First cordless impact I have seen that is able to remove the crankbolt....

[EatonKyleH]

I'm sure the Metabo impact is a great tool. But watching the video I noticed he had removed the radiator.

You don't need to remove the radiator to get crank bolt out on the 3.4 in these trucks. If you do there are many tools that will do it and fit with the extra space it allows. Or you can leave the radiator in and remove the pulley with a breaker bar and holding tool which is faster than pulling and reinstalling the radiator anyway.
And hell. You shouldn't be reinstalling it with an impact anyway so you'd have those tools out anyway.

Just an observation.

 

[mtbtim]

I'll bite.....someone justify for me why I should invest in a cordless impact. Talk me into it. I want one, because tools. But I don't see how I have a use for it. I don't see how removing lug nuts is a valid and common positive to said tool. My dog can break loose lug nuts with the right size breaker bar. How tight are y'alls nuts? Whatever would I do with the 3 minutes I'd save myself by not doing it the old fashioned way?

I can't be the only one living in the stone ages and being ok with it and my 1/2" sockets and breaker bars....leverage is key.

It makes jobs easier, plain and simple. The first time I used mine for something other than lug nuts was when I was trying to take the slip yoke off my rear driveshaft. The bolts were giving me some trouble coming off. I had the rear wheels off the ground and the trans in neutral so I could rotate the driveshaft. Holding the nut with one wrench while I had a 1/2 drive ratchet in the other on the bolt was giving me some grief to break them free. I got my Dewalt impact gun out and it made easy work of it. Maybe I need to pump more iron, but I was seriously impressed how much easier it made the job for me.

I still own various size breaker bars too. Like what was mentioned in this thread, sometimes you are limited by the space available and you can't get your impact gun in there. A good example is one of the bolts that holds the steering rack onto the cross member. The middle bolt that sits perpendicular to the rack is hard to get to. Your only option is to use a breaker bar to get it loose. So, impact guns are an awesome tool but they can't replace traditional breaker bars for all situations.

In a nutshell, impact guns make taking things apart much easier which saves time and is easier on your body. It's kind of the comparison of using a push mower vs a power mower. Sure, the push mower is much more affordable, and you can get the job done with it, but once you use a power mower, you'll be kicking yourself why you didn't get one sooner.

 

[fourfive]

I'll bite.....someone justify for me why I should invest in a cordless impact. Talk me into it.

Made getting the axle nut off and the front lca cam bolts much easier and faster. Also saves me from getting busted knuckles when removing tight bolts. I use it mainly to break nuts/bolts loose. I don't use it all the time but very nice to have around when needed.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Pretty sure I'm going to get this one but deciding if I should sell my 1/2 ingersoll rand first...

If you do, then post some pics of real world applications, not just opening the box and going ....:wow2:

If I weren't so heavily in the bed with Dewalt and having nine batteries for all of their cordless tools, I'd give the Metabo a hard look and probably my money. After all I'd rather have German made tools over the PRC stuff any day.

To those who don't have a cordless impact, buy one. Of all the tools I have it may have the most utility.

 

[kball]

I'll bite.....someone justify for me why I should invest in a cordless impact. Talk me into it. I want one, because tools. But I don't see how I have a use for it. I don't see how removing lug nuts is a valid and common positive to said tool. My dog can break loose lug nuts with the right size breaker bar. How tight are y'alls nuts? Whatever would I do with the 3 minutes I'd save myself by not doing it the old fashioned way?

I can't be the only one living in the stone ages and being ok with it and my 1/2" sockets and breaker bars....leverage is key.

If you love tools like I do you'll love having an impact gun. Why? Because having the right tool for the job makes the job easier. That's the whole point right? If you need a reason for buying tools other than that, you're not a tool lover. Squeezing a trigger and having the tool do the work for you should be all the reason you need. I don't need reasons. I own 20+ ratchets and hundreds of sockets and I'd buy more in a second if I had more money because they are all different in their own special way and help me do jobs easier. I love having the right specific tool for each job.

breaker bar way: jack up car a little but leave tire on ground so you can break lugs loose. Break loose with bar, then lift tire off ground. Spin off lugs with breaker bar...spin... spin...spin...spin...........spin.................
put tire back on: put lugs on and spin... spin... spin... with bar till they are lightly snug (since the wheel will spin if you try too hard) let jack down till tire touches, snug up pretty tight, let all the way down and torque.

impact way: lift tire off ground, hold tire with one hand and with other hand zip off lugs.

Put tire back on: zip lugs back up pretty snug holding tire with one hand while off ground. Drop tire to ground and torque.

Get it?

 

[kball]

Score one for Metabo. Their corded grinders are the best, hands down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLppSI1IHN4

Is it just me or did that crank bolt come out a little too easy?

 

[amalik]

It makes jobs easier, plain and simple. The first time I used mine for something other than lug nuts was when I was trying to take the slip yoke off my rear driveshaft. The bolts were giving me some trouble coming off. I had the rear wheels off the ground and the trans in neutral so I could rotate the driveshaft. Holding the nut with one wrench while I had a 1/2 drive ratchet in the other on the bolt was giving me some grief to break them free. I got my Dewalt impact gun out and it made easy work of it. Maybe I need to pump more iron, but I was seriously impressed how much easier it made the job for me.

I still own various size breaker bars too. Like what was mentioned in this thread, sometimes you are limited by the space available and you can't get your impact gun in there. A good example is one of the bolts that holds the steering rack onto the cross member. The middle bolt that sits perpendicular to the rack is hard to get to. Your only option is to use a breaker bar to get it loose. So, impact guns are an awesome tool but they can't replace traditional breaker bars for all situations.

In a nutshell, impact guns make taking things apart much easier which saves time and is easier on your body. It's kind of the comparison of using a push mower vs a power mower. Sure, the push mower is much more affordable, and you can get the job done with it, but once you use a power mower, you'll be kicking yourself why you didn't get one sooner.

Off topic question.. In that scenario you mentioned, do you start the truck, shift to N, then turn it off? Or leave running?

Sent from my LGMS428 using Tapatalk

 

[stir_fry_boy]

Off topic question.. In that scenario you mentioned, do you start the truck, shift to N, then turn it off? Or leave running?

Sent from my LGMS428 using Tapatalk

Either way you can get it off. No reason to have the truck running to get the driveshaft off.

 

[stir_fry_boy]

Is it just me or did that crank bolt come out a little too easy?

I agree it made it look too easy. I've seen some crank pulley bolts I tightened with my 3/8" drive ratchet. Crazy loose. Unfortunately on that one, it threw a rod. Not sure if the crank bolt being loose caused it.

As mentioned before, I had to use a breaker bar extended with a jack handle from a 3.5 ton jack to get one crank pulley bolt off a 3.4 L.

 

[StreetCreeper]

I'll bite.....someone justify for me why I should invest in a cordless impact. Talk me into it. I want one, because tools. But I don't see how I have a use for it. I don't see how removing lug nuts is a valid and common positive to said tool. My dog can break loose lug nuts with the right size breaker bar. How tight are y'alls nuts? Whatever would I do with the 3 minutes I'd save myself by not doing it the old fashioned way?

I can't be the only one living in the stone ages and being ok with it and my 1/2" sockets and breaker bars....leverage is key.

I can't speak for the others, but I bought an electric impact because I'm just lazy.

Ambitious — yet lazy.

 

[thegipper]

Is it just me or did that crank bolt come out a little too easy?

I agree, I bet that crank bolt was off before and not torqued to the insane amount it is "supposed" to be.

When my 4R was still my brothers, he had to take the crank bolt off (can't remember why). My dad and bro had to make a tool to hold the pulley and use like a 6 foot breaker bar to get it loose.

When they were all done doing whatever they did, they tightened it down good, but nearly as high as the torque spec. This was probably 15k miles ago and all is good.

I'm not saying a cordless impact can't take it off, in fact, I'm pretty confident mine could (milwaukee) but with a tool that only has 295ft/lbs of torque is questionable if it was torqued to spec.

 

[amalik]

Either way you can get it off. No reason to have the truck running to get the driveshaft off.

Right, that I know that it's just a few bolts and they can be removed anytime. But if you want to rotate it while under there, doesn't the transmission have to be in a gear other than park? So assuming it needs to be in N, I was asking if mtbtim would leave truck running in N or turn it off?

I imagine working under the truck while it's running may just have to be the dumbest idea ever, considering exhaust+cat+etc reach hundreds and hundreds of degrees in temp.

Ambitious — yet lazy.

God, those 3 words perfectly describe both my personal and my professional problem. lol.

 

[JRZEE2000TR4LTD]

I'll bite.....someone justify for me why I should invest in a cordless impact. Talk me into it. I want one, because tools. But I don't see how I have a use for it. I don't see how removing lug nuts is a valid and common positive to said tool. My dog can break loose lug nuts with the right size breaker bar. How tight are y'alls nuts? Whatever would I do with the 3 minutes I'd save myself by not doing it the old fashioned way?

I can't be the only one living in the stone ages and being ok with it and my 1/2" sockets and breaker bars....leverage is key.

Sometimes the hammering action of an impact will make quick work of something that leaning on a breaker bar would struggle with. Can't count how many times I'm really pushing or pulling on that breaker bar then it just "cracks" loose. This is where the knuckle busting, elbow scrapping, finger crushing and requisite cussing happens.

I wish someone would make a impact torque gun. That would really make things easy.

 

[amalik]

I wish someone would make a impact torque gun. That would really make things easy.

True, but torque limiting 'sticks' you can use with an impact gun do exist.

https://www.amazon.com/Anytime-Tools-TORQUE-Extension-Stick/dp/B000JIYPA4

I imagine these were mainly made for tire shops who do lug nuts with air guns all day. I've seen them used at Discount Tire.

 

[mtbtim]

I just bought this one today.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WJA1J68/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I already have the batteries and charger from another Dewalt cordless impact purchase so I decided to buy a bigger and badder version. My old one only puts out 400 ft/lbs. This one has 700 ft/lbs of fastening torque and 1200 ft/lbs breakaway torque.

I'm sure it could break free a crank bolt, I just don't know if it would fit in the space between the AC condenser and harmonic damper pulley. I reckon I'll find out when I get it.

Amazon delivered the impact gun yesterday. I measured the gun length with a socket on the end and did my best to measure the available space between the AC condenser and crank bolt. If this gun is going to fit in there, it's going to be VERY close. Maybe just enough space to get the socket onto the nut, break it free without backing it out hardly at all, so you can still pull the gun back out of the space. It would suck to back the gun right into the AC condenser and damage it.

I'll just have to wait until we replace the timing belt on [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] rig to see if it's going to work.

 

[LookAtThatDog]

https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Impact-Wrench-Powered-Cordless/dp/B00O1FV2E8

I got mine for $100 with battery and charger at Sears. My life has never been the same.

 

[mtbtim]

Off topic question.. In that scenario you mentioned, do you start the truck, shift to N, then turn it off? Or leave running?

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The truck is off. Rear wheels off the ground and supported by 6 ton jack stands on the axle. Front wheels are chocked and parking brake is off. I turn the key on but don't start the truck. I depress the brake pedal and shift the trans into neutral. With the trans in neutral and the parking brake off, I can turn the driveshaft to get at all the bolts.

I use the same technique when I'm greasing the driveshaft zerk fittings because sometimes they aren't pointing in the right direction for you to get your grease gun on them and you need to turn the driveshaft.

 

[thegipper]

Amazon delivered the impact gun yesterday. I measured the gun length with a socket on the end and did my best to measure the available space between the AC condenser and crank bolt. If this gun is going to fit in there, it's going to be VERY close. Maybe just enough space to get the socket onto the nut, break it free without backing it out hardly at all, so you can still pull the gun back out of the space. It would suck to back the gun right into the AC condenser and damage it.

I'll just have to wait until we replace the timing belt on [MENTION=102606]infamousRNR[/MENTION] rig to see if it's going to work.

I'm anxious to #1 see if it actually fits (it did in the video) and #2 if it will actually take off a crank bolt that is torqued to spec.

Please report back Tim, thanks.

 

[StreetCreeper]

https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Impact-Wrench-Powered-Cordless/dp/B00O1FV2E8

I got mine for $100 with battery and charger at Sears. My life has never been the same.

Yeah same here. Works fine for most things and it's cheap enough that I can keep it in the back of the truck and not worry if it gets stolen.

 

[kiana]

Some guys at our shop have recently started picking up new electric tools. I don't know exactly what they're doing but they're improving in quality and performance A LOT in the past year.