The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest 3/4" Drive Impact Wrench

Im working on a friend of mines '89 F-600ish welding truck and I need to get the rear wheels removed. I have the appropriate sized Budd socket for them but I cant get them to budge even using a 6' chunk of 1" pipe as a breaker bar. Even tried jumping on the bar and my 200 pounds aint cutting it. Ill try heating and cooling them next time, but Im a little doubtful itll work at this point...

Can anyone recommend a decent 3/4" drive impact wrench that will accomplish this without putting me into debt?

Thanks, Jeff

Ingersoll-Rand 2141 , storngest on the market. Ingersoll-Rand 2135ti , 1/2" drive, will most likely remove them, also.
I canspeak from experience about that 1/2" drive gun, it's extremely strong. Have yet to find a bolt it won't get loose.

drive it to a nearby shop that works on tractor trailer rigs and ask them to run the air hose out there and loosen them one time and not tighten them so tight. They got the stuff to get the job done!

I bought a "Earthquake" 3/4" impact from Harbor Freight and it is one of those few things that I would recomend from them. Been real happy with it and it was the only thing that would loosen the pinion nuts on my HO52 center sections. One pop and they were off. Good investment if your gonna do any on going work on the medium or large trucks.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Ive already dropped the third member.

Plus, the problem with that idea is that 6 nuts/bolts which held the ring gear on came out and have been beating the crap out of the differential for god knows how long. They actually managed to destroy the housing where the rearmost pinion bearing sits, er, sat... The largest piece I found when I pulled it apart was a 3/4" length of race and 1 barrel roller.

Im gonna look into renting one for now. Eventually Id like a larger impact wrench but I just cant afford the few hundred dollar price tag right now...

Denny do you mind me asking what yours set you back?

Thanks, Jeff

If you are in an area where there are construction or trucking companies, they usually have a compressor and 1" drive impact on their shop truck. A 1" impact will either hammer the nut off or break the stud off. I do this for friends quite often. If that isn't available, use heat. In fact using heat on the on the inner nut might be better than a large impact. Both inner and outer nuts are very cheap at truck or trailer supply houses and you will probably want to replace them anyway if they are rusty. If you break the stud by trying to remove the inner nut, you will probably have to pull the hub because I think the 89 2 tons still had inboard drums. And then it might be some odd ball stud that is hard to find.

I would use the heat...a little heat works wonders.

Bout that, I think they are just under $300 now.
Denny G

Be shure they are not left handed? just a thought....Tom

That is something to remember. Ball and seat fasteners are left handed on the left side of the truck and right handed on the right side of the truck. Make sure that you're going the right way.

Yup. Budd nuts and studs come in rights and lefts. Look real close. They'll be marked with an "L" or an "R".

Now how in hell didnt I see that before?

It couldnt have been more obvious with those bright shiny L's and R's! I feel like a dork...

$24 and tax to rent the 3/4" impact wrench and I had them off in a heartbeat. There were a few stubborn ones that I still had to use a breaker bar and jump on it to get them loose but all in all it worked great!

Thanks, Jeff

Oh ho, yeah those left handed threads will mess with you if you're not expecting them ... but yeah heat'll be your next best option if you can't get a big impact out there. Good luck with it

Glad you got the nuts off but just as a point of information..remember that when going to a 3/4" or especially a 1" drive impact that they gobble air in big bites. You need a compressor that will stay up with them and a larger hose to handle the increased volume of air. Your little 3/8" air hose won't cut it. I had a new 1" drive C/P wrench that was worthless on truck and trailer suspensions until I upped the shop air to 1/2" hoses. Then it would really go after it.

For future info you could hit the socket with a hammer while you try and loosen it. Always worked for me when removing wheels on semis. I have a 1/2 snap on that has removed semi wheel nuts as well. Best gun I think anyone can get.