When is an impact needed? Task isn’t possible with a ratchet?

[oldschoolcraft]

I used to think impacts were only time saving tools. That you could do everything with a ratchet by hand, albeit slower. I did some car work at a buddy’s house this weekend and I came across a couple situations where I literally wouldn’t have been able to do the job by hand.

They were awkward angles where I needed to line up the fastener and get it started in the thread while using my other hand to push hoses and stuff aside for clearance. I tried to do it by hand but was not able to catch the threads with the fastener given the 10 degrees of movement I had. But with the impact, since it could get 360 degrees of movement on the fastener, I was able to catch the threads.

Makes me wonder what jobs/tasks are just otherwise impossible without an impact. I’m not talking about flat rate pro work or time saving. I mean, just literally can’t do it without an impact.

What jobs are those and how often do you come across them? Where impact is more than mere convenience but it’s a true necessity?

 

[Jswain]

#1 thing to NOT ever do with an impact would be starting fasteners as you described. That's a real good way to crossthread the bolts/strip threads.

 

[dnschmidt]

Seldom if ever. Impacts save TIME. As as the Rolling Stones reminded us: "Time Waits for No One"

 

[strutaeng]

1. For rusty bolts if you'd live in the rust belt region of the US.

2. Sometimes you can't get a breaker bar/cheater bar in there.

3. Fasteners with thread lock. I removed some engine mounts with thread locked fasteners on the wrecking yard once with only a ratchet. Cold and drizzling. I wish I hadn't forgotten my cordless impact gun at home.

4. I'm sure there are others.

 

[RichWolfson]

You can have the longest breaker bar made and an extension and you still cannot break loose a water heater anode. But a good impact gun makes it child's play.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

#1 thing to NOT ever do with an impact would be starting fasteners as you described. That's a real good way to crossthread the bolts/strip threads.

Yes I could see that. Is it always wrong to do it?

I think it was a motor mount where the last bolt couldn’t line up, even with The first three bolts loose, and I took a nylon strap, wrapped it around the mount, and pulled traction on the mount. The last opening was off by about 1/8” just barely. But by pulling on the mount, by 1/8” I was able to have full access to the threads.

but pulling traction meant i wasnt really able to use a ratchet to get the fastener in, and it was too deep to use my other hand while pulling traction. But I was able to hold the impact in front of me, awkwardly but enough that I could start the bolt in.

It worked fine, and I didn’t want to derail the thread but technically it wasn’t an impact it was a cordless drill with a 1/4 Hex to 3/8 square adapter. That’s all my buddy had at his home garage. Probably wouldn’t have generated enough torque to cross thread. It was basically a cordless screwdriver for me.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

You can have the longest breaker bar made and an extension and you still cannot break loose a water heater anode. But a good impact gun makes it child's play.

Damn I need to replace my friend’s water heater later this year. I have an m12 fuel 1/2” drive. Is that enough for this job or do I need m18?

 

[dchawk81]

I don't do anything with my entire body that I can use a tool and my index finger to do.

 

[pizza]

Damn I need to replace my friend’s water heater later this year. I have an m12 fuel 1/2” drive. Is that enough for this job or do I need m18?

you don't need to remove the anode to replace a water heater. the old anode just stays inside the old tank and is tossed.

 

[dchawk81]

You can have the longest breaker bar made and an extension and you still cannot break loose a water heater anode. But a good impact gun makes it child's play.

An 8 foot cheater bar and your entire body is like 900-1600 ft-lbs depending how big you are.

 

[alfadan]

There's a lot of times where an impact can break a nut loose where the bolt/shaft just turns and you can't reasonably stop it from turning.
Also a lot of times you cant get a 6 foot cheater in there, like in a wheel well.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

An 8 foot cheater bar and your entire body is like 900-1600 ft-lbs depending how big you are.

How does that compare to impact? I thought the m12 was something like 300 to 500?

 

[dchawk81]

How does that compare to impact? I thought the m12 was something like 300 to 500?

About the same as a high torque from a good brand...

I'd rather use the impact, but I was responding to a specific post. It's in the quotes.

 

[619DioFan]

I am the 2nd owner of my 95 ram 2500 4x4 , needed to do front brakes including rotors. Out came my earthquake impact with the 1 and 11/16 socket for the axle nut ( which had never been off before ) captured rotors on this truck. That nut just laughed at the impact. Out came the 3/4 inch drive by 40 inch breaker bar . with my 280 pound self yanking on the bar it sounded like a gun shot when the nut came loose. I now have a 1/2 inch full size , full power Milwaukee fuel gun. Has not failed yet.

 

[Firebrick43]

1. For rusty bolts if you'd live in the rust belt region of the US.

2. Sometimes you can't get a breaker bar/cheater bar in there.

3. Fasteners with thread lock. I removed some engine mounts with thread locked fasteners on the wrecking yard once with only a ratchet. Cold and drizzling. I wish I hadn't forgotten my cordless impact gun at home.

4. I'm sure there are others.

rusty bolts can be removed with some kroil and a ratchet/six point socket.

Thread locker is supposed to be heated to 400 degrees before removal. On all colors including green retaining compound 400 degrees reduces its strength to zero.

There is nothing that cant be removed with a ratchet until you get into fasteners in the 3" range and then you start needing torque multipliers or striking wrenches with a sledge. But an impact wont remove them either. Remember there are 4' 3/4" ratchets and 5.5' 1 inch ratchets and cheater pipes are applied.

Even crappy jobs that usually involve impacts like semi truck tires can be done with a ratchet.

 

[Hannahranga]

An 8 foot cheater bar and your entire body is like 900-1600 ft-lbs depending how big you are.

The trick with a water heater anode isn't applying the brute force it's that the water heater wants to turn.

Again it's more of a makes life easier than a necessity but not needing to resist the opposite end of a bolt/nut makes life way easier especially working alone.

Not falling over or punching something when a fastener suddenly loosens is nice (and yes I get that's partially a skill issue but you don't always have a good angle)

 

[Retired dozer fixer]

rusty bolts can be removed with some kroil and a ratchet/six point socket.

Thread locker is supposed to be heated to 400 degrees before removal. On all colors including green retaining compound 400 degrees reduces its strength to zero.

There is nothing that cant be removed with a ratchet until you get into fasteners in the 3" range and then you start needing torque multipliers or striking wrenches with a sledge. But an impact wont remove them either. Remember there are 4' 3/4" ratchets and 5.5' 1 inch ratchets and cheater pipes are applied.

Even crappy jobs that usually involve impacts like semi truck tires can be done with a ratchet.

Why would you ever use a ratchet on a high torque application? You’re just asking for trouble. If they were ment to then why are there breaker bars? Hence the name BREAKER. You must like destroying expensive tools from abuse

 

[crewchief888]

I don't do anything with my entire body that I can use a tool and my index finger to do.

if i can get air or battery power to something thats my 1st choice

 

[dchawk81]

Why would you ever use a ratchet on a high torque application? You’re just asking for trouble. If they were ment to then why are there breaker bars? Hence the name BREAKER. You must like destroying expensive tools from abuse

I used a ratchet with my 8 foot cheater bar. Not doing so would have made it a PITA to reset. It needed multiple pushes because the bolts were that bad. I'm guessing stretched because the nuts wouldn't spin on or off by hand even after they were completely removed. Can't even stand there and wrench one side ratchet the other.

 

[Cadfael]

I work on lawnmowers quite often, I use an impact for the flywheel nut and cutting blade(s).

 

[chris142]

Late model ford f350,450 and 550 caliper mounting brackets. They are extremely tight and thread locked from the factory. Maybe if you had the truck on a lift you could loosen them with a cheater pipe. Place I work at don't have a way to lift these trucks and I can't swing a cheater pipe due to clearance issues.

An impact takes them off.

 

[AEAdam]

rusty bolts can be removed with some kroil and a ratchet/six point socket.

Thread locker is supposed to be heated to 400 degrees before removal. On all colors including green retaining compound 400 degrees reduces its strength to zero.

There is nothing that cant be removed with a ratchet until you get into fasteners in the 3" range and then you start needing torque multipliers or striking wrenches with a sledge. But an impact wont remove them either. Remember there are 4' 3/4" ratchets and 5.5' 1 inch ratchets and cheater pipes are applied.

Even crappy jobs that usually involve impacts like semi truck tires can be done with a ratchet.

True. But in every instance, especially thread locker, the shock from an impact really helps. Thread locker in particular is good for sustained loads, like thermal loading, but is specifically not good for shock or vibration.

 

[Old Man Roger]

90% of the time it is just a time and effort saver, but like others have mentioned, if there isn’t enough room to swing a big breaker bar, then the impact is necessary.

 

[AEAdam]

I work on lawnmowers quite often, I use an impact for the flywheel nut and cutting blade(s).

Even pulling lugs after you jack up your car.

I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a situation where only an impact would work. In the OP, the situation highlighted sounded like a time saver. His friend didn’t want to shift the hoses. It probably could have been done with hand tools.

There are some jobs where the use of hand tools requires special jigs, tools etc. pulleys, and shocks instantly come to mind.

Again, I know dchawk doesn’t agree, but the difference between hand and impact is the shock, And that impulse is specifically why you can hit a pulley bolt with an impact and the pulley receives little or no inertia (doesn’t spin). That’s a good visual clue that an impact‘s torque is not the same as the torque from a breaker bar.

 

[vavet]

Removing lug nuts when the wheel is already off the ground. Unless you have a brake pedal depressor or a friend, the wheel will just spin.
i bought a specialized tool for removing fan clutches when I worked as a tech. It used an air hammer and a special wrench to shock it off. Sometimes it took 2 attempts, but I don’t think it ever took more than that.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JFJLTC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[turner66]

Removing/installing the blades on my bush hog mower. I used to hate laying under that thing with a breaker bar and a 2x4 to brace the blades. Cordless 1/2" impact makes it easy so I sharpen alot more often.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Removing lug nuts when the wheel is already off the ground. Unless you have a brake pedal depressor or a friend, the wheel will just spin.
i bought a specialized tool for removing fan clutches when I worked as a tech. It used an air hammer and a special wrench to shock it off. Sometimes it took 2 attempts, but I don’t think it ever took more than that.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JFJLTC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Used to work in an AC/Radiator shop, man would that tool have come in handy.

 

[tyyost]

I find threads like this interesting. I went a long time with nothing, and then a huge crappy 1/2 electric impact that was barely good for lug nuts. Answers range from impacts are great, to no one “needs” an impact. Cheaters pipes, heat, lubes, etc will get the job done. And it some degree everyone is right in their own situation. I live in PA, deal with basic repair issues most times, brakes and rotors, caliper clean up, some suspension work and exhausts.

Impacts are indispensable to me for time and wear and tear on my body. And right now is the best time for these tools, as they are widely available from budget sources to pro level tools. If you have air power or not you still have access to tools that will get the job done without busting you knuckles, jumping on pipes, or otherwise being creative. I usually use a 15” flex head ratchet as my go to, it’s all about using the right tools as they fit your budget and work style.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've never found an instance where an impact was necessary to install or tighten anything. I've had situations where the impact would break something loose when wrenches/breaker bars failed. I've also used a breaker bar to loosen fasteners that my impacts wouldn't.

 

[JimH]

I don't do anything with my entire body that I can use a tool and my index finger to do.

Sometimes it takes a power tool to reach that critical spot to get em off ...

 

[Firebrick43]

Why would you ever use a ratchet on a high torque application? You’re just asking for trouble. If they were ment to then why are there breaker bars? Hence the name BREAKER. You must like destroying expensive tools from abuse

Because modern ratchets starting with the dual 80 are stronger than breakers bars pivot head and have been for 20? years now.

Even older snap on 3/4" and 1" ratchet heads (and the wright railroad ratchets) could take the torque. The snap on 3/4 that my father owns has changed 100's of semi tires since the late 70's. It was my job as a kid to stablize the handyman jack holding the extension up as his 300lb frame bounced on the 6' cheater pipe slid over the 42" handle. I always thought the handle (same handle used with the breaker bar head) would break due to the flexing but it never did. I used the ratchet professionally then for 16 years on massive waldrich colburg and burkhardt weber cnc machines. I have put one rebuild kit in it and dad says he did maybe twice that he can remember.

I also used a 24" 1/2 dual 80 most times on those big CNC machines if I could, and many of times my 250 lbs was hanging off of it or standing on the handle and it never once gave way or needed a rebuild kit in the 10 years of daily use. Its longer than my old 1/2" breaker bar anyways

Never have broken/rebuilt my 18" 3/8 drive ratchet either and its longer than my old 3/8 breaker bar

There is no place/use for a breaker bar in my box, I would have to go looking to even find where I have squirreled them away.

 

[jdl25]

Zero turn mower blades. Game changer.

 

[ronkz650]

On some motorcycles unless you have a special holder tool, an impact is the only way to disassemble and reassemble front forks. Replacing a chuck on a drill is another place the impact is the only way. Of course the instructions say to insert an Allen key and hit it with a hammer to remove the chuck. Good luck to that!

 

[kaymccampbell]

On some motorcycles unless you have a special holder tool, an impact is the only way to disassemble and reassemble front forks. Replacing a chuck on a drill is another place the impact is the only way. Of course the instructions say to insert an Allen key and hit it with a hammer to remove the chuck. Good luck to that!

Funny, I've been changing drill chucks for 60 years with an Allen wrench and hammer, even though I've had impacts forever.

 

[kaymccampbell]

Not having the sheer muscle mass of most of you, I've used impacts of some kind for over half a century, for taking apart most everything. Putting stuff together is almost all hand work, unless it's so big it can't be broken. I always start everything by hand.

 

[CoogarXR]

Impacts offer more than linear torque. Turning a bolt with 800ftlbs of linear torque, like with a big breaker and a cheater pipe, isn't the same as using an 800ftlb-rated torque impact. It's that alternating between hammering action and instant torque that breaks bolts loose.

As I have gotten older, I let my tools do the work for me. I don't grunt much in the garage anymore, lol.

 

[dnschmidt]

I own at least 10-15 impacts (my bad, I just recounted 21), if I count both air and cordless, and I use them at every opportunity. BUT THE QUESTION WAS: "Is there anything an impact will do that a ratchet cannot?" The answer to that question is NOT MUCH. They build the Pyramids without power tools. Now I'm sure that was a pain in the *** but it was obviously possible. It's probably because I'm German that I'm literal. If you ask me a question I attempt to provide a specific answer to THAT question. If the question was "Are impacts great?" I would have answered in the affirmative but that wasn't the question.

 

[dscheidt]

I've never found an instance where an impact was necessary to install or tighten anything. I've had situations where the impact would break something loose when wrenches/breaker bars failed. I've also used a breaker bar to loosen fasteners that my impacts wouldn't.

i got given a really nice rear bike hub that someone had cut the spokes off before removing the freewheel, when I was a kid, a long time ago. they are on incredibly tight, because the action of the chain tightens them in use. without a rim on the hub, there's way to hold the hub to resist the turning torque. (can't put it in a vise, you'd crush it before it was tight enough). I took the hub and the freewheel removal tool and a matching socket to a garage, and the tire guy did it two seconds.

 

[Firebrick43]

i got given a really nice rear bike hub that someone had cut the spokes off before removing the freewheel, when I was a kid, a long time ago. they are on incredibly tight, because the action of the chain tightens them in use. without a rim on the hub, there's way to hold the hub to resist the turning torque. (can't put it in a vise, you'd crush it before it was tight enough). I took the hub and the freewheel removal tool and a matching socket to a garage, and the tire guy did it two seconds.

It’s called a strap wrench.

 

[mikedodge]

Up here in rust land the hammering force of an impact helps loosening things whereas reefing on it with a big ratchet or breaker bar can twist and snap it.

Impacts are also the best tool to use for applications such as removing harmonic balancer bolts or other nuts and bolts on something that would otherwise turn with a normal ratchet.