I'm building out my toolbox to do light auto maintenance and repair in my garage. I have a breaker bar for my 1/2" sockets, but in anticipation of having to fight potentially stubborn bolts on brake rotors and suspension parts, I was thinking about adding an impact wrench.

I have one of those little 6 gallon pancake compressors. The impact wrench will be used very minimally, only to crack open stuck bolts. Everything else comes off and on by hand.

Do I:

1) Skip the impact gun. Just use the breaker bar.

2) Get a cheap harbor freight stubby impact wrench like this: https://harborfreight.com/auto...ct-wrench-63534.html

3) Nearly double the cost for something from Ingersoll Rand like this: https://www.amazon.com/Ingerso...t%2Caps%2C105&sr=8-5

4) Or YOLO on a Milwaukee M18 Fuel brushless cordless impact like this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Mi...ly-2962-20/313511878 Note: I don't have batteries/charger for the M18 platform, so add another $150-300 on this (but, I'll eventually expand the battery platform to other things).

Personally, I'm fond of air tools, but I suspect you might find your compressor won't drive any decent air impact wrench very well.

Check your compressor's ratings vs. the impact wrench's requirements.

I'm a buy once, cry once kind of a guy where tools are concerned. If I were going to buy an air impact wrench, I'd go with the IR.

If you have a suitable compressor (sounds like you don’t) and other pneumatic tools already and the cost is similar, get a pneumatic wrench. If you don’t or the cost is a lot less, get a plug-in electric if you’re not going to use it a lot. IMO


Real air tools use a LOT of air. Pancake isn’t going to cut it IMO.

I doubt your small compressor will have enough guts for an air impact. I have a corded Dewalt 1/2 in impact that is a beast and a 18v Ryobi 1/2 in impact, it works but it struggles on lug nuts

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:


Check your compressor's ratings vs. the impact wrench's requirements.

My understanding from reading reviews on both of the impact wrenches I've linked to, is that a small compressor will typically drive an impact wrench long enough to pull lug nuts off of one tire. That's about all I'd need it for at this point, knocking loose a few stuck bolts at a time.

But, of course, I'm hear to learn and seek advice, so I will consider the limitations of my compressor as recommended.

I like the idea of an impact wrench rather than a breaker bar, as the short little bursts of torque seems safer than a breaker bar if the car is on stands (e.g. when loosening suspension parts with wheels off).

Find an old compressor tank and put it in your system to give more capacity.
Get an IR gun, maybe shop for a commercial grade good used one.
Buy some impact sockets in the common sizes so you don't destroy your regular sockets.

It’s been a long time, back in the day, Chicago Pneumatic was most common for 1/2” impacts. Don’t know if a rebuilt one might be found on EBay. If it were me, I’d look at a rechargeable battery impact though, I see them commonly on the tv car shows.

Like others have said, I'd go with the 18v or upgrade compressor. The families of these battery powered tools are awesome. I'm sure you will find other tools to add to utilize your battery packs.

Just make sure you know what the manual means by "nuts".

quote:

Originally posted by 1KPerDay:
If you have a suitable compressor (sounds like you don’t) and other pneumatic tools already and the cost is similar, get a pneumatic wrench.
If you don’t or the cost is a lot less, get a plug-in electric if you’re not going to use it a lot. IMO


Real air tools use a LOT of air. Pancake isn’t going to cut it IMO.

It all depends on the use.
Overall you are correct but that doesn't mean it won't work in limited use.
My 30 year old Craftsman Pancake I have used the shit out of it on everything including sand blasting, air ratchet, painting and other tools.
THE problem is you can run out of air too fast making it much much harder to complete a job.
Only when I got a larger one did I enjoy the benefits of not having to wait as it fills up with air/pressure.
So it CAN be done but a bigger unit is a blessing if you can have one.
I do agree an Electric one might be a good compromise.

I have a small compressor and I upgraded the hose size and still could not get a good impact wrench to work. Bought the Milwaukee M18 and it is awesome.

I standardized on Milwaukee a few years ago, mostly 18v. I picked up their impact a couple years ago, don’t recall the foot pounds but it’s up there. I have an arc that was mudded by the prior owner and the axle nuts were rusted on. The first two took a propane torch and breaker bar. The second two came off with the Milwaukee. I’d go Milwaukee, check Home Depot online daily, they tend to have them 40-50% off this time of year.

I always seem to find that my air tools are too big to fit were I need them.
Unless you can upgrade your air compressor I would go with battery powered tools.
Its not just the air tool that needs to be part of the system. Its the air tool, compressor, correct air hose diameter, air compressor filters and oilers,and hose fittings.
If your basically starting from scratch go electric.

Thanks for all the input gentlemen.

I'll keep an eye out for sale on the Milwaukee impact gun.

I also went the corded impact route. I have a small compressor/tank combo mainly for tires and only remove lug nuts studs with the impact. They get put on and torqued manually.

If you think you're headed down the 18V route, go with the Milwaukee.

I already had a nice upright 220v compressor, so I stayed with pneumatic - Aircat 1150. Just used it last night on lugs. Plenty.

I think your pancake compressor will work for one or two quick jobs, but if you plan to use a variety of tools over a few hours, it may struggle to keep up.

Vote for the electric camp. 18v Ryobi 3/8 impact works for 80%. My super heavy but cheap harbor freight wired 1/2 inch impact handles 10%. May swap that for the ryobi 1/2 inch. Last, breaker bar that I can slip various lengths of black pipe from Home Depot over the end to extend.

Air is great, but it just doesn’t make sense for occasional users.

If it’s battery powered, you can keep it in your car.

I also highly recommend a battery powered impact wrench. You can use the same battery for drills, lights, etc.

I recommend quality, not super cheap stuff. Makita, Milwaukee, etc. are excellent.

Before you buy spend some time on youtube Torque Test Channel