Impact Wrench Advice

_RaT_ · Jul 28, 2004

I have had several electrics and still have a B&D. As handy as they are for construction for running lags etc. in a deck for example, the power regardless of whats specified is not even remotely close to a air impact. I get the feeling that the foot lbs, air or electric tend to either be exagerated or that the numbers drop significantly over time. I use my air routinely to remove a very stubborn set of 3/4" bolts on my toothbar. The electric won't touch them and the breaker bar is just time consuming.

Bird · Jul 28, 2004

( Bird..... do you still fix impact wrenches??? )

Nope, Junkman, I sold that business about 3 years ago. What model is that IR? I had a neighbor with an old IR231 that he said he'd had about 20 years and he didn't know about the grease fitting in the back end. Just shooting a lot grease in it make it work like he thought it should. Incidentally, I got several IR231s to fix after a mechanic tried to do it himself; one that had been damaged so badly by him trying to get it apart that it wasn't worth fixing. The manual shows an exploded view and how it comes apart, but doesn't tell you that at least three-fourths of the time, you'll have to heat the housing to get the air motor out. A propane torch is a frequently used tool in the air tool repair business.

JimR, is that CP a CP734? Very popular impact and rated at the same power as an IR231. A lot of mechanics prefer it to the IR because it's easier to reverse with the same hand you have on the handle. They are no more trouble to rebuild than the IR231; just have a lot more little pieces, and of course you need to keep the front end half full of motor oil (20W or 30W non-detergent recommended) or it'll break hammer pins and cam release springs.

KiotiJohn, I've no knowledge of the 12 volt models at all. It certainly sounds different and I can envisage a design that might work and would like to see if that's the way it's designed.

jrepp · Jul 28, 2004

Thanks to everyone who replied. Very fast and excellent information. I purchased an IR-2100G from Lowes. 1/2" 550 ft. lbs. torque, $140.00. How often should grease be injected into the wrench? I place two or three drops of oil in the air inlet each time I use the wrench, is this adequate?

Bird · Jul 28, 2004

Hmmm, your knowledge gets obsolete pretty fast when you get out of a business; I never heard of an IR2100G and there's no such model number on the Ingersoll-Rand web site (of course it is shown on Lowe's web site for $139; undoubtedly a good tool, but the picture doesn't show everything). So I'm not sure which style it is. Is the grease fitting (dimple in appearance) in the middle of the back of the housing? Generally speaking, a mechanic using an impact nearly every day should grease it about once a month. They will work without it, but you'd have premature wear internally. Too much grease usually cannot harm or damage the tool, but will reduce power until the surplus works its way out. Two or three drops of oil in the air inlet is OK; I usually say about a teaspoonful. And there's no such thing as too much, because any surplus will blow out the exhaust as soon as you hit the trigger. Give it a shot of oil and one short burst of air after you use it and before you put it away. That will displace any moisture and prevent corrosion if you don't use it again for a long time.

jrepp · Jul 28, 2004

Bird,

The dimple is in the front. No instructions in the manual about it /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif.

Bird · Jul 28, 2004

The IR231 has a little dimple with a little ball bearing in it, right in the middle of the back end of the tool. You need a needle nosed grease gun (or adapter) to push firmly against that little ball bearing and squirt the grease in. That greases the rear air motor bearing, and both the rotor and the anvil are hollow so grease goes through and out two small holes in the side of the anvil to grease the front air motor bearing and the hammers/hammer frame. The IR2131 has sealed bearings for the air motor and the rotor is not hollow, so that little grease fitting is on the side of the front housing and you grease it the same way, but you're just putting the grease into the housing for the hammers/hammer frame to pick up as it turns. Now it sounds as if that IR2100G is similar to the 2131.

RayH · Jul 28, 2004

Dont put the credit card away until you get a set of impact sockets. A good quality impact wrench will bust through a regular set of sockets in no time. For a decent set of metric and standard (yes you will need both at some point) youre going to pay at least $150.
Ive got a Craftsman wrench. I havent been a huge fan of Craftsman for a few years but this has been a good wrench. It is one of their top of the line impacts with 600 ft.lbs though and was priced good.

Junkman · Jul 28, 2004

I just checked and it is a IR 904 model. I noticed a Allan screw at the bottom next to the air line nipple that is marked oil. I removed it and there is a small slotted screw under there inside of the handle cavity. Do you remove this small screw to put the oil in or do you just put it into the handle cavity once the Allan screw is removed? I didn't see any place to put grease. Is there a place to grease this gun? What type of grease do you use? Is Marvel Mystery Oil OK for use in the handle? Thanks for the help. Hopefully some oil and grease will bring new life to this old tool. I was looking at the end where the socket goes on. It is also worn to the point that the part that retains the socket is worn down to nothing and the sides of the 1/2" drive are rounded to some extent. Is it time to retire this to the metal pile??? Are they worth repairing and are parts still available???

Bird · Jul 28, 2004

You've stumped me with that one, Junkman. I worked on a few antiques and usually could find parts, but I did run across a couple for which parts were no longer available. But I've never seen or heard of an IR904. Some of the other IR models have that Allen screw in the handle with about a 1" cylinder of some kind of felt or fiber material that you soak with oil and a sort of siphoning effect makes something of an automatic oiler of it. But the ones of those I've seen didn't have a screw in there. As for Marvel Mystery Oil, I know a lot of people who used it with no ill effects that I know of, but Marvel Air Tool Oil is what I used. Of course I got it by the quart which would probably be a lifetime supply for most folks. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Does that tool have another oil plug on the side? If so, that will be the one that is supposed to have motor oil in it. The ones that have the motor oil in them do not use grease. Or is there one of the little dimple/ball bearing grease fittings anywhere on it? ( the part that retains the socket is worn down to nothing ) Are you talking about a little metal split ring? If so, it's actually called the "socket retainer ring" and under it is a "socket retainer O-ring" (a rubber ring that may be round like most o-rings or may be flat like a tiny rubber band). Those two parts cost $.30 to $1.00 each unless they're on a Snap-On and then about $3. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif And they're easy to change, but I learned that most mechanics don't know how. ( the sides of the 1/2" drive are rounded to some extent ) That's called the "anvil" and I sure replaced lots of them when they either got rounded or chipped. I don't know whether a new one would be available or not. It's my guess that it would not be worth the expense to fix, but you might contact an authorized Ingersoll-Rand service center and they could find out from Ingersoll-Rand whether parts are available and if so, get a copy of the parts list and exploded view. I think Ingersoll has those for everything they make. I sure would like to see some pictures of that tool.

Junkman · Jul 28, 2004

Here is the picture of the end plate. I started to remove the 4 Allan screws to see if the "dot" in the middle was a grease fitting. After I had 3 of them out, and started to remove the 4th, I noticed that there was spring tension trying to push the plate off. Not wanting to deal with something I know nothing about, I put the screws back in. I did try pushing on the "dot" with a pick, but it wouldn't move.