Air Impact Wrench

[Jeff396]

You make me feel a lot better for spending the extra hundred bucks on this model. Seemed like the best without going crazy for a 3/4 inch drive. I did realize that Sears had a clone but I think it had a chrome case which turned me off so I spent the extra 10 or 20 bucks on the real thing. I am still puzzled to the question on another thread of how you torque the mower blades to 300 ft lbs. I can barely manage the 140 ft lbs on my truck and there I can lean on it and I don't have the problem of it trying to move on me.

Jeff

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Is this the one you're talking about?</font color=blue>

Mike, that picture has an extra "cushion grip" on the handle I haven't seen on the others, but yes, the IR2131 is what we're talking about.

Now I'll tell you a rumor I've heard (and you know how much rumors are worth). I've heard that Harbor Freight Salvage can sell name brand stuff cheaper because they buy bulk quantities of "factory seconds"; i.e., those that did not pass all the quality control checks, and that the only warranty is from Harbor Freight Salvage; not the manufacturer. Personally, I find that a bit hard to believe and I've not even tried to verify or refute the rumor.

I do know, for example, that at least some of the Craftsman air compressors are made by DeVilbiss (has a plate right one them with the information), and DeVilbiss will NOT warranty them because they sell them in large quantities to Sears and Sears provides the warranty.

And my latest Harbor Freight catalog is Winter '99 when the IR2131 was $179.99./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[TerryinMD]

Mike,

Well, you are certainly getting a lot of good info. Here's what I promised.

My compressor is a Campbell-Hausfeld 5hp 120v, 22 gal vertical tank with the following pressure specs - 6.9 scfm @40, 5.5@90 with 125 max psi.

The 1/2 impact wrench is not what I said (good thing that I said that I'd check - old timers disease ya know... /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif). It's a DeVilbiss ATP10 with the following specs - 400 ft/lbs @ 7000rpm, 90psi max working pressure, typical air and hose fittings and sizes, min CFM of 90psi is 6.6 CFM (25%) usage. Really don't know what the last spec is but my CFM is 5.5 so I suppose I'm not using the tool optimumly. It has four torque settings - #1 - 239, #2 - 308, #3 - 320, #4 - 400. However, it gets the job done with a minimum investment.

I picked up the compressor at Home Depot last fall for $250 and it had a nice starter set of air tools included - 3/8' impact wrench, spray gun, air chisel, hose, and some basic fittings. Hard to pass up on a deal like that.... Since I do not use the compressor that much, it kinda fits in with some of the advice that Bird passed along. If I was using it day-in-and-day-out, I would have bought a better unit.

Terry

 

[Bird]

Terry, I guess that's the direct drive oilless compressor? Sounds like the same one TSC has in their catalog for $279.99; same specs except their catalog shows a 28 gallon tank. Sounds like you got a good deal.

 

[TerryinMD]

Bird,

Yes, it's an oilless compressor. I would have to look at the literature to verify it being a direct drive. I'll defer to your assessment. Yes, it was a very good deal. That's why I couldn't pass it up. From what I understand, it was a "left-over" promotional deal. I believe it may have been reduced $50-60.

Terry

 

[cp1969]

The IR2131 is $158 at www.thetoolwarehouse.net

It is by far the strongest 1/2" impact I've ever used, so did I buy one? Of course not; I thought the IR231 would be plenty strong and it was a few bucks cheaper.

Big mistake.

 

[Bird]

<font color=blue>Big mistake</font color=blue>

Why was it a mistake? Sure, the 2131 is the top of the line, a newer style, and a little more power, but I believe the 231 is still the most popular 1/2" impact there is; hard to find a professional garage that doesn't have at least one of them. And besides, that's what I'm still using./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

 

[cp1969]

Bird, many occasions I've had it fail to loosen nuts that I'm certain the IR2131 would have had no problem with. In fact, it wouldn't even loosen the lug nuts on my car once. Admittedly they were overtightened, but that wrench should break off a car lug if you wanted it to.

Maybe mine's a dud or something, but the IR2131 I used belonged to a friend that owned the school buses for our school district. I used to help him work on them occasionally and I never saw his 2131 fail to break a bolt loose.

 

[Bird]

cp1969, I've never seen a dud in an IR231, but I've repaired/rebuilt more than 50 of them, and the IR231 with the 2" (long) anvil is without a doubt the most popular impact wrench in the tire shops, so it would be very rare to find a lug nut it wouldn't remove.

First thing is how long has it been since it was greased? Use a needle nosed grease gun and put the grease into that dimple in the middle of the back end. Naturally Ingersoll recommends their own grease and that's what I use, but any grease is better than none. And pump a lot in if you haven't been doing that regularly; it has to fill the cavity around the rear bearing, go through the rotor into and out the two holes in the anvil to get to the hammers. That alone usually make a considerable difference. Then apply plenty of air tool oil through the air intake.

If that doesn't restore it to good working condition, you need a tune-up kit. They make two; the 231-TK3 includes new bearings (about $20) while the 231-TK2 does not (about $15). Both include new gaskets, rotor blades, and O-rings. If the cylinder is badly scarred, it needs to be honed with a brake cylinder hone. And it's possible the end plates need re-surfacing. If you have it done, labor should run about $25. That of course is assuming nothing is actually broken; only worn out.

If you'd like to do it yourself, I'll be glad to walk you through it via private e-mail (or the telephone). One thing they don't tell you is that about half or them (or maybe more than half) require that you heat the housing with something like a propane torch before you can slide the air motor out. And it's very easy to let that tiny little detent ball and/or the spring shoot across the shop to never be seen again./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif They're cheap to buy, but are not included in the tune-up kit.

 

[RoyJackson]

many occasions I've had it fail to loosen nuts that I'm certain the IR2131 would have had no problem with. In fact, it wouldn't even loosen the lug nuts on my car once.

This might be obvious, but any air tool should get two or three drops of oil (there is a special oil for air tools, but I always used 3 in 1 oil or sewing machine oil)in the male QD fitting prior to use.
That's 2 or 3 drops! Any more, it'll spray oil.

Also, maybe it's not the impact wrench...might be the air supply. Most portable home air compressors do fine for the pressure requirements but may lack on the volume (CFM) required.
Also, there is a certain pressure loss in the hose...especially if there is more then one hose rigged up between the compressor and air tool. Pneumatic drills aren't so bad, but impact wrenches and rivet guns suffer.

By the way, if you do rebuild the impact wrench, do not ever hook the air hose to it for any reason! I was rebuilding a drill motor and did hook the hose up...trying to push out a stuck part. One little blast of air sent most of the innards all over the airframes shop on the Saratoga (CV-60 or better known as "The Suckin' 60 from Dixie")