Building my Diesel Mechanic tool set - Impact Sockets?

[Davediesel]

Trying to decide on impact socket brand.

Ingersoll Rand vs Craftsman vs MAC.....please advise

Thanks!

 

[redman333]

Harbor freight impacts. Have been using mine for years and never had an issue


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[ihateminimumwage]

I've been hammering away at the 86pc Ingersoll Rand (Taiwan) set for going on maybe 5 years now, zero failures and the etching to read the socket sizes holds up great. My only complaint is the few missing sizes in 3/8" metric (12mm, 16mm, 18mm) which I filled in with other brands. Worth every penny.
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200317770_200317770

Skip the current Craftsman offerings, and overpriced USA sets on eBay. Until Stanley revamps the Craftsman line, no reason to buy any of the current lineup.

MAC impacts are easily my favorites I've ever used. Love the stepped down ends at the square drive end. If you are willing to spend the money with the student discount, they would be a good investment.

I'd recommend Williams USA as well, but they seem to be behind in production right now so every dealer is out of stock for a lot of their products. Their USA impacts are Snap-on relabels. I run them and a mix of the Snap-on made Kobalt USAs for 3/8"s. I would swap all my 1/2" to them if they were currently available.

 

[Sugarfryz]

I agree Pittsburgh professional impact sockets, best bang for the buck and if you break one just head down to the store

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Snap-On... they transfer more torque

 

[grumpychevy]

Proto. We use them at work. They withstand everything we put them through without fail.

 

[Firebrick43]

Sunnex, grey pneumatic, or harbor freight pro. All good Taiwanese socket with a good history and a good price.

IR your buying the name and I believe most are still Taiwanese. The craftsmanship are Chinese now and if anything like their other Chinese tools are junk. Macs are good and if your willing spend the money on their USA made ones. Their precision torque ones are good as well but made in Taiwan. Might as well save a lot of coin and get the grey or sunex sets.

For the price of a 16 piece Taiwanese Mac http://www.mactools.com/en-us/Sockets/1-2-Drive-Impact-Sockets/SVDPM166BRPT/16-PC-1-2-Drive-Metric-Deep-Impact-Socket-Set-6-PT-


You can have both the master sae and metric sets from sunex.
https://www.amazon.com/Sunex-2698-2-Inch-12-Point-39-Piece/dp/B003XIJ7X2

https://www.amazon.com/Sunex-2699-2-Inch-12-Point-39-Piece/dp/B003XIJ7XW

My sunex impacts are just as good as my snap on impacts.

 

[KWtech90]

For 3/8 I use GP duo sockets and 1/2 I use sunex master impact sets. This combination allows me to really only need 1 socket set of each drive size for use in my roll cart.
The gp duos are as thin as most chrome sockets but hold up well to 3/8 impact guns. The sunex 1/2 drive sets run all the way up to 1-1/2 which you will undoubtedly need if you work on HD trucks and equipment. I've had to warant a 15/16 sunex socket after I broke one removing a cummins isx head and the process was relatively painless. I had a replacement socket shipped to me within the week.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029XKZKG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MPQ88RY/?tag=atomicindus08-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MPQ8784/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[nczo6]

Sunex or tekton if you are budget minded plus they don't skip sizes.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Sunnex, grey pneumatic, or harbor freight pro. All good Taiwanese socket with a good history and a good price.

IR your buying the name and I believe most are still Taiwanese. The craftsmanship are Chinese now and if anything like their other Chinese tools are junk. Macs are good and if your willing spend the money on their USA made ones. Their precision torque ones are good as well but made in Taiwan. Might as well save a lot of coin and get the grey or sunex sets.

For the price of a 16 piece Taiwanese Mac http://www.mactools.com/en-us/Sockets/1-2-Drive-Impact-Sockets/SVDPM166BRPT/16-PC-1-2-Drive-Metric-Deep-Impact-Socket-Set-6-PT-


You can have both the master sae and metric sets from sunex.
https://www.amazon.com/Sunex-2698-2-Inch-12-Point-39-Piece/dp/B003XIJ7X2

https://www.amazon.com/Sunex-2699-2-Inch-12-Point-39-Piece/dp/B003XIJ7XW

My sunex impacts are just as good as my snap on impacts.

Nice post. This should basically wrap the thread up. If the OP does not want to buy USA sockets, then this is all the info they need.

 

[Davediesel]

Thanks for all the feedback.

The Garage Journal gang never disappoints!

 

[Farrell]

I just recently bought the sunex master socket sets. As a home user I could not justify the snap on name for a hobby. Does anyone have any honest feedback on sunex sockets? They seem to be well made and comparable to other brands I own. I have misc. american sockets but nothing is worse than getting into a project and not having the proper size. That is why I went with these master sets. They fill out a whole set.

 

[uscarry45]

the thing i don't like about my ingersoll sockets is that the size marking has worn off all the popular size sockets and it is not engraved or stamped on them-what a pain in the ***

 

[Botis]

I would either go grey or sunex. I've been running my greys for 7 years in a John Deere shop and no issues. My only problem with the 2 sunex sets posted above is I would rather have my 1/2" impacts in 6 point instead of 12. I've worn out some Cornwell 12pt impacts before.