impact wrench tech

RenegadeT

RenegadeT

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Do impact guns lose their torque potential? I have a Husky that is supposed to generate 500ft.lbs, but it wouldnt budge a pinion nut. I brought it over to DK's and his Craftsman Professional model zipped the nut right off. My compressor says 6.4 scfm @90 psi, his is 6.5. Mine was dialed up to the max 130psi, I think his was too, 135 psi. I started wondering about my impact after I couldnt get a pitman arm off with a puller. I have some tool oil, but am pretty bad about using it, would that help?
 
I have been told to keep the PSI under 120 on most impacts because you can blow the seals out. Never seen it in writing but that's what I have been told.

CFM usually means more than PSI, my home compressor puts out around 6.5 cfm @ 90 psi. At work we have 3 industrial compressors, I'm guessing we have a constant 15+ cfm @ 90 psi at work. I swear my gun is way stronger at work... At home if you can use the gun while the motor is running, you can tell a difference.

Oil them every time you use them - 10 drops or so. Some models have a small allen bolt on the side of the housing, remove this allen bolt and oil the same. Some models have a small grease fitting in the front of the housing, this needs to be greased every so many hours of use (At home, once a year is normal, at a shop every 2 months or so) - refer to the owners manual.

Now, if it hasn't been properly oiled, yes it will lose it's power, eventually to the point where it won't turn at all.

You can try to oil it run it (under no load), oil it run it, X a few and see what happens, sometimes it helps.

Depending on what model it is, you can order rebuild kits for them.

You get what you pay for with impacts, I had a cheap Cambell Hausfield that didn't last long under use. For the $ the IR 231 is a good buy.
 
I have a IR and it has gotten weaker over the years. We run our compressor pretty high around 150psi. Never had a issue with seals or anything of that matter. At Toyota we ran the comressor around 130 and we needed more.
There are different greases for composite and standard air tools. I know my IR takes composite grease and all the others take the standard. 10 drops is a lot of oil. If you oil it everyday or everytime you use it 3 drops or air tool oil or ATF will be plenty, if it sits in you tool box for over a month esp in damp conditions then use more. Another thing to make you air tools live longer and run stronger, drain the tank everyday!!!
They wear just like everything thing else. There is a option for more power out of that gun. Pull it apart and port and polish it. I've seen half inch guns almost outpower 3/4 gun when run off the same air line, it makes a huge difference.
 
Take the hit on weight and get a magn. or alu. body gun. They will last longer and the housing will not deform as bad over time, esp if they just sit in a box and get used once a month. The IR comp are great guns just wear out fast, I send out 2 or 3 a week to get freshened up to get them back to there org specs. The biggest thing to remeber as stated before, it's volume not always pressure. Use bigger lines and high flow fittings will also help. The other thing to remeber is that on the ratings it never gives the details( size line style fittings etc. etc), they could not have an air fitting inline and that is a huge air restirtion.
 
Start with oiling it. That typically has a huge impact on performance, especially if you never do it. Then go get a good IR impact and don't worry about it anymore. A lot of the tq numbers out there are greatly inflated (probably husky's).
 
How big of an air tank does your compressor have? If your gun sucks the tank down before it can get some good hits on it it doesnt matter how big your gun is. The air fitting going in to the gun will restrict it also. I have a 2135 IR that ive used daily for about 3 years now and i love it. But snap-on has a new 1/2" gun with Either 1100 or 1200 ft/lbs and its like $375. That will be my next gun. I use a 3/4" CP gun for some stubborn crank bolts but that snap-on gun would allow me to put that huge gun away for ever.
 
25 gallon. It gets plenty of good hits before the motor kicks on to refill the tank. The hose is like 50' of 3/8 hose with a "standard" quick disconnect fitting on both ends. I used to be happy with this impact gun when it was newer.

I think I'll oil it, see if it gets the next pinion nut off. Maybe stop by Home Depot and see about getting a seal kit and rebuild it, then keep it oiled. I did notice the impact says oil daily.
 
Not to highjack but I would stay away from that Snap On impact. I had one at the shop for several months and it was strong don't get me wrong but the trigger still sticks like the 2 previous model 1/2" impacts. Snap On air tools are not any where close to snap on hand tools. Stick with the 2135, I've had mine the last 5 years and it still hits hard and would take it any day of the POS snap on.
Oil the gun several times and let it work in everywhere before you buy a seal kit, it will improve.
 
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