[zz71s]

Who makes a good impact wrench
That will not break the bank
thanks

[russcomp]

i have a few ,,they are older so i'm lurkin this ....oh i have kept my cheapies going ,but i don't beat on them

[sprecher48]

I've always had real good luck with Ingersol-Rand,I bought 2 in the mid to late seventies.I still have them,rebuilt once but well worth the few bucks extra. Tom

[awert]

You get what ya pay for here, I would never buy one if the price was $50 or less. Just watch the torque rating, I now have IR after 3 or 4 cheapies i have since thrown out.........

[matt167]

I have a 1/2" Harbor Freight brand which works decent for most stuff.. it's rated for 250 Ft/lbs.. my dad has a 1" Dayton tools brand and it's rated at 750 Ft/lbs and it will break almost anything loose. Harbor freight has an Earthshaker line of impacts that I'v heard are decent, but at there prices going into the hundreds now, it does not make sense to buy them when good brands are not much more.

[JeffB]

Campbell Hausefeld has a professional series 1/2" Drive rated @ 450 ft lbs,I have had one for 6 years no problems! Check their website for more info.around $60-$80.

[oldred]

That HF impact wrench is called "earthquake" and it is a good one, one of the real bargains that HF has. HF has some junk impacts and I do mean JUNK! At a sale price of 10 or 12 bucks for a 1/2 impact wrench I don't see how anyone could expect to get much but those things sell like crazy according to what I was told at the HF here in Knoxville Tn. If a tool is selling for little more than it would bring for it's weight in scrap metal that should tell a person something but people buy those junky things anyway. The "Earthquake" impact wrenches are not cheap compared to the regular HF line but at about $100 regular price or $80 on sale, which it is quite often, they are priced well below what you would pay for a big name brand. These things are a knock-off (or is that rip-off? ) of the Ingersoll Rand "Thunder Gun" impact wrench and they perform quite close to the IR but at about half the price. They probably are not anywhere near the IR in quality but they do seem to hold up good, I have had mine several years now and it has been trouble free plus it is a real brute for torque!

[1969NovaSS]

I've used one of the cheap hf guns when i first started getting air tools and it couldn't even remove the lug nut on my car. I then bought a craftsman unit that would barely remove the lug nuts on a super duty. I now have the new IR Ti max with the muffler. Its the best gun I've ever used! 1100ft lbs and it sdounds like an electric drill! I will never cheap out on those again.

[SteveU]

For about 140 or so the Aircat wrenches are powerful and are Quiet. I have a Nitrocat which is rated at 86 db that will take off or break off anything on a car or light truck. One day just for giggles I got under my 84 dodge ram pickup & removed one of the large bolts that holds the bumper to the frame to see if it would do it.. it did no problem even though never lubed or removed the rust prior to taking it off. Doesn't even bother to hammer on lugnuts torqued to 100 ft lbs when removing them. I really like a quiet wrench when I have to do something in the shop, cuts down on noise reflecting off the walls & ceiling.

[jon72vega]

I have a IR 2135 TI that I bought used on Fleabay a couple of years ago. It's been a very good value for me.
I use it only occasionally, but it removes lug nuts without any hesitation.
It replaced a new Craftsman that could not remove a lug nut even after 20 seconds of trying.

[GypsyR]

One shop where I work has an Ingersoll 231 that has been about beat to death, still works fine.
My brother in law has been happily using his 231 at work for five years.
I bought one a year ago that I use every day. It has the right balance of power for me. Strong enough to bust about everything I normally do but not so strong that it breaks stuff.
A co-worker had a THundergun for a while. It would certainly knock bolts off but it was too loud, a bit heavy, and a bit stronger than necessary for regular automotive service. I tried it for a while and that's what I thought about it.
A plus to a 231 (and some other Ingersolls) is that you can buy "tune up kits" for them that replace the internals that wear should you use it long enough.
Beware the 231's with rubber handles. They are more comfortable than the bare metal ones but the rubber softens a bit with repeated exposure to oil. This causes it to loosen up on the gun. You can still use the gun normally, it's just annoying. Most 231's don't have the rubber handles though.

[jimfulco]

I like my IR 231, too. One of the best $125's I ever spent.

[IRguy]

Originally Posted by oldred

These things are a knock-off (or is that rip-off? ) of the Ingersoll Rand "Thunder Gun" impact wrench and they perform quite close to the IR but at about half the price. They probably are not anywhere near the IR in quality but they do seem to hold up good, I have had mine several years now and it has been trouble free plus it is a real brute for torque!

Patent expired for the 231-series impact a couple years ago. We tried to re-new the patent but it was denied. Many knockoffs of multiple degrees of quality out there now. The 'Thundergun' and it's model number 232 were designed with higher RPM for racing vs the 231. Other than that most the internals are the same.

[jcclark]

Food for thought.

I switched my air fittings to larger 3/8" ones for my spray equipment
and just to keep everything the same, I also switched them on my
Sears impact wrench too.
I couldn't believe the difference it made, I have much more torque now.
The female disconnect of a std 1/4" fitting has a hole inside about
half the size of the fitting inlet, that's the bottleneck.
A bigger hose didn't make a difference but the new fittings sure did.
So if you're not getting the torque you think you should,
try the bigger fittings.
Home Depot has a 3/8" kit for about $10.00,
it connects to the std 1/4" air hose ends.

[russcomp]

Originally Posted by jcclark

Food for thought.

I switched my air fittings to larger 3/8" ones for my spray equipment
and just to keep everything the same, I also switched them on my
Sears impact wrench too.
I couldn't believe the difference it made, I have much more torque now.
The female disconnect of a std 1/4" fitting has a hole inside about
half the size of the fitting inlet, that's the bottleneck.
A bigger hose didn't make a difference but the new fittings sure did.
So if you're not getting the torque you think you should,
try the bigger fittings.
Home Depot has a 3/8" kit for about $10.00,
it connects to the std 1/4" air hose ends.

air tool has to have the cfm to