Impact Wrench

Jez said:
If so, what would people recommend for occasional DIY use?
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Presumably you want a cordless one rather than air powered. The problem with these is that the cheap ones tend to be crap (low torque, bulky, poorly made) and the decent ones are very expensive.

I bought the 24v Clarke impact wrench a year or so ago which was about £90 at Machine Mart, and with a freshly charged battery it's just about ok with wheel nuts as long as they haven't been done up too tight. It won't touch properly tight stuff like crank pulley bolts.

There was a review in Car Mechanics recently, and of the "lower" priced tools the Sealey CP2400 was one of the best performing, but it's quite bulky and heavy so getting to caliper bolts might be a problem. It is very good value at the price I've linked to though.

If you want a really nice one, you'll be looking at least double that price, and up to £500 or more for e.g. the top end Snap On. It's an awesome bit of kit though.

If you have a compressor, the air impact wrenches are cheaper, smaller, lighter and tend to be more powerful.
 
I bought the cheap and cheerful clarke one:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/217701/clarke_cir13c.html

Use it for wheels and caliper bolts in some cases, not had a bolt it couldn't get off so far, I use it with a battery pack (Halfords jump starter thing) not the car battery. Not tried it with anything more than wheels and brakes and am not likely to either so can't comment on power other than it has been adequate for what I need.
 
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Dogbreath said:
If you want a really nice one, you'll be looking at least double that price, and up to £500 or more for e.g. the top end Snap On. It's an awesome bit of kit though.

If you have a compressor, the air impact wrenches are cheaper, smaller, lighter and tend to be more powerful.
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Issue here is that it wont get much use, i wont do most jobs, so its only really brakes and getting wheels on and off. Even then its only like the S-Class as its so worthless which will get any DIY work, anything else i run will be too valuable to not have a fully documented service history.

So to that end, i dont want/need any really high end tools? Thats 240v one linked to would be fine if it is likely to be any good (i have outdoor power sockets on my drive)

Hmm :/
 
NightShadow said:
I bought the cheap and cheerful clarke one:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/217701/clarke_cir13c.html

Use it for wheels and caliper bolts in some cases, not had a bolt it couldn't get off so far, I use it with a battery pack (Halfords jump starter thing) not the car battery. Not tried it with anything more than wheels and brakes and am not likely to wither so can't comment on power other than it has been adequate for what I need.
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I am suspicious as this seems a little too cheap?
 
Jez said:
I am suspicious as this seems a little too cheap?
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I thought the same when I 1st got it but was just fed up of it taking ages when taking the wheel bolts off with the normal wrench. Had it for around 2 years now and have changed the brakes on my car twice, swapped the wheels round and done the brakes all-round on 2 other cars with no problems to report. If you were going to be using it several times a month I would probably opt for somthing a bit more expensive and more heavy duty but for occasional use a few times a year its been great for the money.
 
Jez said:
I am suspicious as this seems a little too cheap?
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I've had one for a few years and i've only needed on the really stubborn stuff and it's never failed to loosen things up. It's a cheapo centripital force mechanism in it, spins up inside for about a second, then it dumps that spinning mass onto the 1/2" drive output. That's why it's so cheap, it doesn't have complex gears or anything inside, just a motor & some weight.
 
Ordered one, with a trolley jack too. Should be easy next time i need to get the wheels off at the very least :)
 
with the 12v one, you can use it anywhere that you have a car

the 240v will always need mains power. i wouldnt mind one though
 
Yeah the 12v one appeals, i am going to keep it in the cars tool kit for when/if i have a puncture :)
 
NightShadow said:
I bought the cheap and cheerful clarke one:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/products/217701/clarke_cir13c.html

Use it for wheels and caliper bolts in some cases, not had a bolt it couldn't get off so far
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It probably down to expectations, after using an air impact wrech I was quite dissapointed with the 24v Clarke impact wrench. It has a tiny fraction of the torque of my air wrench and has failed to undo many different fasteners. If you limit yourself to wheel nuts it's probably fine, with a fresh charge (the battery seems to go one for a decent length of time, but torque falls off quite a bit after a few minutes of use).
 
When it comes to undo *really* tight bolts a air gun/impact wrench is not going to get anywhere close to the sort of turning power a breaker bar with a good amount of leverage will be able to dish-out.
 
Joshy said:
When it comes to undo *really* tight bolts a air gun/impact wrench is not going to get anywhere close to the sort of turning power a breaker bar with a good amount of leverage will be able to dish-out.
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The bolts in question are inside a wheel arch though, so i was unable to use any form of extension :)
 
Interesting how people choose different approaches to stuck bolt.

The club hammer is my favourite tool. In fact I have three depending on my mood. I'm very much a "smack it with a hammer" person.

Apply liberally with plusgas, give it a go. Apply blowtorch, set fire to wheel arch. Run around screaming with face on fire. Use hammer again.

I don't think i've failed on the "smack it" approach yet.

I've rounded off several bolts with the bar approach at behest of a friend who swears by that technique, plus lost a suspension bolt to an electric impact wrench which was irritating.
 
lmfy2k said:
how is it performing mate? worth the money?
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I have had one of these for almost 2 years and it is probably the best tool in my arsenal. I have used it on:
  • Wheel bolts
  • Caliper bolts
  • Lower arms
  • Upper arms
  • Exhaust
  • Strut mounts
  • CV joints
  • Etc

Basically if I want to undo something on the car I don't bother reaching for the ratchet any more because it is so much quicker with the impact wrench. Yes it looks really really cheap (and it is only £25) but it is really really good.
 
M0T said:
I have had one of these for almost 2 years and it is probably the best tool in my arsenal. I have used it on:
  • Wheel bolts
  • Caliper bolts
  • Lower arms
  • Upper arms
  • Exhaust
  • Strut mounts
  • CV joints
  • Etc

Basically if I want to undo something on the car I don't bother reaching for the ratchet any more because it is so much quicker with the impact wrench. Yes it looks really really cheap (and it is only £25) but it is really really good.
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that's pretty impressive, i keep reading about cordless ones and all have mixed reviews (apart from the high end ones)

i think for the price i might give the Clarke CIR-13 a go, have you had the car battery die on you whilst using it? or do you use a spare?
 
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