All depends on how much you use it.. In a shop, they dont last. In a garage, they may be worth the price.

 

This is what I thought the OP needed it for....just as a shadetree/weekend warrior

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Go to sears and buy the craftsman professional 1/2" impact. It's made by IR and has lasted me over 10 years with out a loss of power.

 

As for 3/8" the composit Mac is the best power wise. I like the air cat a lot better though because it's easier to control the trigger speed on and isn't much down on power to the Mac. I have both.

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I bought the highest rated IR avalible in 1/2 about 5 years ago and been pretty happy with that it was a display modle only paid like $150ish off ebay if I rember right. Althoguh I have found bolts that only the newest snap-on gun could take off. Current 3/8 gun is a classic mac said to be from the 80s and still going strong.
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anything IR is worth the money, hell they make almost all the air tools for the big name companies out there, if you buy cordless impacts go Snap-on, I have the Snap-on 1/2" drive and two Snap-on 3/8" drive cordless impacts and those things are worth the money too, huge life savers in a salvage yard.

I remember a few years ago I was replacing a transmission in a 2003 Acura 3.2TL the dealership lost power and the air didn't last long with all of us trying to finish the jobs we were doing, so I used my cordless impacts and completed the entire transmission job under the warranty time, I was the only person in the shop that day making money, because of the cordless impacts and I wasn't lazy, I was the only one willing to use a floor jack. Its amazing how spoiled some tech's are when it comes to actual physical labor

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I have a craftsman and it's held up fine. Though, it has trouble breaking nuts that have been over torqued (Parents cars and mine when I first had it).

 

I've been oiling it everytime and has been good so far.

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I have a craftsman and it's held up fine. Though, it has trouble breaking nuts that have been over torqued (Parents cars and mine when I first had it).

 

I've been oiling it everytime and has been good so far.

 

Should have got the composit professional one.

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I've had the Cornwell 1/2" and 3/8" impacts (newer style composite which are basically Air Cat) for almost 2 years. They are nicely balanced and light but the 1/2" has been sticking again after being rebuilt once, overall good guns. So I recently bought the Snap-On 1/2" which is an excellent gun with a 2 year warranty. I had an Air Cat when I started into the trade and it worked well and still works, just lost a good bit of power over a few years.

 

If I were going to buy a gun for home use it would be the old style Ingersol Super Duty gun, which was made under many different names, but its the old style all metal heavy ass gun that lasts forever. Its not light and balanced but it doesn't have to be when you don't use it all day at work.

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i'm a shadetree mechanic. i only use impact to remove wheel lugs (on my cars i don't really care about), on suspension components, and exhaust components. i've honestly gotten by for over 10 years with a 1/2" chicago corded impact wrench from harbor freight. impact sockets from harbor freight. i've never had an issue--after 8 years, i replaced the brushes on the impact wrench--its never failed. i even bought another spare to keep in my other garage.

 

buy the craftsman/snap-on/mac stuff if you like.

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I had an IR Titanium 1/2 impact in the shop for about 4 years without any issue. Changed shops for a few years and used the same model without issue. Now I have one for home. I would like to get the Snap On cordless because I've used them as well and they're awesome.
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