3/8" Impact Wrench

[83diesel]

I have a Mac (IR) composite non titanium 3/8" impact that has been re-vaned and cleaned up several times in the last 2 years. Kind of tired of messing with it. Do the new Titaniums last longer than the regular composite? Or do all the lightweight composites wear out this fast. My heavy aluminum housing blue-point lasted 7years with no problems. Never was a real power house though. The BP is my home impact wrench, but I need something that will hold up to everyday diesel repairs (lots of 3/8" impact/ratchet use).

I am open to suggestions on what you guys use professionally for a 3/8" air impact wrench. Please no battery impacts I have several and have been happy with them.

 

[wheats71]

snap on mg325

 

[diesel research]

2115timax


Sounds like maybe you need more oil, less water, more grease.

 

[Marlin]

I have a Mac (IR) composite non titanium 3/8" impact that has been re-vaned and cleaned up several times in the last 2 years. Kind of tired of messing with it. Do the new Titaniums last longer than the regular composite? Or do all the lightweight composites wear out this fast. My heavy aluminum housing blue-point lasted 7years with no problems. Never was a real power house though. The BP is my home impact wrench, but I need something that will hold up to everyday diesel repairs (lots of 3/8" impact/ratchet use).

I am open to suggestions on what you guys use professionally for a 3/8" air impact wrench. Please no battery impacts I have several and have been happy with them.

What are the symptoms. You should be able to get it back to the original power. Have you greased the mechanism with the IR grease? The new Ti's will have a higher performance to start with and come with a two year warranty. They also have some beefed up components like the trigger and reverse valves.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

Try a Snap-on MG325. The power they make is surprising but they are a little noisier than the IR impacts.

 

[diesel research]

What are the symptoms. You should be able to get it back to the original power. Have you greased the mechanism with the IR grease? The new Ti's will have a higher performance to start with and come with a two year warranty. They also have some beefed up components like the trigger and reverse valves.

Is IR grease mandatory?

 

[Marlin]

Is IR grease mandatory?

Not mandatory, but there was a lot of testing done on numerous different greases before the specified grease was chosen. In the end, what was chosen provided about twice the run time between regreasing than the closest runner up.

 

[diesel research]

Phew, ok just as long as other greases aren't going to eat up anything.

Just put some "Mobilith SHC" synthetic semi liquid grease (a bit thinner) in last week, due to being what I had on hand. We run it as a HD upgrade for wheel bearings. (normal chassis grease was causing bearings to burn out prematurely)

 

[GSteg]

if you had to buy brand new, then the 2115timax would be my choice.

 

[diesel research]

Ever replaced or even checked the anvils up front?

 

[83diesel]

Grease weekly and oil daily. Have a filter water separator on my personal air line in the shop and on the service truck. Drain the service truck compressor daily. The vanes have been replaced with the tune up kit twice. The gun sometimes passes air but won't spin, turn the anvil and it will work til the next time it sticks. Usually vanes cause this, seem to wear out fast, but I do use the gun all the time and if I didn't mention before I am a diesel mechanic so the engines have higher grade fasteners and a lot of bolts/nuts that a 3/8 gun is used for.

The things that bother me about the SO gun is the weight (using all day long) slightly larger and the first model of them were obnoxiously loud.

 

[davesnothere]

Mg325 x 100000000000

 

[Appleyard]

Matco MT2138, but I wish I had gotten the MG325

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

MG325 or IR TI-MAX will work great.

I have new Snap-On MG31, but I don't know how much I need to sell it for.

I put $250 on local Craigslist.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

The gun sometimes passes air but won't spin, turn the anvil and it will work til the next time it sticks. Usually vanes cause this

sounds like a bearing is hanging up. there is more to repairing/tuning up a gun than just replacing the vanes.

 

[83diesel]

I put all the parts that come in a tune-up kit, bearings seals, etc. Like I said the gun would work fine after the tune-up til a couple of months of hard use and would go back to the same problem. Someone at worked mentioned that the IRs are bad about distorting the housings after heavy use and will cause the same symptoms I am having.

Even so if I have to replace the gun every two years compared to the Bluepoint that I had before and the SO's the guys in the shop have then IR's don't impress me as much as they used to. The Bluepoint I used in a shop that had poor air quality and I hardly ever oiled it and it has outlasted the Mac's IR 3/8 impact. Maybe thats why the SO guy always has a couple used IRs in the used box on his truck and you don't see any of the other brands.

I also had the Matco guy look at the gun considering he sells the same IR guns and he services the guns on his truck. He said the same as others it usually is vanes and since I did a full tune-up kit he said I should not have any more problems. It stumped him how quickly it went back to doing the same thing. He sees much longer serviceabilty out of the guns he sells and has serviced. The parts came from the Matco guy and he helped rebuild it since I bought the parts from him even though I have done several guns in the past for other guys.

Oh well, time I guess to try something else.

 

[ike34]

MG325, I use it everyday and wouldnt have any other one

 

[Hammer1963]

Snap-on MG325 or Cornwell CAT2150. Both have a ton of power. The Cornwell is ultra compact. The Snap-on is one powerful beast