Impact Wrench Recommendations

cobram at juno.com cobram at juno.com
Tue Jul 11 12:05:14 EDT 2006


"mboucher at hotmail.com Boucher" <mboucher70 at hotmail.com> writes:

> I decided that an Impact wrench would be a good investment if I'm 
> going to continue working on cars.  So I headed out to Home depot
yesterday 
> to pick one up.

First mistake, you're much better served by a tool distributor or
Internet vendor.

> They only had one electrical model, a "DeWalt" DW293 for $199 CAD.  
> figured I'd bite the bullet and make the investment.  I thought that 
> it 
> would also double for a torque wrench because, as I understood it, 
> impact 
> wrenches usually have adjustable torque settings.

To a degree, and usually on Air guns.  FAR from precise, only there to
protect certain fasteners from gorilla torque.

> So I was surprised to see this $200 tool only have a button for one 
> direction and one for another.  Since it provides 400+ pound/ft of 
> torque, 
> wouldn't this only be good for taking bolts off?  The highest torque 
> bolt I 
> can find on the front suspension is the shock piston ring which 
> lists at 133 
> pound/ft.  Many others are as low as 20.  Wouldn't a wrench like 
> this strip 
> most bolts that you attempt to tighten?

NOTHING, repeat, NOTHING should be assembled with an impact wrench.  Only
exception I can think of is lug bolts/nuts which can be installed with an
impact gun, as long as you use torque sticks. 
http://www.torquestick.com/  

> Is this a good buy, or can someone recommend an electrical impact 
> wrench 
> with an adjustable torque setting instead?

What you should do is invest in a compressor, and some air tools.  For
assembly with air/power tools, a good 3/8 and 1/4 inch air rachet can't
be beat.  You'll also find that a good whizzer (cutter) and air chisel
will be items that will have you wondering how you ever got along without
them.  

A battery powered impact gun might be handy to keep in the trunk for
changing tires, suspension disassembly etc.

> Incidentally, I thought about renting one from the Home depot tool 
> rental 
> center.  When I asked for an impact wrench, they pointed me to a 
> tool that 
> looked like an electrical drill but would provide a sudden forward 
> 'impact' 
> as if to drive a nail in.  Not certain who has the name wrong, me or 
> the 
> home depot rental people.

Home Depot thought that you were looking for an impact drill.  That's a
drill which spins like a normal drill, but has the option of hammering
the drill bit while it spins.  Usually used for masonry, stonework etc.  

BCNU,
http://www.geocities.com/cobramsri/
I was nothing more than an almost innocent bystander.


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