:::Proper Usage Of An Impact Wrench?

[NDL]

I feel foolish in asking, but i've looked around for answers, and have come up short thus far.

I have the below impact wrench:

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/cordless/2453-20

It's my first impact wrench; I am very happy with it, and am amazed at the power it has.

A few months ago, my Wife went outside to find her tire flat. The weather was poor, and I had to change the tire in a jiffy, so I used my impact wrench on the (tire) jack, to lift the car.

I was amazed at the power the tool had, and the speed with which it performed it's task. As it lifted the car, the tool would spin/lift the car, stop and engage what sounded like a clutch, spin/lift the car, stop and engage the clutch.

Question #1: I know the tool is not meant to lift cars. Should I ever run across the situation again, will I damage the tool by using it in this way, or does the clutch protect the tool - thus using the tool like this on (rare) occasion will cause no damage to the tool?

Question #2: The tool puts out 100 ft-lbs of torque. How does the clutch work? Will it apply a variable amount of torque to a bolt, and quit once it senses that the bolt is tightened? Or does it apply the full 100 ft-lbs of torque on the bolt - irrespective if the bolt is (already) tightened or not? This question I ask, because I don't want to sheer off studs by applying too much force.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Cardenio327]

Yeah, I doubt you'll damage your impact wrench.

If your jack is made anything like the jacks that come with Hondas, it'll be ruined after a couple of uses with an impact wrench.

 

[Leo99]

Your link is to an impact driver; not an impact wrench.

There is no clutch like on a cordless drill where it will slip and stop driving. You can easily shear off screw and bolt heads with your tool.

Can your tool remove lug nuts?

 

[The motor guy]

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Your link is to an impact driver; not an impact wrench.

There is no clutch like on a cordless drill where it will slip and stop driving. You can easily shear off screw and bolt heads with your tool.

Can your tool remove lug nuts?


Those things are awesome instead of using a drill. You can put a screw straight through a board

 

[Fsharp]

It's not going to hurt the driver or the jack, assuming the jack is a little scissor jack. The clacking clutch sound you're hearing is the hammer hitting the anvil inside the impact driver. You can't hurt the impact wrench by stalling it out.

Here's an interesting video about how impact wrenches work. It shows a cutaway of one in action. Not all look this way but they all work similarly.
https://youtu.be/f0gSJa3L_7c

 

[Dadillac]

Using an impact on a scissor jack is a bad idea. About 10 or 11 years ago I bought a new compressor and an impact. I thought it would be a good idea to use the impact to lift my scissor jack whenever I needed to jack up the car. After maybe the third or fourth time the jack screw was so beaten up it basically welded itself to the threaded insert. So using an impact on a scissor jack is not recommended unless you are willing to replace it in short order

Don

 

[IndyIan]

I guess my scissor jack survived maybe 100-150 runs(3 seasons of autocross plus winter tire swaps) with my impact before the threads got bad enough to be annoying. Also I jacked the whole side of the car up (95 Neon, 2600lbs).
The threads on the jack were greased from the factory and probably if I had bothered to grease them again at some point the jack may have ran smoothly longer?
Grease the threads and have at it, I doubt you'll have an issue.

 

[Fsharp]

Originally Posted By: Dadillac
After maybe the third or fourth time the jack screw was so beaten up it basically welded itself to the threaded insert.


Hmm, I've used an impact on one I had with no real ill effects. I was only jacking up one corner at a time of a car with it though, and kept the screw lubed. Mine finally died when a car shifted on it, bending it.

 

[JHZR2]

For torquing an item, which you are effectively doing when raising cars, I wouldnt want to use an impact. I dont use one on a jack, and barely use one on lugs...

For releasing items, all good for lugs, but Im not sure Id be inclined to do so on the jack.

Just personal preference.

 

[NDL]

Originally Posted By: Cardenio327
Yeah, I doubt you'll damage your impact wrench.


Thanks for your reply

Originally Posted By: Leo99
Your link is to an impact driver; not an impact wrench.

There is no clutch like on a cordless drill where it will slip and stop driving. You can easily shear off screw and bolt heads with your tool.

Can your tool remove lug nuts?


Appreciate your reply, and yes, you're right; it's an impact driver...I have not tried to remove lug nuts.

Originally Posted By: Dadillac
Using an impact on a scissor jack is a bad idea. About 10 or 11 years ago I bought a new compressor and an impact. I thought it would be a good idea to use the impact to lift my scissor jack whenever I needed to jack up the car. After maybe the third or fourth time the jack screw was so beaten up it basically welded itself to the threaded insert. So using an impact on a scissor jack is not recommended unless you are willing to replace it in short order


I appreciate your reply. I'm not saying this to argue the point you made, but I ask for understanding purposes:

The impact driver does not have a hammer function. I inserted an 3/8" adapter into the driver, and mounted a 19mm socket onto the adapter (the nut on the scissor jack is 19mm).

The 19mm fits the nut on the jack perfectly. No slop at all. Speed aside, what's the difference between using the impact driver, versus manipulating the nut by hand?

Originally Posted By: Fsharp
It's not going to hurt the driver or the jack, assuming the jack is a little scissor jack. The clacking clutch sound you're hearing is the hammer hitting the anvil inside the impact driver. You can't hurt the impact wrench by stalling it out.

Here's an interesting video about how impact wrenches work. It shows a cutaway of one in action. Not all look this way but they all work similarly.
https://youtu.be/f0gSJa3L_7c


Many thanks for your reply and for the youtube link...look forward to viewing it after I finish this sentence

 

[NDL]

After watching the youtube video, everyone's comments about the hammer action of the impact drill made a great deal of sense.

I perceived so little "hammer" action while using the impact drill, that I was unaware that it's a natural function of using the tool.

Okay...so using the impact drill on a scissor jack is universally thought to be a bad idea, but it shouldn't damage the drill, in spite of the drill working against the weight of the vehicle, which in this case is probably no more than 1,000 lbs? Are there any other no-no's in using impact drills? I'd like to preserve the life of the unit if possible.

I gotta tell you, this Milwaukee drill is very light in weight. It packs an amazing punch!

 

[Brent_G]

Impacts are made to hammer. The Milwaukee unit is a good one and as long as you take normal care of it and dont let it hammer for minutes at a time should be pretty much care free. My old dewalt lasted 3 years of daily professional use, and my new Mac brushless one gets used almost all day. Co-worker has the M18 that looks like it has been through a war from daily use...and still works like it did day one.

Heat is the only killer I have found. They are extremely useful for many applications. Interior work, engine work and whatnot - just use for removal only.

The chucks always seem to be the weak link - less so on one like yours but they will still fatigue and break. Keep a spare...The Mac one I use has 250ftlbs breakaway...it breaks one every week or so.

 

[csx7006]

one ugga dugga

 

[Bud_One]

Originally Posted By: csx7006
one ugga dugga


This cracks me up

 

[Dadillac]

Originally Posted By: Dadillac
Using an impact on a scissor jack is a bad idea. About 10 or 11 years ago I bought a new compressor and an impact. I thought it would be a good idea to use the impact to lift my scissor jack whenever I needed to jack up the car. After maybe the third or fourth time the jack screw was so beaten up it basically welded itself to the threaded insert. So using an impact on a scissor jack is not recommended unless you are willing to replace it in short order


I appreciate your reply. I'm not saying this to argue the point you made, but I ask for understanding purposes:

The impact driver does not have a hammer function. I inserted an 3/8" adapter into the driver, and mounted a 19mm socket onto the adapter (the nut on the scissor jack is 19mm).

The 19mm fits the nut on the jack perfectly. No slop at all. Speed aside, what's the difference between using the impact driver, versus manipulating the nut by hand?

My guess is the speed of the impact raising the car heats up the threads quite a bit. Raising the car by hand is so slow that there is practically no heat to speak of

Don

 

[NDL]

Originally Posted By: Brent_G
Impacts are made to hammer. The Milwaukee unit is a good one and as long as you take normal care of it and dont let it hammer for minutes at a time should be pretty much care free. My old dewalt lasted 3 years of daily professional use, and my new Mac brushless one gets used almost all day. Co-worker has the M18 that looks like it has been through a war from daily use...and still works like it did day one.

Heat is the only killer I have found. They are extremely useful for many applications. Interior work, engine work and whatnot - just use for removal only.

The chucks always seem to be the weak link - less so on one like yours but they will still fatigue and break. Keep a spare...The Mac one I use has 250ftlbs breakaway...it breaks one every week or so.


Originally Posted By: Dadillac
My guess is the speed of the impact raising the car heats up the threads quite a bit. Raising the car by hand is so slow that there is practically no heat to speak of

Don


You have all been extremely helpful. Thanks so much for the info...you have all taught me a lot.