OMO: Which impact wrench

[DarrenSV650S]

I want to get an impact wrench to make getting the car's wheels off easier. I bought a halfords breaker bar today and it just twisted and snapped.

I don't mind if it's battery, 240v or 12v. Just the cheapest option really. I was thinking 12v would be handy to have in the car for flat tyres, but would it be a bit under powered?

What is a decent make that you can recommend?

Thanks

Sounds like your wheel nuts are either over tightened or seized. I think you may well be throwing good money away buying more cbeap tools especially a 12v impact wrench. Plus if left in your car a battery one may not hold its charge.

If I were you I'd buy a cheapo 1/2 torque wrench (£20-40 from amazon perhaps http://www.amazon.co.uk/FAMEX-10886-...pr_product_top ) and a correct sized impact socket. I'd remove each wheel and smear a very thin layer of antisieze compound to the rear of each wheel where it sits on the hub and to the threads of each wheel nut. I would torque them all down correctly. I do this each time I buy a new car. Perhaps you know someone with some decent kit that could help you the first time. Check the torque setting for your car a get a wrench that will comfortably achieve that. You shouldn't really use a torque wrench to undo tight nuts.

I have a SIP air impact gun, but NEVER use it to tighten anything..

[DarrenSV650S]

The bolts are new and were off a few days ago. The garage used a battery impact wrench to tighten them. I want to be able to remove them myself in future.
I have a torque wrench

[DJ123]

What size was the breaker bar? I use a 1/2" drive breaker bar/extended ratchet and it is capable of undoing bolts that have been put on with impact guns easily. Decent hand tools will do a good job of it.

buy a good car breaker bar for the nuts,or if you want cheap, you can get a 12v impact that clips on to a battery to undo the nuts,they are primitive but do work,but if the nuts are very tight you may struggle with a 12v impact,but if you want a good battery impact expect to pay over £400

[NTECUK]

Some of the pro battery ones are very powerful .
Milwaukee HDI18HIW32 18V model has a stalled power rating of 610nm.that's too high for wheel nuts If you get a numpty using that on full power your looking at New studs .
If you want one get a mains power one .Don't let me catch you doing things up with it though .

Those 12v impact guns are surprisingly powerful but don't bother with the battery ones unless you spend big bucks, it'll be crap.

I can honestly say in my 25 plus years of messing and working with bolts and sockets etc, I have never broke a 1/2 inch breaker bar even from a cheap set.

I've had 2 foot long scaffold poles on them and still undone stuff without breaking.

If you have only just bought this from halfords, take it bloody back and go buy one from machine mart, or upgrade to a 3/4 inch and buy the correct socket for it.

I still use one of those blue four pronged wheel nut jobbies that have a different size on each prong, you can get done amazing torque on those things, I've never once came across a wheel bolt I couldn't undo.

Also take it for a hard fast ride and use the brakes a lot to get some heat in them, it will get the hubs warm too which should make cracking the bolts a tad easier.

[andrewsmith]

Another one for a breaker bar.
Go get a one from Machine mart as 1/2" drive at 2ft or 3ft and decent impact socket.

This halfords one must have been made of plastic to snap the bugger

[yorkie_chris]

Don't use a torque wrench as a cracking bar you apes!