Impact Gun

Dewalt has a large construction user base and a lot of their stuff is built for construction use. And some specifics, nail guns, wire ties, etc. Milwaukee has the 3/8" ratchets and some other snap on variations.

 

Ah, sorry I misunderstood. I thought you were talking specifically about the impact guns.

 

Oh I did but like I had posted in the Other Thread about cordless impacts I have used Dewalt cordless tools for over 15 years and have never had one fail on me.
I did buy three 18V Lithium Ion batteries to replace the Nicads at one point since they are better in every way.
I do have Milwaukee 18V Fuel tools for work. Since I didn't pay for them it's fine by me. I don't really see a difference except the color of the plastic.

Any brand is better than dragging a cord around.

 

I'm split between the DeWalt DCF899HB (hog ring anvil) and the DCF899P1 (detent anvil). From what I understand its the same drill (power) just different mounting options. What are the pros and cons between hog ring and detent for automotive application?

 

Marketing


though DeWalt is lacking the cordless ratchet option, which is disappointing. If I was starting from scratch I'd probably buy into the milfawkees instead

 

Be careful man. I got a brushless Makita impact driver and those things are crazy strong. First....both of the below examples are my fault, so it may never happen to you.
First thing I broke was using it to secure the radiator overflow box on my wife's Altima. Screwed it down to much and broke the plastic tab!
Second thing I broke....Taking the flywheel inspection plate on my Tacoma and snapped the freakin bolt head off! Damit! Like a dumbass, I thought I had it switched to loosen when it was turning right. Before I knew it, it snapped the head off the bolt. Had to go to Lowe's and get an extractor.

 

Been using my ridgid for about 6 months now. Haven’t had any issues. Don’t really use mine to tighten fasteners.

 

Unless you're putting new track pads on a CAT 390, an impact driver / wrench should NEVER be used to tighten fasteners, especially, especially, ESPECIALLY lugnuts!!!!!

 

Eh. I pretty much only use an impact driver and gun for almost everything. Drywall screws? Impact driver. Taking apart plastic products? Impact driver. Nearly any bolt on the truck? Impact gun.

Now, I don’t go balls to the wall unless the situation calls for it. I’m not running lug nuts on to 100 ugga duggas in high setting. But I wouldn’t make a sweeping comment that you should never use an impact on some certain type of fastener.

 

Fair comment, by "Impact" I mean a mechanic's impact gun, NOT a 1/4" driver, which I didn't articulate very clearly. What I meant was, for mechanic-ing, using 3/8, 1/2, or 3/4" square anvil impact "guns", they should only be used for removing fasteners. Pretty much every single fastener on your vehicle has a specified torque, and it's really easy to run past that, even on a low range. In short: Impact wrench for removal, ratchet and torque wrench for installation.

 

Same here, if we’re to buy again I’d definitely go miluwakee.
I’ve always bought dewalt. My dad always used dewalt when I was a kid, We still have a set of old school ones retired for use on small wood work projects now, at least 10 years old if not older and still kick ass, other than the batteries died out.
But my last dewalt drill set I bought for work only 2.5 years ago is kinda crappy. I even bought the “USA made” version and had to take apart the hammer drill to fix the trigger, the chuck doesn’t hold for shit, and now lately the LED only works when it wants to. Nothing major for the hammer drill, it gets the job done but I don’t believe they are nearly what they used to be. Also the impact gun has the 3 speed which is nice sometimes for small stuff like installing doors or something. But for the past year it will randomly just want to stay in speed one no matter what the selector is on and I just have to pull the old give it a light bump until it wants to start working right.
Also a 2 year old multi tool just crapped out of nowhere a couple months ago.
I can’t say Maluwakee is much better as I’ve never used them but from what I’ve heard they are over taking the game with successful quality tools. Where dewalt is just selling on name now instead of integrity of quality tools.

 

Been happy with this one so far.

 

My Milwaukee impact gun has three torque settings. One of the settings produces very consistent torques just below the 93 ft-lbs called for by Toyota for the lug nuts. So, I use the impact gun every time and then follow up with the torque wrench for final torque. Otherwise, you are sitting there all day spinning a wrench.

 

I've been using the Rigid 18v lineup for years and never had an issue with a tool. Out of 10 or so batteries I've only had to warranty a couple of them. The process was mostly painless as long as you register them when purchased. The 1/2" X4 impact gun has been great and I use it a lot. I do wish they had a cordless ratchet option like Milwaukee.

 

Damn that sounds nice. My DeWalt just came in, variable speed but not variable torque...

 

Got the same one, works great

 

Another positive experience with the Milwaukee impacts here. I have the 3/8 stubby impact and the big bad 1400# 1/2 impact. After doing the front end suspension by hand I decided to give them a go.. wish I had done this YEARS ago! Really makes wrenching more enjoyable and SO MUCH FASTER.

As mentioned before, there are a few options for torque on each of the impacts that let you work safely without worrying about damaging anything, you just come in and do a final torque with a torque wrench. As for getting things off, these things don’t break a sweat. It’s stupid easy and quick to remove things.

I also picked up their M12 fuel 3/8 ratchet, and that thing kicks ass in much the same way. I would highly recommend those three tools for anyone who likes to do their own wrenching but is looking to get some assistance from power tools, and if you’re on the fence about it don’t be.. it’s so much more efficient than turning things by hand and struggling with breaker bars and cheater pipes and split knuckles.

I’ll end my rant with this one last thing; I worked with crap tools and an insufficient tool set for a long time, and have only recently started investing in higher quality stuff. Worth every damn penny.

 

See attached

 

Agree on all counts; I'm slowly building up quite a respectable collection of Milwaukee tools, and the 3/8 ratchet and two impacts (I got my stubby in 1/2 just to simplify socket accounting) are my go-to tools for mechanic-ing, 'though to be totally frank, I don't get a lot of use out of the big bruiser; the stubby, with 250 ft-lbs does 99% of the work on a passenger vehicle. I was pulling final drives out of an old (50s era) Bucyrus-Erie shovel, and Big Red spun those 7/8" bolts out of there without even breaking a sweat!

 

time is money, you really think if im slinging tires all day im going to put 32 lug nuts on by hand. not.