Help a newbie: air tools & compressor

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08HoeCD

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Alright. I want to outfit my garage with an impact wrench and a compressor to drive it. I have 3 vehicles in the family and it's time to do more more stuff on my own rather than paying a shop because I lack the tools.

Please recommend impact wrench specs and compressor specs for a guy to rotate tires, replace brake rotors & pads, suspension components, etc.

Thanks
 

MadDogDelpho

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Ditto. Moving in with another gearhead next semester and one of these would definitely help.
 

iamdub

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Don't short yourself with the compressor. So many times I've seen this because someone figures they'd rarely use it, so they get a tiny little POS that ends up being undersized and, therefore, virtually useless until it works itself to death. Impacts are moderately hungry tools, so you need as much tank volume as you can reasonably accommodate and afford. Belt-driven compressors are more efficient, fill faster, run quieter and last much longer than the oil-less ones. I got by for over 10 years with a Craftsman 30-gallon oil-less, but I worked it pretty good over that time. If you have the means, get a belt-driven 220V unit with a 30+ gallon tank. There are 110V units, though. Personally, I'd buy a good used "commercial-level" unit over a new oil-less if the price was right. Actually, during my compressor-hunting phase, I found a like-new 60-gallon Kobalt on CL. A motorcycle shop used it for a couple of weeks and then it wouldn't come on if it had even just a little bit of pressure in the tank. They were in a time crunch so they couldn't look in to it and they had lost the receipt, so they just bought another one to have a quick replacement. After popping off the belt and turning the flywheel by hand, I gave $200 for the broken one, figuring the compressor and tank was worth at least that. I later found this model had a batch of defective check valves that caused them to over-work and burn up the motors. A friend gave me a used 220V compressor motor he had laying around and I bought a new check valve off Amazon. For under $230, I have a like-new $500 compressor:

DF559AA9-310E-4823-9824-39B1D09356C9_zpsvlu1wixn.jpg



As far as what brand of air tools, I can't really suggest anything in particular. I have an old Ingersoll-Rand 1/2" impact that was given to me. It works, but seems to struggle on things that I think it shouldn't. I'll invest in a new/better impact one day after I've researched them. I hear the HF impacts are sturdy performers for home use and would probably be just fine for you to get set up.


Bonus/pertinent story: I came home one day and the circuit that oil-less Craftsman was on had a tripped breaker. I reset it and it immediately tripped as long as the compressor was plugged in. After inspecting it, my guess is that it had a slow leak and would kick on intermittently, but the pressure switch failed and it didn't shut off at it's set pressure and burned itself up. Other than that, the tank was in mint condition so I bought a 110V motor off CL, a twin cylinder compressor from Harbor Freight (solid units for the money!), some copper tubing and fittings from Home Depot and Frankenstein'ed it into a much better compressor for the garage. I could've used a 220V motor, but I already had a 220V compressor for the shop so I wanted to have a portable 110V unit for the garage that could be taken somewhere if needed:

8B61A0F5-CA4D-4AC9-B23F-C00452F96E16_zpsfa6gcae5.jpg
 
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08HoeCD

08HoeCD

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@iamdub cool, brother. Just the kind of feedback I'm after.
I'm not as worried about brand as I am about basic things to look for in terms of specs/capacities.
Thanks brother.
 

iamdub

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I know I've been reppin' Hazard Frought a bit heavily lately, but you should look into their belt-driven 220V compressors if you're on a budget (Who is't? Well, besides NorcalSS, 07Burb, Serge...).
 

mbp1979

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Alright. I want to outfit my garage with an impact wrench and a compressor to drive it. I have 3 vehicles in the family and it's time to do more more stuff on my own rather than paying a shop because I lack the tools.

Please recommend impact wrench specs and compressor specs for a guy to rotate tires, replace brake rotors & pads, suspension components, etc.

Thanks

Have you looked at battery impacts those are the way to go now days. Unless ur wanting to use it for other things as well. If you have a tsc (tractor supply company) they have good prices and always run sales on them. I have a 80 gallon Ingersoll Rand compressor and it will do everything I will ever need it too I got a hell of a deal for it there.
 
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08HoeCD

08HoeCD

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I'm just now educating myself on impact tools, as I have never owned or operated them and have just used hand tools prior.

I like the idea of a corded electric impact wrench rather than one that runs on compressed air mainly because I don't have much room to store a compressor and I would rather put the $$$ into a high-torque corded unit that just needs plugged in. Along these lines, I see that Milwaukee offers a factory-reconditioned corded unit with 300ft-lb of torque (forward & reverse) for $99. Seems like a good way to go for my purposes.
 

jyi786

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Subbed. Some links to tools being discussed would be highly helpful as well.
 

iamdub

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300-lb. is kinda weak. It sounds like a lot, but may be marginal on lug nuts. It has to do with the way the TQ is measured or the friction of the nut against the seat in the wheel or something like that. 600+ is what you want. But, holy shit at that 700-1,100-lb Milwaukee Junayd linked to!

I like the idea and convenience of electric impacts. My thinking is that I'll still need a compressor for other tools and actions. Can't air up tires or the kid's pool or blow-clean things with an electric impact. It's all in what suits your needs. I'm always having to use compressed air to blow dirt/dust out and off of things. I like being able to plug my impact, air saw, side grinder, blow gun, or whatever into the hose and doing what I gotta do rather than plan ahead and charge batteries. Not trying to sway your decision one way or the other, just sharing thoughts. You may be fine with an electric impact (corded or cordless) and a small oil-less compressor for the infrequent tire fillings.
 

fiatdale

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I use my snap On cordless impact almost daily and it keeps up good with lug nuts no problem. I use a MG725 for daily use on anything suspension / frame related and it's never let me down in the 6 years I've been using it.
 

jyi786

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I guess the question is this.

For me, I'd want to get that cordless gun behind the rotor area so that I can easily get the caliper bracket bolts off, which I'm assuming are going to be frozen shut on my truck.

Will I have enough clearance to get it back there?
 

PG01

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I guess the question is this.

For me, I'd want to get that cordless gun behind the rotor area so that I can easily get the caliper bracket bolts off, which I'm assuming are going to be frozen shut on my truck.

Will I have enough clearance to get it back there?
For that id use a 1/2 ratchet, a piece of galv pipe and BFH. I dont think any impact gun is gonna touch those(homeowner stuff).....imo
 
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mals

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Please recommend impact wrench specs and compressor specs for a guy to rotate tires, replace brake rotors & pads, suspension components, etc.

I agree with most of the replies in this thread. I grew up using air tools since my father had a large compressor in his wood working shop and had hose connection in every garage bay.

Since I moved out and set up my garage in my house I assumed that I would do similar, but for the amount that I would use it I ended up going the corded route. I picked up an ancient Rockwell electric impact wrench (1/2" drive) at a yard sale for the big things, a cordless lithium Milwaukee impact driver, and a harbor freight grinder / cut-off wheel. So far those have been enough for all the projects I've done to my Yukon and the travel trailer I rehabed.
 
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08HoeCD

08HoeCD

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I guess the question is this.

For me, I'd want to get that cordless gun behind the rotor area so that I can easily get the caliper bracket bolts off, which I'm assuming are going to be frozen shut on my truck.

Will I have enough clearance to get it back there?

Good question.

I'm an impact wrench rookie, but I'd bet you'll probably get them off with a decent impact wrench. You may just need to let the torque build up for a minute or more per bolt. Access will be the bigger issue, so you'll likely need an extension and a universal/swivel socket.
 

jyi786

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For that id use a 1/2 ratchet, a piece of galv pipe and BFH. I dont think any impact gun is gonna touch those(homeowner stuff).....imo

I tried this on my 2013 Impala LTZ and breaking off the caliper bolts was an absolute bear. It took me half a day on a hot summer day, with tons of elbow grease and dreaming up a contraption where I used the leverage of a hydraulic lift on the end of the ratchet + pipe to get it cracked off.

Not going through that mess again is my goal.
 

a4edwin

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I ditched the idea of a compressor and bought the Milwaukee impact gun. One of the best investments ever!
 

mbp1979

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I ditched the idea of a compressor and bought the Milwaukee impact gun. One of the best investments ever!

That was a good idea it's a lot easier to use than a air impact very rarely will I grab my snap on air impact anymore cordless is much easier. I don't have to wait on the compressor to air up don't have to unwind the hose and wind it back up. Just a lot quicker. However everyone does need a compressor eventually. The other good thing about you investing in a Milwaukee impact is they make awesome cordless tools and you can add all kinds of bare tools in the future.
 

jyi786

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I ditched the idea of a compressor and bought the Milwaukee impact gun. One of the best investments ever!

That was a good idea it's a lot easier to use than a air impact very rarely will I grab my snap on air impact anymore cordless is much easier. I don't have to wait on the compressor to air up don't have to unwind the hose and wind it back up. Just a lot quicker. However everyone does need a compressor eventually. The other good thing about you investing in a Milwaukee impact is they make awesome cordless tools and you can add all kinds of bare tools in the future.

Believe me, I'm on the same line of thinking. But for me, it would be useless if I can't get it behind the knuckle to get the caliper bolts out.

I'm doing the brakes tomorrow, and doing it all via hand tools. I never had a flex head 1/2" driver, so I'm hoping the new one I bought which is about 18" long will help me with the job.
 

jyi786

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Update: brakes done.

The key? It was indeed the 18" flex head ratchet. Breaking the caliper bracket bolts loose was EASY. I'm not saying they weren't tight; they were indeed frozen shut and with Loctite, also not to mention I did the work in 25 degree weather. What I'm saying is that I was surprised how easy it was compared to using a 12" ratchet, which is what I used on my Impala. I tried with the old ratchet as well, and taking off a caliper bolt on the truck was literally impossible. Switched back to the 18" ratchet, easy peasy. Got everything replaced and speced wtih the proper torque settings for caliper bracket, caliper pins, and wheels.

So now I have all new Akebono ceramic pads and Centric cryo-treated rotors. Took it for a spin to get them broken in, and man oh man, I've never felt such stopping power before. It's amazing.

The most difficult thing by far doing the brake job was lifting up the wheels. Those things are heavy. :D
 

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