Looking for an air ratchet....

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: wally6934
3/8 air ratchet’s are all but useless on a car.


I bet their would be tens of thousands of professional mechanics that would disagree with you.

Buy the harbor freight earthquake with this months 25% off coupon. Comes to $54 plus tax. It is a copy of a IR knuckle saver air ratchet and gets great reviews.
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: wally6934
3/8 air ratchet’s are all but useless on a car.


I bet their would be tens of thousands of professional mechanics that would disagree with you.

Buy the harbor freight earthquake with this months 25% off coupon. Comes to $54 plus tax. It is a copy of a IR knuckle saver air ratchet and gets great reviews.

I'll check that one out too, thanks!

Is their a link to the 25% off coupon? I have one from the paper that says 20% off, not that it really matters, but why not save the extra 5%? LOL
 
do you have a 3/8 impact? they are very useful but you dont have as much torque control and are larger. as far as my air ratchet, i was looking around and i thought about the harbor freight one. I ended up getting a FAR72c. the two other mechanics in my shop have far72b air ratchets. they held up all that time and are still going strong! so i bought that and its great. but for home use, I would probably buy the earthquake one.
 
Originally Posted By: outdoorsman310
do you have a 3/8 impact? they are very useful but you dont have as much torque control and are larger. as far as my air ratchet, i was looking around and i thought about the harbor freight one. I ended up getting a FAR72c. the two other mechanics in my shop have far72b air ratchets. they held up all that time and are still going strong! so i bought that and its great. but for home use, I would probably buy the earthquake one.


No I have a 1/2 impact gun, and an air drill. I wanted something to fill the void between the impact gun, and socket wrenches. My thought was a 3/8" air ratchet would fill the void. As I mentioned I discovered [thanks to this thread], that an air ratchet might cause issues with my hands if it encounters something very tight that doesn't break loose. Now I'm looking at 3/8" impact wrenches, but the head is bigger and won't allow access to tighter places. But then again I also have a hose to contend with, and now I'm back to the confused state again. LOL Thanks for the replies!!
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: wally6934
3/8 air ratchet’s are all but useless on a car.


I bet their would be tens of thousands of professional mechanics that would disagree with you.

Buy the harbor freight earthquake with this months 25% off coupon. Comes to $54 plus tax. It is a copy of a IR knuckle saver air ratchet and gets great reviews.



Can't find the coupon for 25% off. Is there a link to it? How can I get it?
 
well you can break stuff free with air ratchets by using it like a normal ratchet and then spin it off. what are you planning on using it for mostly?
 
Originally Posted By: outdoorsman310
well you can break stuff free with air ratchets by using it like a normal ratchet and then spin it off. what are you planning on using it for mostly?


Working on my cars is where this tool will get the most use.
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: wally6934
3/8 air ratchet’s are all but useless on a car.


I bet their would be tens of thousands of professional mechanics that would disagree with you.


I agree with Wally. An air ratchet isn't really useful for working on cars.

The air ratchet rarely fits anywhere an impact won't, and the hose requires me to dig out the fender protectors. If you buy one with low torque, you cannot break anything loss; if you buy one with high torque, you risk stripping threads or over tightening. Good luck having a conversation with an air ratchet running.

The only time I use mine is with transmission pans, differentials, and, if the motor is out of the car, engine work. It is useless for tire rotations, brake jobs, oil changes, suspension work, ect. - which is 90% of the repairs I do.
 
You bring up some good points Gabe. I've gotten by since the 1970's w/o one, but as I get older I get lazier and want to try to work smarter. The tasks you mentioned using yours for are exactly what I'd use mine for. A few weeks ago I changed a blower motor and could have used a nice air ratchet, but the hand ratchet worked just fine, along with some Aleve for the pain in my hands when I was done. I'm trying to save wear and tear on my hands, and every little bit helps.

I had this conversation with my brother this morning, I called him for his opinion. He does a lot of work on car and boat engines. He said he uses hand tools to break things free then switches over to the air ratchet for final removal and running fasteners back down. He said the impact version would be safer on the hands, but, a bigger head means it won't fit into smaller places, and it might have too much power when it comes time to run something down. So once again I'm back to square one, which is confused, or live without it like I've done in the past. LOL
 
if you do get an air ratchet or a 3/8 impact, get some good swivel sockets. the 3/8 earthquake gun should be good for what you are using it for. i use mine at work and it still works fine. don't buy cheapo swivels
 
When the 3/8" air ratchet is too powerful or too big is when the 1/4" air ratchet comes in handy. A 1/4" probably would have been ideal for the blower motor you mentioned. For even lighter duty work like removing dash trim panels to get to the blower motor a battery powered screw gun comes in handy. Like this one. http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-LI400...words=screw+gun
 
I get the feeling that a lot of you have no experience with an air ratchet and are a bit clueless as to how they are used.

I don't care what the "torque" output of the air ratchet is. Initial loosening, and final tightening is going to be done by me the old fashioned way....leverage on the ratchet or by some other means (torque wrench perhaps). An air ratchet is a nut runner. It doesn't break free stuck bolts or supply final torque for a fastener. Whether an air ratchet outputs "30 ft lbs" or "70 ft lbs" means little to me. All it generally tells me how much it will hurt when my knuckes get trapped.

An air ratchet does indeed fit places other tools don't. An impact, even a 3/8" impact, takes considerable space to operate and can be useless under the hoof of many cars. Lot's of times I don't feel like using a 12pt wrench in a tight space. Oftentimes an air ratchet will clear and make my life simpler especially when you have limited degrees in which to swing a wrench. P-steer pumps, AC compressors, water pumps/pulleys, and belt tensioners saw their share of air ratchet use.

Air ratchets are just tools that saves time in the hands of the knowledgeable. Use an impact when you can, an air ratchet when you can't so you can get that car done before the service advisors and shop foreman start whining.
 
^I don't own an air ratchet, which is why I'm asking these questions.^ Clueless, if that's what you want to call it is fine by me. I'd call it semi clueless, and now well informed.
smile.gif


My brother pretty much summed it up exactly the way you did. He breaks them free first the old fashioned way, makes sure they're tight the same way. I think now that I've had time to digest this I'll just go air ratchet and call it a day. Thanks for the reply.
 
So what did you finally get, if anything?

My impression is that impact is best/safest for removing tight bolts and prevent them from shearing or being damaged... And if not that, then remove with a non-ratcheting breaker bar of some size.

After one loosens something, then the air is useful to zip the fasteners off quickly, which is what its all about - use shop's air to do flat rate jobs in faster time. And from what Ive read, is that a 1/4" unit is the best because the fasteners should already be broken, and then you just want the smallest item to zip off the fasteners...

Supposedly they are good in places where a ratchet doesnt have much of a swing, since the air can zip something out without swinging...

But Ive never used one to know...
 
Originally Posted By: punisher
I get the feeling that a lot of you have no experience with an air ratchet and are a bit clueless as to how they are used.

I don't care what the "torque" output of the air ratchet is. Initial loosening, and final tightening is going to be done by me the old fashioned way....leverage on the ratchet or by some other means (torque wrench perhaps). An air ratchet is a nut runner. It doesn't break free stuck bolts or supply final torque for a fastener. Whether an air ratchet outputs "30 ft lbs" or "70 ft lbs" means little to me. All it generally tells me how much it will hurt when my knuckes get trapped.

An air ratchet does indeed fit places other tools don't. An impact, even a 3/8" impact, takes considerable space to operate and can be useless under the hoof of many cars. Lot's of times I don't feel like using a 12pt wrench in a tight space. Oftentimes an air ratchet will clear and make my life simpler especially when you have limited degrees in which to swing a wrench. P-steer pumps, AC compressors, water pumps/pulleys, and belt tensioners saw their share of air ratchet use.

Air ratchets are just tools that saves time in the hands of the knowledgeable. Use an impact when you can, an air ratchet when you can't so you can get that car done before the service advisors and shop foreman start whining.



He nailed it - I agree with every word.

I have an IR1033 - a 3/8" drive tool in the space of a 1/4" drive. Made in Japan. Only 6 1/2" long and 1+ lb. At least 20 years old and never a problem and I use it A LOT - more than a 1/2" Impact by far. Looks like it is replaced by this:

http://www.tooltopia.com/ingersoll-rand-105-d3.aspx

As mentioned - it is a nut runner - which is so much of car work. Critical loosening and fastening calls for other tools, but this little guy saves so much time. And my 69 year old wrists and arms appreciate that.

Don't knock 'em if you don't have one.

A little more guts with this one:

http://www.tooltopia.com/ingersoll-rand-1105max-d3.aspx
 
Last edited:
I'd better offer to you the detailed review of air ratchets with all pros and cons at this site. Of course choosing these tools demands serious investigation. But as for me, you should consider not only the technical specifics, but also your needs. For sample, if you need the tools only for private purposes you may buy some cheaper one than the latest model for industrial tasks.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
Impact wrench and air compressor
2 3 4
Replies
60
Views
4K
2strokeNorthstar
The Critic
Using Impact Sockets only for 3/8” and 1/2” dr
Replies
17
Views
1K
The Critic
A
Air vs Battery Automotive Tools??
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
John105
G
Looking for new air impact wrench
2 3
Replies
47
Views
3K
JHZR2
J
Snap On Hard Handle Conversion
Replies
8
Views
1K
NYEngineer
Back
Top