Yesterday I had to take back a gift I allready had to a hardware store...so I got an Impact Wrench to fit my dads air compressor. I love it!!..it's made by Campbell Housfeld, and has a 1/2 inch drive on it...it's so much easier and faster to fix things...it usually took me a minute to take off a tire now its like 10 seconds...yeeehawww!!!

How do you guys like using your Impact Wrenches or ratchets??

 

Nice.. those things rule, just be careful with that sucker, can you change the torque of it? that would be mint

 

You can only change the speed of it...there are 4 speeds...but all 4 speeds have different torque ranges.

And they also like to drink oil...LOL...you have to oil it every time you use them, but only 1/4 ounce of oil. The oil comes in 1L bottles and is $3.00 which is pretty good.

 

do your self a favor and get yourself a 1/4 air ratchet and a set of good sockets, 99% of what you need to do on your quad can be handled very nicely. A 1/2 inch impact is way over kill for a quad. If you continue to use it you may want to invest in a set of easyouts

 

ATV_MAN, the 1/2" drive impact wrench sounds like a versatile tool. With no air supply (pity), I have an electric (110 VAC) impact wrench, also 1/2" drive. Besides these, I have a J.C. Whitney 12-volt 1/2" drive impact wrench I carry in my truck.

Impact wrenches are ideal for use on lug nuts, as you mention. Also, they are indispensible for clutch work, removing shaft nuts, for example. This sucker is a real time-saver for case screws; I have adapters down from 1/2" to 1/4" drive, some looooooong extensions and a universal joint; I can get those 8 mm case screws in or out in a hurry.

As someone mentions on this topic, watch out for over-torqueing--don't give too many impact blows to the smaller fasteners. AND--make sure your threads are straight before you tighten a bolt or screw; you can cross-thread quicker than you can think about it with one of these impact tools.

I know you'll use common sense--don't use your impact wrench on your carburetor jets, for instance; with good judgment you can speed up lots of tasks and even accomplish some impossible without it.

Diogenes

 

MY dad has ingersal rand(sp)? 3/8 inch drive ari ratchet,1/4 inch air ratchet and impact and a 1/2 inch impact.And a 50 gallon 5 horse craftsman air compresor.THe 1/2 is very strong and I had all my lug nuts on my 250r threaded by hand already put the 1/2 impact on it and zoom it went rigt on and right back off!It striped the threads out completly.I know I had it threaded on there straight to.There air very useful but watchout.I also broke my old warriors stator cover with one to!

 

Today I just went out and got an adapter to go from 1/2 to 3/8 drive...because I never had one, I have a 3/8 to 1/4 also.

I will get the air ratchet...it has a 3/8 drive on it. It's only $36.00...the Impact wrench I bought was $40.00

We have a 1 1/2 HP compressor (it needs 3.5HP for continuous use, now I always have to tap the trigger)...we have sockets that have a lifetime warranty, so I'm not worried to break them.

 

I use impact wrenches to take alot of things apart, but rarely to put things back together. Be careful.

 

I work on cars professionally, and have every air wrench and ratchet you can imagine, usually the most powerful you can buy. I NEVER use them on my quads, with the possible exception of rear axle nuts. If not carefully used, these air tools can break off or crossthread bolts very easily. It's my experience that there are generally not that many fasteners on a quad, they are usually small, and in some cases are not hardened bolts. I'm not out to make money on quad repair, so I take my time and use hand ratchets and torque wrenches, as well as a service manual and TLC. My 2cents

 

I do like Wild Turkey. Use the rattle-gun to take bolts off, but put them back by hand. Saves many stripped bolts. An air ratchet is much better for tightening. Limited torque, and easier to control than an impact.