3/4" Ratchets/Impacts.......

[TheDukeofDeere]

As far as ratchets, what do you prefer? I don't use them extensively, but when needed, I'm looking for something that isn't your run of the mill import design.

Snap On is a touch pricey unless I could find a good used head and handle. I really like the Matco/Big Red design with the integrated extend-able handle.

Does anyone have any experience with the Matco/Big Red design or could comment on how the Snap On ratchet compares to the rest?

And of course, there is always the Craftsman route with a cheater pipe.

As far as sockets are concerned, I have some import chrome sockets and I'll probably just buy a set of impact sockets from GP or Sunex as I am also looking for a good 3/4" impact recommendation?

I've tossed around the idea of getting the IR2141 but does anyone else have other suggestions for 3/4" impacts?

So, what should I be looking for to suite my 3/4" drive needs?

 

[Deafautotech]

STAY AWAY from extend-able handle!!! i hate those... i had seen one that went bent and broke off that hurt tech...

i only has either Snap on and craftsman ratchets... i bought the Wright and S-K impact sockets what size i need to use for work... it is cheap for me to know what is size and buy what i need than buy whole set and only use one or three sockets...

 

[wellstig1]

I have the snap on 3/4" ratchet head and 36" handle for it. I would not want to go cheap on something that you will most likely end up hanging on or putting a lot of force into, breakage at that point can get you injured. I have used a 2141 and aircat 3/4 a ton and they both are the some power and weight wise, the aircat is quieter though if that is a concern.

 

[mikebramel]

definately not something you want to cheap out on like said youre going to be leaning on or jumping on.

Go on ebay. Look up Wright, Proto, Armstrong. All quality tools without the outrageous price.

 

[vssjim]

I have the extra long Cornwell and Wright ratchets and a short USAG one but I have never broken any of them and they are all fairly tough.

 

[patrickw10]

I have an sk 3/4 ratchet but its a lil on the short side.

 

[plinker]

I have a Napa (same as Craftsman) When I need one I usually use it. I also have an S-K, it is a finer tooth ratchet and that does come in handy.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

As far as ratchets, what do you prefer? I don't use them extensively, but when needed, I'm looking for something that isn't your run of the mill import design.And of course, there is always the Craftsman route with a cheater pipe.

I use the following 3/4" drive ratchets:

A coarse toothed but strong as hell Craftsman. A lot of people under estimate the strength of these. You do have to work at tearing one up to kill it.

A fine toothed New Britain that I "conserve" by only using in confined areas and by trying not to use it to break loose anything really tight. It's a good smooth ratchet but it's been discontinued for well over twenty years. I only have one rebuild kit left and the ratchet that NAPA will replace it with under warranty with is a clone of the coarse toothed Carftsman.

And lastly, a 28 or 30" handle Wright 8400 1" drive ratchet that I put a 6400 3/4" drive head into. It's almost a foot longer than the standard ratched and is strong as hell. If you have the room to swing it, it's great for stuff that's tight the whole way out.

For a 3/4" drive impact, I've been using an IR261 for a long time now, maybe fifteen years. It's heavy as hell, but strong and tough. I'm not impressed with the newer and lighter impacts.

Your mileage may vary.

WoD

 

[bobcatdan]

I have a cornwell 3/4". It has removable handle like SO, I have both the 20" and 36" handles. I bought it brand new, it looks like something from the 40's. I use the hell out of it and never broke it. I went for it over SO for two reasons, lower price and no damn locosocket. If you have the complete set, the SO locosocket system is nice, but all I have are sunnex impact, that extra dipple *****.

 

[Chadro]

Unless your working on big trucks or equipment, just get a craftsman or HF. I work on big trucks and my el cheapo HF set does just fine and I haven't broke it yet. For someone that barely uses 3/4, buying a $200 Sanp-On head is just silly. I'll upgrade eventually but I'm fine for now.

 

[DrkMtnDew]

my 3/4'' ratchet is a Proto. very good ratchet. and got it on a special deal through a company i worked for. $75.

 

[Busted Bolts]

gearwrench has one out right now between 80-12- bucks. I believe this is the same KD one that is made for C-MAN, but costs less.

 

[SCscoutguy]

For the money you can't beat the Proto 3/4" ratchets. You can routinely get them for $40 or less on ebay and they are well built. You can also get a Urrea brand Proto ratchet which is essentially Proto's Mexico division but the ratchets are actually Proto made in the US just marked Urrea for cheap as well. Honestly for as little as I use 3/4" stuff I use the HF kit with the Proto ratchet and I have never had a single problem. I have a friend that works on 18 wheelers for a living and he beats the living hell out of the HF 3/4" stuff and he hasn't had anything to break yet so he says.

 

[diesel research]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88885

 

[boro_boy70]

For the money you can't beat the Proto 3/4" ratchets. You can routinely get them for $40 or less on ebay and they are well built.

I'll second that. I bought my Proto 3/4 ratchet on ebay for $28. Also keep an eye out for a Challenger ratchet (the Proto built ones) They are the same exact ratchet, the only difference is the name stamped on the cover plate.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88885

I don't know. I just don't trust the concept of those light weight plastic impact wrenches. I look at impact wrenches from the standpoint of Newton's 3rd law of motion. Heavy is good!

I just can't imagine these new light weight impacts lasting anywhere near as long as the older heavier designs. I'd love to see a side by side durability test involving something along the lines of say X number of thousand fasteners that require say a 1000 ft.lbs. of torque to break them loose.

I haven't talked with any of the mobile truck and forestry tire guys in ages. I'd be curious as to what they're using.

WoD

 

[shampoop]

I don't know. I just don't trust the concept of those light weight plastic impact wrenches. I look at impact wrenches from the standpoint of Newton's 3rd law of motion. Heavy is good!

I just can't imagine these new light weight impacts lasting anywhere near as long as the older heavier designs. I'd love to see a side by side durability test involving something along the lines of say X number of thousand fasteners that require say a 1000 ft.lbs. of torque to break them loose.

I haven't talked with any of the mobile truck and forestry tire guys in ages. I'd be curious as to what they're using.

WoD

Well if the tool is going to be grossly abused by being dropped off balconies and thrown across the floor all day then yea, an all metal case is a good idea. But if you personally own the tool, that's never gonna happen. I don't think the case design really has anything to do with durability when the tool is used properly.

 

[diesel research]

I don't know. I just don't trust the concept of those light weight plastic impact wrenches. I look at impact wrenches from the standpoint of Newton's 3rd law of motion. Heavy is good!

I just can't imagine these new light weight impacts lasting anywhere near as long as the older heavier designs. I'd love to see a side by side durability test involving something along the lines of say X number of thousand fasteners that require say a 1000 ft.lbs. of torque to break them loose.

I haven't talked with any of the mobile truck and forestry tire guys in ages. I'd be curious as to what they're using.

WoD

Newtons 3rd law has relatively little to do with the price of rice in china or impact power as discussed here. While "heavy is good". Heavy and composite housing have nothing to do with each other since the housing is not the rotating mass or anvils. The machine I was using that gun on was itself a large impacting device using about 13,000lbs of anvil on a 40,000lb rotor, so I do understand the overall concept.

Thousands of fasteners at thousands of foot pounds makes for interesting bench racing, but is also relatively irrelevant to real world use by the OP.

I don't use them extensively, but when needed, I'm looking for something that isn't your run of the mill import design.

This tells he he does not need constant use or the extreme reliability found in a production facility, rather, he needs a little bit more power on little larger fasteners occasionally.

In that instance, it would seem to fit. As noted from initial review, I do not think that gun will survive the abusive production environment it is in, and even mentioned the composite housing as a weak point since the idiots like to drop stuff from 8ft up, down to the concrete below.

In a more civilized environment where you aren't slamming stuff on the concrete, and feeding it good dry clean lubricated air, I don't see that as much of an issue. In a daily use environment where it is otherwise taken care of, I could see a few years of use before rebuild. In a home shop most any impact could last a lifetime if kept dry and lubed.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

Well if the tool is going to be grossly abused by being dropped off balconies and thrown across the floor all day then yea, an all metal case is a good idea. But if you personally own the tool, that's never gonna happen. I don't think the case design really has anything to do with durability when the tool is used properly.

Nah, grossly abused is when someone backs over it with a wrecker. Or the klutz working next to you stumbles over your air hose and pulls your impact off of your bench and bounces it off of the concrete floor.

I've had both happen. I've also knocked or dropped them onto the floor myself. Stuff happens. They still worked fine afterwards. A little cosmetic damage is all.

My main concern with the light weight tools is that the "opposite" force that they generate when hammering away has to go somewhere. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That five hundred or one thousand foot pounds of hammering on the bolt that you are tightening or loosening has to have something to "hammer against" in the tool to be generated.

If the tool is light, it seems that more of this force would get transmitted to the hand holding the tool.

Like I said, I'd love to see a test to failure of the current crop of plastic ones against the previous crop of steel and aluminum ones.

WoD

 

[diesel research]

While there isn't much review on 3/4" plastic guns, one of the top 1/2" guns in the industry is "plastic". That would be the infamous IR2135TIMax.

Had one of those plumbed into my 8x8 offorad wrecker for a few years, and many many shop technicians rely on this plastic wonder on a daily basis.

In operation, a rotating mass (the hammer) is accelerated by the motor, storing energy, then suddenly connected to the output shaft (the anvil), creating a high-torque impact. The hammer mechanism is designed such that after delivering the impact, the hammer is again allowed to spin freely, and does not stay locked. With this design, the only reaction force applied to the body of the tool is the motor accelerating the hammer, and thus the operator feels very little torque, even though a very high peak torque is delivered to the socket. This is similar to a conventional hammer, where the user applies a small, constant force to swing the hammer, which generates a very large impulse when the hammer strikes an object. Energy is stored over time, allowing a very strong, but short output impulse to be generated from a relatively weak, but constant input force.

My bet is your wrist would break before the plastic would.

 

[patrickw10]

Why hasnt snapon made a 3/4 dual 80 ratchet.

 

[DanCo]

I have a Proto 3/4 ratchet with an industrial finish. Got it at the flea for $25 or $30 its about 30" long, I cleaned/lubbed the head and works great. I have HF 3/4 impact sockets set $19 after 20% coupon and a few loose Snappy and Proto sockets. I've used the HF sockets with the shop 3/4' IR gun, beaten on them and have not had a single issue.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

My bet is your wrist would break before the plastic would.

Probably, but a wrist can heal. Plastic won't.

I'll continue to stick with my ancient and obsolete design, overly heavy and durable, steel and aluminum air tools.

It's a damn good thing that we have different opinions. If we all liked the same thing, there'd be a serious shortage of 6'5" 300 pound blond headed Ukrainian women that liked to cuddle.

WoD

 

[shampoop]

Nah, grossly abused is when someone backs over it with a wrecker. Or the klutz working next to you stumbles over your air hose and pulls your impact off of your bench and bounces it off of the concrete floor.

I've had both happen. I've also knocked or dropped them onto the floor myself. Stuff happens. They still worked fine afterwards. A little cosmetic damage is all.

O yea, composite stuff can handle that fine. I'm talking about the constant abuse of say an impact gun owned by a tire shop. Something that's gonna be dragged and dropped thousands of times in it's lifetime.

My main concern with the light weight tools is that the "opposite" force that they generate when hammering away has to go somewhere. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That five hundred or one thousand foot pounds of hammering on the bolt that you are tightening or loosening has to have something to "hammer against" in the tool to be generated.

If the tool is light, it seems that more of this force would get transmitted to the hand holding the tool.

Like I said, I'd love to see a test to failure of the current crop of plastic ones against the previous crop of steel and aluminum ones.

WoD

That's what engineers are for

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

Unless your working on big trucks or equipment, just get a craftsman or HF. I work on big trucks and my el cheapo HF set does just fine and I haven't broke it yet. For someone that barely uses 3/4, buying a $200 Sanp-On head is just silly. I'll upgrade eventually but I'm fine for now.

This tells he he does not need constant use or the extreme reliability found in a production facility, rather, he needs a little bit more power on little larger fasteners occasionally.

Sorry I didn't include this in my original post, this isn't for strictly a home garage type setting, it is for repairing/servicing ag equipment and semis.

I'm not a heavy diesel mechanic, but it is nice to have a strong 3/4" ratchet and impact at the shop for taking duals off of tractors, removing wheels from a semi, or removing/tightening large nuts that hold ag equipment together.

Though it will not be used everyday, it stands a chance to be abused (cheater pipes, heavy jumping, you know the drill) even in infrequent use.

Hope this helps and so far, like always, GJ throws out some great ideas and good honest debate!

 

[Chadro]

Sorry I didn't include this in my original post, this isn't for strictly a home garage type setting, it is for repairing/servicing ag equipment and semis.

I'm not a heavy diesel mechanic, but it is nice to have a strong 3/4" ratchet and impact at the shop for taking duals off of tractors, removing wheels from a semi, or removing/tightening large nuts that hold ag equipment together.

Though it will not be used everyday, it stands a chance to be abused (cheater pipes, heavy jumping, you know the drill) even in infrequent use.

Hope this helps and so far, like always, GJ throws out some great ideas and good honest debate!

So your not a heavy duty/diesel mechanic but you work in a shop that services trucks and heavy equipment? Tell the shop to get their cheap asses out there and buy some 1" stuff. My shop provides 1" impacts and sockets for tire and other uses so I don't have to buy that expensive ****. I will eventually simply beacuse not every shop provides that stuff.

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

I use the following 3/4" drive ratchets:

And lastly, a 28 or 30" handle Wright 8400 1" drive ratchet that I put a 6400 3/4" drive head into. It's almost a foot longer than the standard ratched and is strong as hell. If you have the room to swing it, it's great for stuff that's tight the whole way out.

WoD

This with a CMan ratchet might be a good combo for my use.

I am assuming the Wright 6400 guts are interchangeable with the 8400 ratchet without much problem?

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

So your not a heavy duty/diesel mechanic but you work in a shop that services trucks and heavy equipment? Tell the shop to get their cheap asses out there and buy some 1" stuff. My shop provides 1" impacts and sockets for tire and other uses so I don't have to buy that expensive ****. I will eventually simply beacuse not every shop provides that stuff.

I'm a farmer.

I buy my own tools so I can repair as much as I can.

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

gearwrench has one out right now between 80-12- bucks. I believe this is the same KD one that is made for C-MAN, but costs less.

Any pictures or links of the Gearwrench 3/4" stuff?

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

I have a Proto 3/4 ratchet with an industrial finish. Got it at the flea for $25 or $30 its about 30" long, I cleaned/lubbed the head and works great. I have HF 3/4 impact sockets set $19 after 20% coupon and a few loose Snappy and Proto sockets. I've used the HF sockets with the shop 3/4' IR gun, beaten on them and have not had a single issue.

I was thinking that HF 3/4" Impacts might not be a bad place to start.

As far as the ratchet goes, that was a great deal. Looks like the chrome version, which is considerably shorter, goes for over $100.

 

[Marlin]

This is a recent offering from IR, it offers real solid performance and durability without breaking the bank.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200422055_200422055

 

[Wrenches of Death]

This with a CMan ratchet might be a good combo for my use.

I am assuming the Wright 6400 guts are interchangeable with the 8400 ratchet without much problem?

Yes, if they both have the same tooth count. Not on the pawl, but in the head. My 8400 ratchet and the 640x kit are both post 2000 and work fine.

I had access to a Wright 1" drive kit that as offered to me as a spare. It wasn't compatible with my ratchet. It had a different tooth pitch than the current/recent 8400 series. I'm guessing that it was a much older kit. The tooth pitch indicated that it was for a head with maybe 5 or 6 fewer teeth.

I don't know when Wright changed the tooth count, but it's probably been a long long time ago. Some older Wright catalogs should be able to help narrow down the period when they changed the tooth count. Doing a side by side comparison, Wright also changed the method of retention for the direction selector. The newer ones have a retaining pin hammered into to body.

Wright also offers a 42 inch handle version for both 3/4" and 1" drive. It's the 6425 and the 8425. If you have the room to swing it, longer can be better sometimes.

WoD

 

[Zebu Fellenz]

I'm a farmer.

I buy my own tools so I can repair as much as I can.

Fellow farmer here.

I have a Craftsman 3/4 drive ratchet with sockets from 7/8-1 7/8" and an IR 2141 with sockets from 3/4-2"

I don't use the ratchet too much but it seems to be plenty solid and I wouldn't worry about using a cheater bar on it. I would much prefer one with a longer ~30" handle and will probably buy one if the right deal comes around.

The 2141 see's quite a bit more use and I have never been disappointed in it. Just have to be careful what you use it on as it will snap 5/8" and sometimes even 3/4" bolts if you're not careful.

 

[crewchief888]

i have an old proto short handle, and the old style (small diameter handle) SO ratchet head, breaker bar head, and long handle.
impact is an older bluepoint, probably from around '94

ive broken the breaker bar head several times, and my handle is slightly bent, but it's had as much as 8ft of pipe on it breaking bolts loose.

like all 3/4" dr impacts the bluepoint is an air hog....

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

Thanks for the suggestions so far, I got a list made up, sitting next to the computer so I remember to constantly search eBay, CL, etc.

Anyone else with experience with any IR vs. any Aircat and/or CP impact?

 

[johnsdeere850j]

I have 4 IR 2141's they are great. I have wore 2 out and bought the 75 dollar rebuild kit for them and they are as strong as ever. Great impacts, they will get most fasteners on tractors and equipment and what it wont get the IR 293 1" will.

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

I have 4 IR 2141's they are great. I have wore 2 out and bought the 75 dollar rebuild kit for them and they are as strong as ever. Great impacts, they will get most fasteners on tractors and equipment and what it wont get the IR 293 1" will.

I was curious how a rebuild kit performs after it is installed. I was looking at eBay for good used 2141's, but I was a bit leery of the "used" part. You just never know the condition they were kept in, etc.

But if the rebuild kit seems to restore them to "like new" working condition, I might have to continue to look for a well kept used gun.

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

Fellow farmer here.

I have a Craftsman 3/4 drive ratchet with sockets from 7/8-1 7/8" and an IR 2141 with sockets from 3/4-2"

I don't use the ratchet too much but it seems to be plenty solid and I wouldn't worry about using a cheater bar on it. I would much prefer one with a longer ~30" handle and will probably buy one if the right deal comes around.

The 2141 see's quite a bit more use and I have never been disappointed in it. Just have to be careful what you use it on as it will snap 5/8" and sometimes even 3/4" bolts if you're not careful.

What type of chrome and impact sockets are you using?

 

[TheDukeofDeere]

This is a recent offering from IR, it offers real solid performance and durability without breaking the bank.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200422055_200422055

Thanks for the link, I have been seeing more and more of the IR "Edge" series and for lesser used air tools, this might be a strong possibility. I was thinking about picking up the 1/2" "Edge" air ratchet at Lowe's using a 20% off coupon from HF.

Do you know if Lowe's is going to start carrying the 3/4" gun as well?

And what other "Edge" series tools seem good for occasional use?

 

[johnsdeere850j]

I was curious how a rebuild kit performs after it is installed. I was looking at eBay for good used 2141's, but I was a bit leery of the "used" part. You just never know the condition they were kept in, etc.

But if the rebuild kit seems to restore them to "like new" working condition, I might have to continue to look for a well kept used gun.

Pretty decent after the rebuild. Good luck on finding one on ebay used, I actually have been trying to buy a couple extras myself off ebay and when I lose the auctions its either because some fool overpaid or uses one of the "sniper bidding" thief services. I would just get one off amazon.com for 450. They will last forever if you just use it every once in a while and oil it each time. We use these 100% everyday and they get abused which is probably why I had to rebuild the two. Good luck. For impacts I use craftsman 3/4" drive impact and proto.