I'm wondering if a large battery model could dismount and remount 4 wheels on cars and light trucks before running out of juice. For brake work, tire rotation, etc. For home and hobby, not continuous duty professionally.

A few years ago - when I was racing - we used an 18V DeWalt rechargeable impact for changing wheels/tires on my late model.

The car wouldn't fit properly on our trailer with race wheels/tires, so we had to unload the car and immediately swap all four wheels. Then, at the end of the night, swap them all back out to reload the car. So four wheels and tires, two times, with about five to six hours of waiting in between uses.

It performed this function perfectly, once a week, for an entire season, with only one charge pre-race.

 
Yes, I use the battery impact for "driving bolts or nuts" to course. Many are fine thread, or of lots of course threads too. All you need to do is relieve the torque with a breaker bar, then spin them foreverafter with your battery powered tool.
 

Holy crap dude, fix your avatar! Did you miss the thread that's probably still on the first page in the Lounge about it? Yikes!



Re: your question, I have a buddy that's a professional mechanic, and he's eschewed nearly all his pneumatic tools in favor of battery-powered tools. They provide enough torque for nearly all his tasks (lug nuts, tearing down engines/transmissions, etc), and he doesn't have to deal with hoses and constantly swapping them around on different tools.

I believe he uses Milwaukee brand. They are red & black.

I have a Milwaukee Fuel 18v 3/8" drive. It is AWESOME. I literally used it to replace the entire suspension and rotate my tires for like 6 months before it needed a charge. Tires alone I had off and on 6 times for brakes and such. I was thinking of the 1/2" but the 3/8" removes anything on my vehicles I need and it does not strain your wrist. Screw air electric is the way to go.

It will serve you well. I only have the 1/4" Milwaukee 18V brushless set with a 4 amp battery but it works for what you're looking to do.

They have a 1/2" version but since car work isn't a priority of my needs, I haven't bought it. Great thing about the Milwaukee FUEL setup is that once you get the battery and charger, you can buy tools by themselves instead of being forced to buy different batteries and chargers.

I always use a torque wrench to tighten the lugs but even my 1/4" will break the lugs loose. The lithium ion batteries can last quite a while and they charge relatively quick, I want to say about 1 hour to fully charge my 4 amp battery.

I've had mine for 2 years now and I paid $400 for the impact and hammer drill with two 4 amp batteries and the charger. This is the brushless set. I suspect that the prices have gone down now.

I've heard great reviews about the Makita set, too.

I still use a long breaker bar as my ryobi cordless impact is a little on the weak side.

Compare torque ratings before you buy. Milwaukee seems to have overtaken DeWalt as the defacto standard for solid tools nowadays.

I've used my Milwaukee Fuel 1/2" to take lug nuts off of a semi truck, in a pinch. It would run all day only working on autos.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
I've used my Milwaukee Fuel 1/2" to take lug nuts off of a semi truck, in a pinch. It would run all day only working on autos.

^^^This. A friend of mine has one of these Milwaukee FUEL M18 1/2" Impact Wrench and the thing is a beast. With one of the 4mAh batteries, this thing could handle 4 or 5 complete tire rotations without breaking a sweat. If I were doing a lot of tire changes/swaps, I'd own one of these in a heartbeat.

I have a Bluepoint (Snap On "Economy" version) 3/8ths electric ratchet, a Snap On 3/8th electric Impact and 2 Snap On 1/2 Impacts. I've been very happy with all of them EXCEPT the price tag. However, with that said I am a mechanic and use them everyday. I wouldn't consider them a reasonable cost for the average DYI'er though. The new 1/2 inch impact was like $600. The only reason I ahve 2 1/2 inch impacts is because after buying the new on I sent the old one in for rebuild. It now lives in my trunk tool bag with a Harbor Freight aluminum racing jack next to it for break downs. A few people have been really happy I rolled up on them trying to change a tire.

As far as the OP's question I can't speak for other brands but yes they should be able to handle those types of jobs without much issue. My Son disassembled and entire 5.0 Mustang engine on one charge after I used it to remove the engine. Also, I can use mine for 2-3 days in the shop without recharging them.

DeWalts 20V 1/2" drive impact makes tire changing a breeze.

I do use a torque wrench when tightening the lug bolts. The impact will/can over tighten them.

I have a Snap On 1/2" 18V, came with 2 batteries. One never comes close to running down. Make sure you get impact sockets regardless whatever brand tool you get.

A Ryobi 18 volt 1/2 drive and you can throw the breaker bar away.

quote:

Originally posted by Rotndad:
I have a Bluepoint (Snap On "Economy" version) 3/8ths electric ratchet, a Snap On 3/8th electric Impact and 2 Snap On 1/2 Impacts. I've been very happy with all of them EXCEPT the price tag. However, with that said I am a mechanic and use them everyday. I wouldn't consider them a reasonable cost for the average DYI'er though.

But the Snap-ons can take abuse. If a DeWalt tool just falls off a fender and hits the concrete floor it will land battery first (that being the heaviest part) and bust up the battery. But this is not something the OP's tool is likely to be subjected to.

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
A Ryobi 18 volt 1/2 drive and you can throw the breaker bar away.

My 18V Ryobi was useless on both my Silverado and Frontier. In Alaska, I used a breaker bar on the lug nuts during the semi-annual winter and summer wheel swap out. In Canada, I got in on the 1/2 price air compressor posted here so I bought a 1/2" pneumatic impact wrench for the semi-annual winter and summer wheel swap out on my Frontier and my friend's 335i.

From all that I have read, modern 18/20V cordless stuff is all the shade-tree mechanic really needs. That's the way I went, rather than spend cash on a good compressor and air tools.

I have a Bosch 18V 1/4" hex impact driver that has done some seriously heavy lifting on my car over the past four or five years. Two batteries and a rapid charger, means I always have power.

I just bought the Bosch 18V 1/2" impact wrench to give the hex driver a bit of a break. Not that it needed it...

Went with Bosch even though the specs aren't as good as Milwaukee, DeWalt, and others, mainly because I had two batteries and a charger. Saved a few bucks doing that. Hopefully I'll never need more than 500 lb/ft of torque.

This is all sounding really good. Thanks guys. I will probably end up with either a dewalt or milwauke, but I think in the end, price will determine, as long as it's a 1/2 inch drive and a name brand, i.e., not from harbor freight etc. Battery technology is impressive these days.

And make sure you get the Lithium Ion.. they are running Huge sales trying to unload any of the old stuff.
I Love Dewalt, and the 20v lasts forever.

quote:

Originally posted by 45 Cal:
A Ryobi 18 volt 1/2 drive and you can throw the breaker bar away.

This is what I have. You really need to use 4mAh batteries for tire changes.

It's hard to beat Ryobi tools for the money. I have about 10 of them and they all work hard.

Jim

So Ryobi is generally less expensive for comparable specs ? I've never owned any Ryobi, though I have a couple Dewalt cordless tools, and I think they're good quality. So is Ryobi comparable in quality ? But cheaper ?