Craftsman Impact wrench

[Lanse]

i used WD40 from an oil can-2 or 3 drops or so. Hey, wait, thats flammable, right

 

[Superduper]

i used WD40 from an oil can-2 or 3 drops or so. Hey, wait, thats flammable, right

That seems to be the right amount, certainly in no way can be considered over-oiling. I don't think WD-40 is the proper product. Any of the commercially available air tool oil should work fine and they look like light grade motor oil to me. I'd bet my 2cents that the problem is somewhere else. Are you sure the air is getting to the tool? If so, I'd bring it back. Sears has a fairly liberal return policy. No impact wrench worth it's salt should have little or no power on loose bolts.

 

[Lanse]

everything (elce) works fine, air ratchet does an exelent job, and the blow gun will splatter my face with grease from arms lenght. I used what i had with me at the time. BTW what about 3-in-1 oil???

 

[mpegg]

On most impacts there is a dial that you set for the amount of power you want. Make sure its turned up. Most craftsman's impacts have from 1 to 4 for a setting, also make sure the valve that changes direction is all the way pushed in and not in the middle, that can cause that too.

 

[Dyer retired]

i used WD40 from an oil can-2 or 3 drops or so. Hey, wait, thats flammable, right

Lanse,

I don't know if this had anything to do with your problem, but I recall that a Nationwide alert went out to Police organizations originated by the California Highway Patrol (don't quote me, but I seem to recall it being CHP) regarding the particular weapon they were using at the time malfunctioning at an alarming rate. Slide mechanisms were seizing, or gumming up and, of course they felt that it was a manufacturing problem. Another alert quickly followed the first alert, notifying agencies that investigation showed the firearms to be fine. Range instructors and CHP personnel had been using WD 40 as a lubricant on the weapons. After a time, the WD 40 was shellacking, or gumming up. Once that was determined to be the cause of the failures and regular gun lubricant was properly used, the weapons operated normally. Is it at all possible that this is what you are experiencing? Dyer, retired

 

[Matt_Jr]

Lanse, I've been an automotive technician for over 10 years, owned craftsman, snap-on, Matco, and Ingersol-rand. MY IR2131 lasted over 6 years of VERY HEAVY abuse until I loaned to someone that used it as a hammer returned it in a useless manner. I've added oil to the point where the tires got sprayed and needed wiped off after taking off the lug nuts. If I had a really rusty bolt that my guns wouldn't take off or using them with a ball joint press or bearing press I would squirt some air tool grease into the nipple and got more power chased with a couple ounces of oil. I always use either air tool oil or trans fluid. NOT penatrating oil. It's too light. Won't hurt anything but the thicker trans fluid or air tool oil seals the veins in the tool better and gives you more power. I've done this hundreds if not thousands of times and never had a problem. The point I'm trying to make is that too much oil won't hurt your gun. None will kill it. As for pressure 90 will make it last longer. Most industial compressors cut off at 175 psi and back on at 145 psi. I'm the only one in my shop that regulates my air tools to 90 psi. If I need more power I temporarily turn up the pressure. As for Impact guns buy one worth keeping in your tool box. Craftsman is okay for homeowners and diyers but for professionals go for IR. I now currently own a Matco version of an IR called the mt1769q which is the quitest, lightest, and most powerfull 1/2" gun I've ever used on it's 2nd year of abuse and still works as good as new, and I abuse it 5-6 days a week. I also have a brand new snap on that just sits in my tool box for back up...just in case. But too heavy and loud for my taste to use all the time. sorry for the book.

 

[Bird]

I think the other contributors have pretty well covered the answers, but . . .

1. When you say too much oil, are you talking about oil in the front end of the housing; i.e., in the impact assembly? If so, ideally it should be half full of SAE 20W or 30W non-detergent motor oil. If you remove the plug, set the tool upside down on the bench, and turn it so the fill hole is at 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock, it should be filled to that level.

2. Or when you say too much oil, are you talking about the oil you put into the air intake? If so, ideally it would be air tool oil which is a very light weight oil. Many people use ATF, Marvel Mystery oil, machine oil, etc. Not ideal, but usually work satisfactorily. If you put motor oil in the air intake, it needs to be flushed out. A teaspoonful of solvent such as your parts washer solvent is adequate and should be followed by air tool oil. Just air tool oil alone can also flush it out if you do it 2 or 3 times. You cannot harm the tool with too much air tool oil into the air intake. It might be a bit messy, but the surplus will simply, and pretty quickly, be blown out the exhaust.

3. The tool is "rated" at 90 psi; i.e., that's the pressure at which it will produce its rated torque. But as others have mentioned, that's a flowing pressure and in order to have that pressure, you need your pressure regulator set to 100 psi or more. I don't know anyone who bothers turning down the pressure on their compressors at all. If you have 150-175 psi, the impact will have more power than its "rating" and you might break something. You will also wear out the tool sooner if you're using it all the time. Personally, my compressor maintains 135-155 psi and I run it wide open for my IR231 impact, but my impact is only seldom used now so it'll probably outlast me.

4. You can usually use a half inch impact with a quarter inch hose, but you'll have more power with the 3/8" hose.

So . . ., if it's oil in the impact assembly, drain some out, turn up your air pressure, and get a larger hose, and you should be good to go.

And of course, we're all assuming (yep, could be wrong) that you have a model with oil in the impact assembly instead of a model with grease. Too much grease in the impact assembly will not hurt a tool, but will reduce power until some of it works its way out.

 

[638]

WD40 contains a wax. Continued use will gum up the works. Use ATF or 3n1 oil for best operation.

ron

 

[Bird]

Oops, I overlooked some posts before I posted the above response. WD-40 is used as a lubricant in many cases, but it's actually a solvent rather than a lubricant; just fine to flush out an air tool but should immediately be followed by air tool oil. Real air tool oil is a lightweight gum solvent oil, and it's cheap enough that I can't understand why anyone would take a chance on using something else. You only need 2 or 3 drops at a time, and while many people add oil before using an air tool, it's just as important, or more so, to add oil and one brief burst of air after using the tool. That will displace any moisture in the tool and prevent corrosion.

And of course, while it's relatively rare, there actually have been cases of brand new air tools (as with most products) that were defective when they were sold, so it is possible that you simply got a bad tool.

 

[Lanse]

Thanks for your help guys, i got a thing of air tool oil from sears today, gave it a few drops and spun it for a minuite. It sure does better now!!!