Good Impact Wrench for Working on Tractors

[BrianDT]

I am looking for a good impact wrench that does not have me with a lone set of batteries for it. I know snap on and Ingersol rand make good ones, but are they better than Dewalt or Milwaukee? I just cannot see that they are that much better other than priced higher. I want something to remove tires, add duals, and complete anything that might invole the repair of an older tractor, including possibly splitting it.

Leaning to the Dewalt mostly due to this article.

Dewalt 20v MAX XR Brushless 1/2? Impact Wrench Review | Workshop Addict - Wood & Metal Forum

What do you gentleman have and use or think of the Dewalt?

 

[tman1020]

I use a Bosh half-inch drive 18 V impact. It's great for light duty things but it has nowhere near the power of an air impact. I'll grab the air when I need more power but even sometimes I find that's not enough. I looked up the specs on the air impact I use and I'm only at around 500 foot pounds of torque. This new DeWalt with 700 foot-pounds is definitely on my want list. I have their 20 volt kit and have been very impressed with it so far. I also have the XR brushless framing nailer and find it much nicer in the past load cordless nailers I was previously using.

Buy it try it and tell us how you like it.

 

[BrianDT]

Maybe I am reading it wrong, but it is 700 foot pounds of fastening and 1,200 foot pounds when removing a bolt.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I have a 1/2" 18V DeWalt Impact wrench and find it very useful. It works great for lug nuts on my truck to rotate tires, driving lag bolts into wood and mower blade changes without having to drag a cord around, where it really shines is changing out sweeps on a 60 tine field cultivator.

It's not as powerful as some air impacts but what I can't crack loose with my cordless or air impact I use a 3/4" breaker bar and cheater pipe, then spin it off with the impact.

 

[tractchores]

I use the dewalt for my tractor / trailers / trucks. It works pretty good, I haven't had issues where I couldn't get something off. I use it to remove my wheels and spacers for summer, which also involves taking the lug bolts off (huge pain). Air ones give more power if you have very big bolts or something like that, but for what I do at least they'd be overkill.

 

[BrianDT]

I have a 1/2" 18V DeWalt Impact wrench and find it very useful. It works great for lug nuts on my truck to rotate tires, driving lag bolts into wood and mower blade changes without having to drag a cord around, where it really shines is changing out sweeps on a 60 tine field cultivator.

It's not as powerful as some air impacts but what I can't crack loose with my cordless or air impact I use a 3/4" breaker bar and cheater pipe, then spin it off with the impact.

No offense. This is exactly what I do not want. I want a impact that will do all the work needed. I would hope the 1,200 ft pounds would do it?

 

[Industrial Toys]

I think your asking too much. I heard great things about the snap-on cordless impacts. But pricey! AND you would end up with the lone set of batteries! Only the Industrial pricey impacts seem to have the truly impressive performance from what I have heard.

 

[tman1020]

Maybe I am reading it wrong, but it is 700 foot pounds of fastening and 1,200 foot pounds when removing a bolt.

No you are reading it correctly that is the specs it's supposed to be extremely powerful.

 

[Coyote machine]

If you want true torque to remove old rusty bolts and such, either get a professional grade tool like Snap-on, or use an air driven impact. There is a limit as to what you can expect from cordless tools. DeWalt does have a great 24V line of cordless tools, but it may not do 'everything' you want with no exceptions. And if it won't do what you want it to do maybe you ARE expecting too much from the tool, regardless of brand. Breaker bars and cheater pipes have their place in bolt removal. So do heat wrenches; ask any good mechanic.

 

[Clay45]

Brian,

I have a Ryobi P261 that uses their new Lithium-ion batteries and I love it. But it only produces 300# of torque. After that I pull out a good wrench if I want it tighter or if its too tight to break loose. When that's the case I clean up the threads good and use thread compound upon reassembly. Permits the little wrench to run up tight and then break loose easier later. I especially enjoy using it to remove and reinstall my zero-turn mower blades. And the new One+ batteries last a looooong time but recharge pronto. My palm sander, drill, and screw/nut driver also use the same batteries.

If you already own a bunch of DeWalt cordless tools that use the same battery configuration and chemistry and you're happy with them I suggest you stick with them. Or Milwaukee. Just don't expect a lightweight cordless electric to have the punch an air tool does.