PSA - You NEED an impact wrench! (1 Viewer)

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DivByZero

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So if, like me, you're somewhat mechanically inclined, and don't mind spending your weekend pulling bits off your 80 and putting them back on again, but this is your hobby and not your day job, you probably have a limited set of (hopefully) quality tools you've picked up over time to help you. They get you by just fine, until every now and then, you come across that one bolt that just won't shift. You know the one. It's that one you run into at 11am in the morning, when you've already taken a bunch of stuff off and you're now committed, but that one bolt or nut just won't shift, and you spend the next few hours cursing and swearing and stripping your knuckles trying to get it out. Suddenly this job is a lot less fun, and your wife is rolling her eyes at you again as you explain that the job you said would be done by lunch is now extending into tomorrow, while you let some PB Blaster soak in, or are attacking it with a propane torch.

Our 80s are all ancient now. We have a lot of bolts that are frozen in place. What you need in your arsenal is a little tool I never properly appreciated until I got one last year. You need an impact wrench. I bought this gizmo last year, and it changed my life:
1615877852518.png


It's the DTW700Z in Australia. Equivalent seems to be the XWT17Z in the US. This baby delivers 1000nm (740 ft-lb) of nut-busting torque, and watching it work is magical. What made me go out and buy this last year was that one bolt I couldn't remove. I worked on that thing for hours. I was there with my breaker bar that comes up to my waist. I soaked that thing in penetrating oil. I hit it with alternating heating and cooling. I was banging on the bracket and the bolt, trying everything I could think of. It was on, it wasn't going anywhere. I've been here before, and I could have kept on going until it eventually gave in, but I got fed up, dropped some cash on this thing, and it removed it in one second. One. Frigging. Second.

This thing quickly became my favourite toy. I started removing random tricky looking bolts just to see if I could (don't do that, re-torquing them is a pain). I now look forward to each stuck on bolt with a kind of glee, just to watch this thing work. Best of all, it does it without hurting my hands, and more importantly, damaging the car. I've come to appreciate that the impact wrench is actually a much gentler way to remove a stuck bolt than me going at it with a breaker bar.

This won't be a revelation for many of you I'm sure, but it was for me, and maybe it'll help out one or two other people here. One thing that turned me off getting one of these a decade ago, was that an impact wrench until recently meant an air tool, which was a whole extra set of gear, with a fair bit of effort involved in getting it setup. The modern battery operated ones like I showed above are so much easier, you just pick them up and go for it.

So, if you don't have a torque wrench in your arsenal, I strongly recommend you take a serious look at getting one. It'll make your life so much easier. I went for Makita, they make good stuff, and they're in the right price point for a DIY guy like me. Those of you with bigger budgets or more industrial needs would probably go for something from Milwaukee, I'm sure they make some great ones.

You also need to get a decent impact socket set. Your typical chrome vanadium sockets for hand tools aren't up to the task, you need something made out of chrome molybdenum, like this set I got:
1615877599430.png


It cost me around $800 all up to get setup with the impact wrench, battery system, and impact socket set. No idea what the price will be in the US, but it'll cost a little I'm sure. Well worth the money though.
 
Couldn't agree more. I have the Milwaukee equivalent and boy will that thing do some work. I used it to remove crank pulley nut, drawtite hitch bolts, shock bolts, you name it. I have found that on most of the ones that get stuck on the 80, they will come off pretty easily and not snap if you just give it a few ugga-duggas at a time. Going full ugga-dugga I think you're probably gonna bust something in my opinion buy yeah, I'm right there with ya.
 
It's the DTW700Z in Australia. Equivalent seems to be the XWT17Z in the US. This baby delivers 1000nm (740 ft-lb) of nut-busting torque, and watching it work is magical.

^^^^^

And that's actually just the 'fastening' torque. What we are most interested in....is the removal torque which is 1180 ft. lbs.

So....still a good idea to soak with penetrating oil and select the slowest speed/setting (if equipped) when removing stubborn bolts.

With 1,000+ ft. lbs. of torque you're either going to break it 'loose' or break it 'off' (any of the smaller bolts).
 
^^^^^

And that's actually just the 'fastening' torque. What we are most interested in....is the removal torque which is 1180 ft. lbs.

So....still a good idea to soak with penetrating oil and select the slowest speed/setting (if equipped) when removing stubborn bolts.

With 1,000+ ft. lbs. of torque you're either going to break it 'loose' or break it 'off' (any of the smaller bolts).
LOL yeah, one way or another it's coming off.

I have a 3/8ths drive impact for the smaller stuff. Most of the time the smaller ones that I break it out on snap but at least it didn't break manually and send my hand flying into something sharp. I like to use that one for general assembly/disassembly when it's lots of nuts and bolts or really long ones.
 
these are great and i use makita 18v tools for work so lots of batteries getting used in the shop. If you dont use cordless tools and are buying something for once in awhile use, maybe look at corded. You'll save yourself the frustration of not having a charged battery when you need it and the $300 for new batteries every handful of years. Either way an impact is a game changer.
 
They are expensive but I have been using one of these for 5 years. I love it, it is small and fits in lots of places. Just enough torque to do plenty of work but not bust stuff all the time. It is just strong enough to remove lug nuts but maxes out at 70ish ft lbs when tightening.

20210316_073854.jpg


Snap-on Store - https://shop.snapon.com/product/14.4-V-MicroLithium-Impact-Wrenches/14.4-V-3-8%22-Drive-MicroLithium-Cordless-Impact-Wrench-Kit-(Red)/CT761AK2

Haha if anybody decides they want one make sure you don't pay full price. Order from flea bay or buy them from a Snap On truck and make the driver give you a discount or a set of sockets for free or something. They always have some wiggle room in these things.
 
I have the Dewalt versions and like them a lot. If i had not gone down that road already I have seen on "the project farm" youtube channel that the Milwaukee ones really do a great job. to be fair though, the Dewalts have never had any issues with what i have tried to use them on so i guess wanting a Makita or Milwaukee is just wanting something for the sake of wanting it.

really love not having to run the air compressor all the time too...

something to remember, even the small dewalt impact driver 1/4" version will still over torque my lug nuts so i have to feather it to just seat them and then do the rest with a torque wrench.
 
I have several Milwaukee tools, love them all. In december went to pick up their 18v 1/2" impact wrench....and ended up buying a Ryobi 1/2" impact with a big 4 amp battery for $99. Figured if it sucked, would return or just add it to the trail bag. Well, dang....it has done everything I've asked it too, even spun off the lower control arm nuts and or bolts (some with a wobble head extension on it). Best $99 tool I've ever bought.

I use the Milwaukee 1/4" impact driver with a socket adapter for spinning off almost everything up to a 17mm, that tool is epic too. ( also have buil several decks, and a dock with it + torx wood screws / lag heads. Does amazing with a spade wood bit, wish there was a hole saw that worked in it).
 
... ended up buying a Ryobi 1/2" impact with a big 4 amp battery for $99. Figured if it sucked, would return or just add it to the trail bag. Well, dang....it has done everything I've asked it too, even spun off the lower control arm nuts and or bolts (some with a wobble head extension on it). Best $99 tool I've ever bought.
That's the exact impact I use too, for the very same jobs. lol Also worked great for the high-pressure ps hose to pump banjo. I don't think it's nearly as torquie as the others mentioned here, but it hasn't come up short anywhere yet. (lucky I guess)
Plus everything else I have is Ryobi so...
 
I was looking at the Makita 3/8 stubby with 250 lb/ft removal torque. Is this "good enough" for a weekend warrior with limited skills or should I consider something with some more oomph
 
I was looking at the Makita 3/8 stubby with 250 lb/ft removal torque. Is this "good enough" for a weekend warrior with limited skills or should I consider something with some more oomph

I personally would go with two separate impact wrenches: a 3/8 impact for most things and then a larger 1/2 drive for the big stuff.
 
Just remember when undoing the control arm bolts you need to undo the BOLT, and NOT the NUT. Read the manual before starting that job...

those impact wrenches will easily get the nut off and ruin the locking part at the same time.

remember, when you have a hammer everything starts to look like a nail. Don’t use these sort of tools as your “first option” without reading the manual and knowing what your doing. Same goes if you happen to stumble on a reverse thread bolt...
Edit, and for those who don’t have the budget, have a look for the 12v impact wrench similar to this one...

While not as good a proper tool, for $59 these are really impressive. They basically have a motor that spins up to a preset rpm then “engages” in a fast knocking/hammer approach. You are less likely to break a bolt with this tool than with an impact driver but still much gentler than getting bolts out via a breaker bar.
 
Just remember when undoing the control arm bolts you need to undo the BOLT, and NOT the NUT. Read the manual before starting that job...

those impact wrenches will easily get the nut off and ruin the locking part at the same time.

remember, when you have a hammer everything starts to look like a nail. Don’t use these sort of tools as your “first option” without reading the manual and knowing what your doing. Same goes if you happen to stumble on a reverse thread bolt...
Edit, and for those who don’t have the budget, have a look for the 12v impact wrench similar to this one...

While not as good a proper tool, for $59 these are really impressive. They basically have a motor that spins up to a preset rpm then “engages” in a fast knocking/hammer approach. You are less likely to break a bolt with this tool than with an impact driver but still much gentler than getting bolts out via a breaker bar.
I just did mine and loosened the nut, not the bolt. The bolt has ridges that bite into the frame surface so if you tried to loosen the bolt it would be extremely difficult.

PXL_20210317_024254780.jpg


PXL_20210317_024233254.jpg
 
That’s correct, that needs the nut loosened, but there are some of those bolts where it’s reversed.... (the bolt needs to be undone and the nut not moving).
 
I just did mine and loosened the nut, not the bolt. The bolt has ridges that bite into the frame surface so if you tried to loosen the bolt it would be extremely difficult.

View attachment 2616594

View attachment 2616595

That’s correct, that needs the nut loosened, but there are some of those bolts where it’s reversed.... (the bolt needs to be undone and the nut not moving).


Play nice children, your both right. The fronts are one way and the rear arm to frame bolt is opposite of the two front bolts.
 
Read the manual before starting that job...
IIRC, I don't think the FSM actually tells you which is what on this...however you can also tell by looking at where the washers are vs where the flanged bits are which has the barbie point bits. Point is I was shocked the ryobi worked to back these off. Retorquing them was right at the limit of what I could do with the limited leverage....I was sore the next day! (but that's way off topic!)
 
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I personally would go with two separate impact wrenches: a 3/8 impact for most things and then a larger 1/2 drive for the big stuff.
I think that's a good way to go if your budget can accommodate it. That said, small stuff (I'm thinking M6 and below) I've never needed to get the impact wrench yet. I'll usually just go hand tools, because a breaker bar can usually shift a small fastener even if it's stuck on tight without too much effort. If you do want an impact wrench for small fasteners though, you'd definitely want something with less torque than the one I posted, or you can risk breaking bolts. I personally haven't had that worry working on good quality fixings that are M8 or above.
 

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