# Electric Impact Wrenches



## Jim (Dec 15, 2014)

Do those even work? Will they take the lugs off of my truck?


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## fool4fish1226 (Dec 15, 2014)

I have one (Cheap One from Harbor Freight) It will not take my lugs off. PS I had a crazy week will try and ship the 120 this week. :beer:


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## Jim (Dec 15, 2014)

fool4fish1226 said:


> I have one (Cheap One from Harbor Freight) It will not take my lugs off. PS I had a crazy week will try and ship the 120 this week. :beer:



Please, no rush!


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## keelme (Dec 15, 2014)

I have a snapon 1/2" drive 24v does pretty good but some lugs are hard to come off


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## JMichael (Dec 15, 2014)

I've got an older Black and Decker that works great. Although I've never tried it on lug nuts, I'm pretty confident that it would do a decent job with most lug nuts. I know I've got a cheap pneumatic impact that won't come close to the power the electric has. I use it mainly for driving big lag screws (½" x 6" and bigger) and I don't normally drill any pilot holes. It will bury them with the head flush or twist them off and never even seems to strain it. I used it last week to drill holes in a couple of tree stumps so I could burn them out. It would drive that 18" x 1" auger bit up to the hilt and never slow down. This one runs on 110/120.


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## fool4fish1226 (Dec 15, 2014)

JM would you try it on some lugs I would like to know if it works. Mine does feel strong but seems to lack the torque needed to break the lugs loose. If it does work I would get a black and decker, they are nice and beats rolling the air hose back up.


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## Moedaddy (Dec 15, 2014)

Most of them are for light duty work bu there are a few that are built tough and strong


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## JMichael (Dec 15, 2014)

fool4fish1226 said:


> JM would you try it on some lugs I would like to know if it works. Mine does feel strong but seems to lack the torque needed to break the lugs loose. If it does work I would get a black and decker, they are nice and beats rolling the air hose back up.


Sure thing. I'll test it on my truck tomorrow (might be late afternoon though) and let you know how it does. Keep in mind that I got this thing second hand back in 83 so there may be some difference in power one way or the other.


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## brittonp83 (Dec 16, 2014)

Dump the Black and Decker idea, you'll be throwing your money away. Look into Bosch, Milwaukee, and Hitachi cordless impacts, 18 volt.


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## SumDumGuy (Dec 16, 2014)

electric impact for lug nuts? Best to keep your pneumatic hose handy. Ever see an electric impact at a tire shop, doubtful.

Electric are great for light duty stuff and portability.


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## JMichael (Dec 16, 2014)

fool4fish1226 said:


> JM would you try it on some lugs I would like to know if it works. Mine does feel strong but seems to lack the torque needed to break the lugs loose. If it does work I would get a black and decker, they are nice and beats rolling the air hose back up.


OK, took the impact out and gave it a run at lug nuts. For reference, these lug nuts were put on over a year ago by the pneumatic impact at the tire store when I purchased the tires and haven't been touched since that day until this video. It did about like I expected. It's no speed demon, but it managed to remove all 5. You can judge for yourself how well it did. 

[youtube]pZNQDRzFGAY[/youtube]


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## KMixson (Dec 16, 2014)

SumDumGuy said:


> electric impact for lug nuts? Best to keep your pneumatic hose handy. Ever see an electric impact at a tire shop, doubtful.
> 
> Electric are great for light duty stuff and portability.



I agree 100%. Electric impacts are for light duty. There are even some pneumatics that are for light duty also. They may take the lugs off but I would not trust them for putting them back on. Go behind that impact with a lug wrench to make sure your lugs are tight. Your heart will sink if you are riding down the the road and you see your wheel pass you.


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## JMichael (Dec 16, 2014)

KMixson said:


> SumDumGuy said:
> 
> 
> > electric impact for lug nuts? Best to keep your pneumatic hose handy. Ever see an electric impact at a tire shop, doubtful.
> ...


Do you check/install all of yours with a torque wrench?


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## KMixson (Dec 16, 2014)

I have a very good 1/2" pneumatic impact gun that delivers 1000 foot pounds of loosening torque and up to 800 foot pounds of tightening torque on three settings. That is enough to break the studs if I tried. I have a rule that if the stud breaks it was no good to begin with. With cars and light trucks I use the medium setting. For medium sized trucks I use the high setting. For large trucks I use a 1" impact wrench.


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## JMichael (Dec 17, 2014)

I'll take that as a no. While I can't be certain about the rating of my older B&D 110v impact, I can see that current model electrics (both AC and DC) are generally rated at 350+ lbs of tightening torque. The recommended torque for the 12mm studs of the pre 2000 model F150 is 100 ft lbs. I think my electric impact is adequate. 

I'm not sure why, but a lot of people seem to think you have to jump on the end of a cheater bar with your full body weight to tighten lug nuts and get them to stay on. It doesn't take a baby silverback to tighten a lug nut. Recommended torque ranges from 65 ish for small cars to 160 for a 1 ton super duty truck. But when you get right down to it, if you're not using a torque wrench, then you're doing it wrong. FYI, I've never used a torque wrench on a lug nut in my life and I've also never had one come off in my life. 

https://www.discounttire.com/infoCenter/infoWheelTorque.html#ford2


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## KMixson (Dec 17, 2014)

I do not use a torque wrench now on every truck I work on. Back in my FedEx days we torqued every one of the delivery vans with a torque wrench. If I remember right it was 495 foot pounds. That is what I consider a small/medium size vehicle. I kind of use my judgement now with the impact guns on the different vehicles I work on. Technically you are supposed to use a torque wrench. I have never had one come off accidentally(knock on wood) as of yet and I have changed thousands of them.


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## Jim (Dec 17, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies. You guys are awesome. :USA1:


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## fool4fish1226 (Dec 17, 2014)

JMichael said:


> fool4fish1226 said:
> 
> 
> > JM would you try it on some lugs I would like to know if it works. Mine does feel strong but seems to lack the torque needed to break the lugs loose. If it does work I would get a black and decker, they are nice and beats rolling the air hose back up.
> ...



Thanks - Yours even sounds better then mine and again thanks for taking the time to do the video this place is great. :beer:


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## paper (Dec 17, 2014)

I have a Harbor Freight 1/2" electric (corded) Impact and a buddy and I are set up to change our own tires, as well as rotate.. So of course we end up doing some for friends, too.. 

I didn't have a lot of high hopes for the HF Impact, but of the hundreds of lug nuts we've used it on, it failed only once in removing two lugs on the same wheel.. It wouldn't budge them, and we broke a 2' breaker bar on them.. The owner took the truck to a full service garage and the only thing that removed the two in question was a nut splitter.

I paid $29 for the wrench and it came with an extra set of brushes.. We've used it at least monthly for 2 years without failure.. When installing lugs I run them up snug and then use a torque wrench for final tightening.. Chances are, the lugs that other wrenches are having trouble removing were severely over torqued to begin with.. :?


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## waterman (Dec 17, 2014)

My corded Makita 1/2" will snap wheel studs. It did on the key ski trailer anyway.


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## bcbouy (Dec 18, 2014)

we use them to bolt down/remove manhole covers.milwakee and dewalt make ok ones.they will work.


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## xpress442 (Dec 22, 2014)

I have a corded 1/2 impact that will a heck of alot more than I need it to. As well as a 20v cordless 1/4" dewalt impact driver that spin off lug nuts without to much trouble. But I go behind it with a wrench to finish the job. Definitely dont want to watch my tire pass me on the highway


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## xpress442 (Dec 22, 2014)

To finish retightening I mean.


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