12v impact wrench-- any good?

My missus bends 1/2'' breaker bars using one leg! LOL.

Thanks , Tazzie.

I agree. I hand tighten the wheel nuts. My wife has used the impact wrench & undid the nuts easy. Used a wheel brace to tighten them after.

Hi there. I agree with the others: it works really well AS LONG AS you have enough voltage, so I have the engine running (the driver cannot supply the impacts at low voltage, so the armature just spins). In my case, I have found that 'three clicks' of the rachet is OK on tightening, and then check with the wheel wrench, but it wouldn't be hard to stretch a stud if you are not very careful. A wheel change in under 5 minutes has to be a benefit!

Hmmm... Mine works fine with out the engine running, Chris. Your's may have a problem?

Hi there. You could be right, that the unit is faulty. But I suspect it had more to do with the fact that I was running it off the second battery which may have been a bit 'down' at the time (like maybe 11.5 to 12 v) after few days of camping and little running to recharge. I'd had some connection issues on that trip, if I remember correctly.
All it means is that, IF you are running it without the engine running, and IF the driver won't cut in, don't dispair until AFTER you have started the engine and tried again.

Doing nuts up with the Shentai (or similar) is quite okay as long as you don't go mad. I actually only allow it to "hit" once or maybe twice. Three times (IMHO) would be risky.

I used to have 2 of these jiggers, but sold one and bought a Makita 18 volt 1/2" Impact Driver that I carry in the Patrol. I use it in combination with a 90 foot/pound torque limiting extension bar, so I don't have to worry about over-cooking the wheel nuts when I put them on.

Thank you all the for helpfull feed back they seem the way to go.


Cheers,
Tazzie.

It would work okay I reckon and yes, it would be a bit "violent" once the slack had been taken up and there was resistence being encountered....but nothing that you couldn't put up with. Usually, once you reach the point where the leg is in position, you stop cranking anyway, so once the dog clutch locks up on one occasion you would just stop the machine. All good.

I think a cordless drill type impact driver would be better in this application.

2 speed cordless drill. No impact required.
It has to be the 2 speed gearbox type to wind caravan stabalisers up & down.

Agree about the sockets. Ditch the supplied ones and get a decent set. I split 2 of my originals..