The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest New tools: The Simple pleasures

So a few weeks ago i'm in the Advance Auto Parts store and they have this 88 piece super duper air tool set for $80 or something.. I buy it.. I mean, i've got a couple air compressors, seemed like the thing to do.

Well as with most things I buy, it kinda sits for a few weeks.. especailly tools.. because I normally buy a new tool with 'hey this will come in handy when I/next time I...' and don't end up needing it right away.

Anyway.. I end up needing to change a tire the other day, and i'm kinda dreading the whole 4 way lug nut cranking fiasco normally associated with pulling a 5 lug wheel off a vehicle that hasn't had the tire off in the last decade or so, and I think.. hey.. there's one of those air drill socket thing-a-ma-bobs in that deluxe 88 piece air tool set.. might as well give it a shot.

Ok, ok.. so I guess the primary reason I decided to do it with air tools is because i'd have to connect the nipples to all the tools in the set.. so I got to delay having to mess with the tire right away while I meticulously applied pipe tape to the threads and installed each nipple.

So finally with every tool in the set now 'nipple-a-fied' I go out to the yard, fire up the air compressor, and wait for it to build pressure.

I jack the back tire up, hook the drill thing to the air line, install the approperate sized deep well socket, put the drill in 'reverse', put the socket on the first lugnut.. take a breath, and pull the trigger.

VOOOOOOOT and the lugnut is off.

Dude.. this is cool.

In a matter of seconds the tire is leaning off the rear hub and falls to the ground.

I put the spare on, and finger thread each lugnut onto the posts about a turn or two, then tighten 'em up with the air drill.

VOOOOT VOOOOT VOOOOT VOOOOT VOOOOOT.. done.

Yea.. yea.. I know this is probably 50+ year old technology, but i'm just diggin this.. I run into the house shouting to the wife, "Honey come check this out".. by my excitement level, she probably thought space aliens had landed in the west pasture.

She walks out and stands there in silence as I zip the lugnuts loose, remove the tire, then put it back on.. with speed and efficiency matched only by highly skilled NASCAR pit crews.

"Isn't that cool?", I ask, my face brimming with pride

"I guess so." she said less than enthused as she turned to walk into the house.

I must have spent the next hour or so jacking up vehicles and taking the tires off and putting them back on.

I highly reccomend any person reading this to immediately go out and buy one of these things.

I can't understand why some women Just Don't Get It!

ya it is really handy to have one of them impact wreches unless you have a 1 hp air compressor with like a 3 gallon tank then its kinda a pain but ya i brough a used blue point one from the snap on guy for a 150 then the forward reverse button goes nuts and cost me 70 to fix it so ya..... and a set of shallow impact sockets cost me 150 then to realize i could buy a set of deep well from craftsman for less then half the price so now i've learned to shop around before i just buy buy buy cause then it causes me to cry cry cry
Nate

I've got two compressors.. one is an old TSC Farm Store brand.. not sure of the horsepower, but it's got a 20 something gallon tank on it.. seems like when I used the impact drill with that compressor i'd have to wait a few seconds between tire changes.

The second compressor is a 'Rol Air' that has a much smaller tank.. probably only a 2 1/2 or 3 gallon tank.. it's the kind you see roofers or frame carpenters using.. not sure of the HP rating on that one, but the pump sounds to run about twice as fast as the Farm Store brand compressor, and keeps up with the demands of the impact tools.. it's also higher pressure.. 120psi compared to the farm store compressor that maxes out at 90psi.

Fumblin,

You got the same thrill out of the impact wrench as I got the first time I rented a Bobcat to move some dirt. I REALLY think everyone should have one of those too!

Ted

I would like to offer a tip about those air impacts on tire changes. You had better be careful how tight you get those lug nuts. If you get a flat on the road, you might not get them loose.
Although I also use an air impact, I usually snug them up by hand. If you have ever had to change a flat tire at night on a dirt road in the rain, you will understand.
I use mine the most for taking stuff apart.

John

Loved using the air impact to change tires myself!

JLucas is on the money though, 450Ft/Lbs of torque is alot to undue by hand on the side of rainy/dark/snow/sunny road.

Most tire shops use 'torque rods' which look like ratchet extensions but stop turning the nut when it reaches a certain torque.

Snarf up the lugs with the impact gun, then use a torque wrench (beam or clicker if you don't have a fancy air one like NM51 mentions). The good tire shops do and you'll be happier if you do when you get a flat.

Now, Fumbles, if you REALLY want the cool factor get yourself a butterfly air wrench! Its a small squarish looking tool with a 3/8" drive. (if your kit didn't come with one) It has a butterfly or rocker switch on top that say F on one side and R on the other. With a socket or short extension you can really whip apart assemblies with it, and then stuff them back together, but final tight with the torque wrench (if you care). The butterfly is faster than the air ratchet, and my harbor freight cheapo even has a valve to adjust how much torque it uses. It was like $20 on sale.

I just used it to undo-redo the brakes on my heep and it saved a lot of time when dealing with hubs and backing plates.

Then its on to the D/A sander when you decide to paint the 46 prettier (if ever - looks good now) spot sand blaster, and air hammer. The air hammer is fun to bust spot welds and chisel off old exhaust bits that are a rusted mess. The hammer will bust lots of welds in fact.

Air grinder is also handy...

What J Lucas said.

I actually don't use air wrenches to assemble, just disassemble...in most cases.

If I go to have my tires rotated, I tell the manager that I don't want any of my lugnuts air wrenched on and I tell them what torque to tighten them to. The kids in the shop get a good snicker out of me when I tell them that.

Some of todays lighter cars have pulsing brake problems about every time they have tires rotated. They tighten the lugnuts on the tiny disc brake hubs and actually warp the disc. They end up going to the brake guy and he replaces or grinds the rotors and then uses a air wrench to tighten them up again. Same problem? must be something else that's easy to replace. duh!

Oldsmobile Alero's are notorious for this.

Never thought about that one Builder, thanks for the tip, now I know why the Audi keeps messing up his brakes, I do it

Most of those impact ratings are taken at 90 psi.
Now honestly, how many of us actually have our air line regulated at 90 psi? I'm running 125 at home and 115-130 at the shop. I agree with builder, just snug 'em up and then use a torque wrench to do the final tightening.

Fumblin-- When you showed that impact wrench to your wife, did you explain how you had "nipple-a-fied" it?

Or was that maybe the reason she was not impressed?