John Morrison Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Not the one you belt with a hammer, but the electric ones that seem to be used more and more in garages and tyre shops. I have a couple of hitachi cordless drills with 3.0hr batteries, that work really well, at least for the level of stuff I do, I was thinking of buying one of their impact drives to use the same batteries, but am unsure of the drivers capabilities, would it for instance tighten and loosen wheel nuts? Anyone know? or anyone got a better suggestion for a similar tool? John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hamish Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 John if I was buying one I’d get a mains one this one https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cew1000-electric-impact-wrench/?da=1&TC=GS-060219300&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIt7bqrfW93wIVCp3tCh2YzQ2eEAQYASABEgJukfD_BwE when I looked the battery ones were expensive and didn’t have the oooomph but if you can get the driver to go with your battery ( the expensive bit usually) and its got some power the portability could be useful. H Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rcreweread Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 John - I got a corded one in Lidl a few months ago and I think it cost £39.99 - works a treat and it whips wheels off in no time and is powerful and heavy so I'm hoping it's well made - so far so good. Cheers Rich Quote Link to post Share on other sites
aardvark Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 John. ive got the Milwaukee cordless set. The M18 impact wrench is certainly man enough for wheel nuts. I’m sure that there is a hitachi alternative. Cheers dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Steves_TR6 Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 I have the Clarke mains impact driver, it is very powerful! i also have a makita 18v cordless impact driver, its good for most jobs inc wheel nuts but not up to the biggest jobs, eg crank pulley bolts or single wheel nuts on the ducatis. cordless is so convenient, but the clarke is the daddy ! steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
harlequin Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 I also have the Makita 18 v cordless, I use it all the time but a breaker bar is often required to get things moving George Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John L Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Look for one with a highest undoing torque, its usually the undoing nuts that are difficult. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 The Clarke ( sold by Machine Mart) mains impacted puts out 450 Nm, if that doesn't undo it then it seriously doesn't want to come off. Not many battery power models can approach that level, although I see Machine Mart now offer a similar level from their alternative battery model at about £130 range. Problem with battery is whenever you go to use it they are flat, mains power is "plug and play" instantly. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted December 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 Many thanks guys. with a MM vat free day on Sunday, this comes in at under £60.00, think I 'll treat myself! John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tim D. Posted December 26, 2018 Report Share Posted December 26, 2018 +1 for the clarke corded. Works a beaut. Wheels and fly wheel bolts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eddie Cairns Posted December 28, 2018 Report Share Posted December 28, 2018 The Clarke CEW1000 is big, heavey and just works. It comes with a new set of brushes and I'm told they do go through brushes if used a lot. Yes it is a mains unit. Very powerful. I have a dead Clarke CIR24 battery unit one that just did wheel nuts but the battery charger died and it also needed new batteries, it claimed to do around 200nm on a very good day but mostley less. It lasted for 8 years probably nearer 120NM. The more powerful CIR450C, 450NM battery unit, that I had only had came with one battery and that went south this Autumn after 4 years as the battery would not charge and was no where near 450NM, maybe 175NM again in the first two years not in the past year. You can get into the Clarke NICAD battery cases and I may well replace the cells and if I do that I will write it up here. You can buy these standard size cells in vaious AH ratings. It is just very handy to have a battery unit for a brakedown somewhere when you have to recovery a car or do not want to pull a lead along the grpund in the garage. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
foster461 Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 I have a 20v half inch impact wrench that I only use a few times a year but it was cheap (Chicago Electric from Harbor Freight) and when you need one, this is the only tool that will do the job. Best used with the proper impact sockets. Stan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Eddie Cairns Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 It is not best used with an impact socket, it must be used with an impact socket. It is dangerous to use these units with a non impact socket as the non impact sockets can shatter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Colin Fairhurst Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 I have recently been told by a good authority that wheel locknuts should not be loosened or tightened by using an impact tool. The lock nuts are not strong enough and can shear off leaving a rounded head. Regards, Colin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Motorsport Mickey Posted December 29, 2018 Report Share Posted December 29, 2018 Certainly NEVER use an impact driver to do the final tightening on wheels, always a torque wrench, but if you're having wheels off and tyres fitted at a tyre centre good luck with banning them from using impact wrenches to remove the wheels. A commercial organisation will always use the quickest methods, unless you are using fragile nuts (and if so should you be using them ?) they should come off easily with minor impact application. Triumph standard OEM nuts are good quality and should not be affected. Mick Richards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
John Morrison Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Thanks for all the replies, just as an update, I bought the Clark Mains one, mentioned above. With a 'VAT Free' day, cost less than £60, Phew what a tool, heavy yes, but does it shift tight nuts well? -absoulutely, I'm delighted, thanks again for the pointers. John. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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