Pneumatic Impact Wrench

[Vlad Soare]

Hi guys,

In order to get my wheels on and off easier and faster I bought an air impact wrench. I thought it would be a straightforward affair - just use and forget. But no, it appears it needs lubrication. Sadly, the instructions it came with are absolutely worthless, which is why I'm turning to you for help. I'm sure many of you have used and are using one of these.

First, on its side there's a small hole covered by a threaded cap, whose purpose is clearly marked. The instructions say I should open it with a hex key (supplied) and pour oil into it.
But: How much oil? How often? No idea.

But that's not all. Here's what it says on the other side:

"Oil daily"? But how? Does this perhaps have anything to do with the piece shown below, which was also included in the package?

Am I supposed to install this piece between the air supply and the impact wrench, and to fill it with oil? And is this to be done independently of the other oiling method? I mean, do I have to do this even if I put oil in the small side hole?

Thanks.

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[Vlad Soare]

I think I'm beginning to understand. There are actually two different things.
One is the air motor, which is lubricated by mixing a bit of oil with the incoming air. This is achieved by means of the lubricator shown in the last picture. You install this on the air hose, as close to the tool as possible, and fill it with oil.
If you don't want to bother with an air lubricator, you can just put a few drops of oil into the tool's air inlet piece before using it, then turn the tool on for a couple of seconds.

The second thing is the impact mechanism, which must be lubricated independently of the motor. This is achieved by pouring oil into that small side hole.

OK, so the principle is now clear to me. But I still don't know:
- how much oil to pour into the side hole
- how often to do that
- what kind of oil to use

My understanding is that the two mechanisms need different oils. The air motor needs a thin oil which can be easily pulverized, whereas the impact hammer needs a thicker one. But all I can find on the internet is simply oil for air tools - no mention of whether it's for the air supply or for the hammer.

What do you use for yours? I'm sure many of you have this kind of tool in your garage.

 

[kz]

So I can't help you with airtools, but why would you not buy a battery powered impact ?
Out of curiosity ?

I know availability in Europe might be different but essentially any of them will work. Even my smallest stubby Milwaukee M12 has enough torque to remove 150 lb/ft lug nuts. They basically require no maintenance, no air compressor required, my largest Milwaukee impact has more torque than I would ever need.

Battery powered tools are so good that in a home garage there isn't ever a need to use air powered tools. And if you wrench often and buy cordless ratchet, it'll change your world.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I do have a battery-powered one as well, but I wanted a bit more power. I find it adequate, but only just. It does undo my 150 ft/lb lug nuts, but only at its maximum torque setting (which is 295 ft/lb), and even then I can feel it's struggling a bit. The pneumatic one doesn't even break a sweat.
Whenever I get back from the tire shop after changing the tires from winter to summer or back, I loosen all the lug nuts and retighten them with my own torque wrench, because I don't trust those guys to do it right. The last time I did that, the cordless impact wrench couldn't loosen them, so I had to use a breaker bar. They had been overtightened a bit, I guess. I didn't have the pneumatic one at the time, but I'm hoping that it will be able to cope with overtightened nuts if the need arises.

But the jury is still out. I will use both for a while and then will decide which one to keep.

Indeed, cordless power tools have evolved massively in the last few years. I have quite a few of them and really love them.

 

[momalle1]

I'm not familiar with the oil reservoir on the side, most air tools use a grease gun designed to inject air tool grease to help seal the vanes and an oiler like was included with your tool, or you can just drop 3-4 drops of oil into the inlet prior to connecting to the air hose. I'm guessing that your impact has closer tolerances than automotive professional tools and that the reservoir is for the vane sealing, in place of what I use grease for.

 

[sk47]

Am I supposed to install this piece between the air supply and the impact wrench, and to fill it with oil? And is this to be done independently of the other oiling method? I mean, do I have to do this even if I put oil in the small side hole?

Hello; I have gad and used air tools for decades. Including the air impact type. I also have one of the oilers pictured in your hand. Unscrew the phillips head screw and hopefully have a spout small enough to fit into the hole and fill it chamber up.
Thing i have found is this oiler gets empty very quickly. My unit may be damaged but within moments of use the oil is gone.

So most of the time I do not bother filling the do-dad. I have quick disconnect fittings on all my air tools and air hoses. I have an oil can handy. I disconnect the tool from time to time and simply squirt some oil directly into the tool in the hole where the air enters. On some tools I have to press the trigger to get the oil to go on in. So much simpler than that little chamber.

As for the small side hole on the tool itself. I may have tried that decades ago but ignore it the last few decades. Will not hurt to crack it open and squirt some oil in if you feel compelled.

I am not an everyday used of my air tools. May not use them for weeks or months and then give them heavy use for days or weeks. Depends on what sort of jobs are going on. I do squirt a little oil into the tools before each use. I think I bought my first 1/2 inch drive air impact wrench back in the early 1980's and it has not quite died yet. It is a little less powerful now. I did get a new one recently (maybe ten years ago).
I think only one of my old air tools ever broke completely. More the fitting that you attach the air hose to broke off than the tool guts that failed. It was an air chisel. I took it apart just to see whats what. The inside of these things seem pretty simple.

Last bit of advice. I likely use too much oil at times so have learned to keep a rag around. Sometimes i wrap the tool with a rag to catch some of the oil.

 

[Vlad Soare]

So most of the time I do not bother filling the do-dad. I have quick disconnect fittings on all my air tools and air hoses. I have an oil can handy. I disconnect the tool from time to time and simply squirt some oil directly into the tool in the hole where the air enters. On some tools I have to press the trigger to get the oil to go on in. So much simpler than that little chamber.

Yes, in the meantime I have come to the same conclusion. The in-line oiler looks like too much trouble. I'm gonna just put a few drops of oil in the inlet from time to time and call it a day.
Thanks.

 

[sk47]

- what kind of oil to use

Hello; I also have some air tool oil. Actually found the bottle yesterday when looking for something else. Often i do not find it and will use some engine motor oil I keep in an oil can. Not suggesting this or other practices I have mentioned are best or even good, just they have gotten me along over the years.
Hope you know not start lug nuts with the air gun. My brother played NASCAR pit stop on my nieces wheel. I wound up having to press out some ruined lug studs and new ones back in.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

That’s a good plan. All the pneumatics we use daily are lubed the same way. Every day. I use synthetic in mine for the simple fact the compressed air isn’t the cleanest unlike my shop where the air supply is cleaned for paint application. As much as I like my battery tools(20 and 60 volt) there are times theres no substitute for quality air tools.

Yes, in the meantime I have come to the same conclusion. The in-line oiler looks like too much trouble. I'm gonna just put a few drops of oil in the inlet from time to time and call it a day.
Thanks.

 

[galaxy]

Air is ooolldddd school. I know you said you have an electric impact that barely does the job. Unfortunate, but that was just a matter of tool selection. There's rock bustin electric impacts out there. I have one, and I can't imagine air being stronger. No way. My best friend from high school turns wrencheds for MB and has been doing that since 10th grade (we're 50's now). He has been making a living, every day, with Milwaukee electric tools. That is all the testament I need for my weekend warrior duties. My 18V Milwaukee impact has pulled of some amazing feats and it's zero maintenance. In fact, it's about two years old and I've yet to need to charge the battery. And let's not even talk about keepin a compressor charged and slinging a hose all over the place when you're trying to work.

 

[Vlad Soare]

I know you said you have an electric impact that barely does the job. Unfortunate, but that was just a matter of tool selection. There's rock bustin electric impacts out there.

That's a fair point. The trouble is, despite all the standardization that's been happening in the latest years, batteries are still not entirely compatible between brands. So, once you invest in a certain brand, it's hard to justify the switch to another one just because one single particular tool happens to be a tiny bit better there. Not for an amateur like me, anyway. Professional use is a different story.
The thought of messing about with different batteries and different chargers for each and every tool doesn't appeal to me. I want to choose one and stick with it.

I may look for a more powerful one sometime, as I do love cordless power tools, but for now I'll just try to make the most of what I already have.

 

[momalle1]

Air is ooolldddd school. I know you said you have an electric impact that barely does the job. Unfortunate, but that was just a matter of tool selection. There's rock bustin electric impacts out there. I have one, and I can't imagine air being stronger. No way. My best friend from high school turns wrencheds for MB and has been doing that since 10th grade (we're 50's now). He has been making a living, every day, with Milwaukee electric tools. That is all the testament I need for my weekend warrior duties. My 18V Milwaukee impact has pulled of some amazing feats and it's zero maintenance. In fact, it's about two years old and I've yet to need to charge the battery. And let's not even talk about keepin a compressor charged and slinging a hose all over the place when you're trying to work.

One thing I can say in favor of air is all you need is the right adaptor for your tools. One compressor runs your blow gun, impact wrench, ratchet, nail guns, die grinder, cut off tool.... whatever you want. No wondering if you'll need a new one in five years because your batteries aren't made anymore. All of my air tools pre-date good battery operated tools, so they're also reliable and durable. Personally, I'll always go with Ingersol for a pneumatic impact.

 

[kz]

That's a fair point. The trouble is, despite all the standardization that's been happening in the latest years, batteries are still not entirely compatible between brands. So, once you invest in a certain brand, it's hard to justify the switch to another one just because one single particular tool happens to be a tiny bit better there. Not for an amateur like me, anyway. Professional use is a different story.
The thought of messing about with different batteries and different chargers for each and every tool doesn't appeal to me. I want to choose one and stick with it.

I may look for a more powerful one sometime, as I do love cordless power tools, but for now I'll just try to make the most of what I already have.

Bite the bullet and switch to Milwaukee if available in Romania. I typically try not be fanboy of any brand (including Ford/Mustang) as that's just falling for marketing, but their tools simply work.

Not helpful to you but though Home Depot sales now I have a drawer full of M18 and M12 batteries.

Car wise - their (or in general) cordless ratchets are truly game changing tools for car work. Milwaukee M12 and (especially) M18 tire inflators are absolutely excellent.

 

[Vlad Soare]

We do have Milwaukee here, as well as DeWalt and Makita. They're quite expensive, though. But I'll take a look at their lineup. Who knows, maybe I can talk Santa into it...

 

[K4fxd]

If you want air impacts get an IR 231, they just work. Add a drop of oil in the air fitting once every so often and they last a lifetime.

https://www.amazon.com/Ingersoll-231C-Super-Duty-Impact-Wrench/dp/B0002SRM3I

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