does an air gun automaically torque each bolt close to specs or does it just tighten the bolt as hard as it could, i ask this because i have an compressor but not a torque wrnech, and if i can use the air gun to torque my bolts, than i will not need to buy a torque wrench, thanks

 

you will need a proper adjustable impact gun.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shogun-dc2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you will need a proper adjustable impact gun.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didn't know they had air guns that you can adjust the torque on. My guns usually have 3 settings, but you can't change them. It's basically, low, medium, and high.

I'd get a good torque wrench in conjunction with your air gun for all the little things that you don't want to use your air gun on. (For example, head bolts, rod bolts, and other important stuff that still have to be tight)

 

how would your air gun be able to decide the correct torque for each bolt. I know this makes me sound like a jackass, but i just do everything by feel. lol. i use an air gun to torque bolts. it has 4 settings. i use setting 4 for removal and setting 2 for tightening. if i ever chose to work on the engine, i would get a torque wrench and a helms. but for suspension.. eh, not too worried. if you have ever taken your car to a shop and watched them work on it, you don't see them refering to a book for specs or used a torque wrench for percision torque specs

 

ok thanks everyone, i'm not too sure if my air gun has a few settings, i was planning on useing the air gun to install my motor mount inserts and short shifter/bushings, do u guys set ur compressor at a certain psi?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shamoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I didn't know they had air guns that you can adjust the torque on. My guns usually have 3 settings, but you can't change them. It's basically, low, medium, and high.

I'd get a good torque wrench in conjunction with your air gun for all the little things that you don't want to use your air gun on. (For example, head bolts, rod bolts, and other important stuff that still have to be tight)</TD></TR></TABLE>

this is what i mean... i've used an impact gun that had no settings to put my lug nuts on and it torqued to like 150lbs... i had a bitch of a time trying to manually remove those lugs.

 

i have a 450 lb portor cable wrench. not too good, not too bad. but i have a crappy 3hp 10 gallon ebay compressor. so even though my wrench says 90 psi max. i have the compressor output 120 psi. if my compressor is set at 90, i can't even get my lug nuts off. i it depends on how big/good your compressor is. it my need a higher setting than usual

 

I pulled all my motrot mount out with hand tools, did not even have to use a big breaker bar. I dont think you will need an air gun just to remove the mounts. Maybe for big *** bolts, but not for the mounts

 

We call em torqu sticks. You put them on the end of a impact gun, and it will only torque to that specific setting. Like you have a set of 10 bar/stick, each one will torqu to 50ft/lbs, 55, 60,65,70,76,80, etc...mainly used for lug nuts. you can buy them at sears.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D-CeReaL#4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">We call em torqu sticks. You put them on the end of a impact gun, and it will only torque to that specific setting. Like you have a set of 10 bar/stick, each one will torqu to 50ft/lbs, 55, 60,65,70,76,80, etc...mainly used for lug nuts. you can buy them at sears.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Awesome.....I never heard of these things.

 

same here, that sounds awsome. how long are the bars though?

 

The bars range in size. I've seen 6in to 12in. The first time I used a torque stick I used an 80lb stick. A week later my clutch started to vibrate when I was moving, I got out and checked my tires and 3 of the 4 lug nuts were finger loose.

I'll never use a torque stick solely, always check the torque with a torque wrench afterwards!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by matto23 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i have a 450 lb portor cable wrench. not too good, not too bad. but i have a crappy 3hp 10 gallon ebay compressor. so even though my wrench says 90 psi max. i have the compressor output 120 psi. if my compressor is set at 90, i can't even get my lug nuts off. i it depends on how big/good your compressor is. it my need a higher setting than usual</TD></TR></TABLE>

You should never run an air tool above the specified pressure setting. It can easily damage it or at least wear it out faster.

Impact wrenches usually have various settings, but they are by no means accurate. The torque applied at each setting can vary greatly depending on hose pressure, hose size, hose length, amount of air in the tank, number of fittings or extensions on the end of the wrench (longer extension = less torque, which is how those torque stick things work).

I always tighten engine bolts w/ my torque wrench, and usually do for suspension stuff, and DEFINITELY ALWAYS do on the lug nuts (non-torqued lug nuts = warped brake rotors, ask me how I know).

My Ingersoll-Rand impact has 6 separate settings for each direction. I usually keep reverse on the highest setting and forward on the lowest, since usually I only use it to get nuts and bolts off. If I use it to put nuts or bolts back on, it's usually just to spin them down into place so that I can tighten them w/ the torque wrench.

 

The torque sticks are stupid. It's never going to be accurate enough for us that tighten stuff to "specs"

 

"torque sticks" are notoroiusly inaccurate. if a bolt calls for 90 then it is usually ok to torque stick it to 60 and then finish it with a QUALITY torque wrench. when i built diesel engines for a living we had the snap on tool guy come by every 3 months with a calibrator to check that our wrenched were accurate. they almost always were out of whack. especially the cheap ones that you buy at harbor freight or on ebay. most cheap torque wrenches are non adjustable. they have to be thrown away when they get too far gone. you will never see an engine builder who has to put a warranty on his stuff use a cheap torque wrench or a torque stick on any ciritical fastener. that means heads, suspension, motor mounts, ect.

just my $0.02

 

id get a torque wrench, i have a matco

 

I have the Snap-On 1/2 Drive Tor. Wrench 40-250 ft/lbs. That is dial adjustable in 5lb increments. Also you do not have to turn the dial back to 0 like the twist type. As for impact guns, i have a 750-1000 ft/lb Matco 1/2 compostite and ive broken 2 studs on hubs and etc. I recently bought the snap-on magnesium impact in 3/8" drive and i love it.

With one quick squeeze of the trigger on my matco once the lugnut is snug, its over 100 ft/lbs. I have to watch it, its very easy to screw theads up, etc...

Never think the torque is right , just because you have an impact, because its usually not.

 

I would never use a air gun to tighten my wheel and stuff, a guy tighten down my lug nut with an air gun and who know how much he had tighten them down to when i go and try to remove them my hand tool, it was so damn tight that i was using a breaker bar like 3 feet and still have a hard time getting it off. End up stripping one of my lug nut and had no way of getting it out, went to a tire shop and they say only way to get it out is cut the wheel. I went home and drill the wheel stud, take time but it work

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by StolenTeg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would never use a air gun to tighten my wheel and stuff, a guy tighten down my lug nut with an air gun and who know how much he had tighten them down to when i go and try to remove them my hand tool, it was so damn tight that i was using a breaker bar like 3 feet and still have a hard time getting it off. End up stripping one of my lug nut and had no way of getting it out, went to a tire shop and they say only way to get it out is cut the wheel. I went home and drill the wheel stud, take time but it work </TD></TR></TABLE>

wow that sucks... you should have taken that **** back and told that guy he owed you a wheel

 

Yeah the tire place I go to, sometimes they use this LOOONG @$$ breaker bar, and I can't even get the lugs off with my 240ft. lb. impact. I went back one time and had them loosen and re-tighten not so tight, and the tech (too nice a title for this guy) said if they came off I'd be suing him, and I said if I have a flat and I CAN'T get them off, and I get jacked on the side of the road THEN I'll sue you!!!

For my .02 I'm a fan of the manual torque wrench. Ever since I snapped a suspension bolt with the impact. Only supposed to be 40ft. lbs..... What a pain to fix... But, hey, my mistakes get me more tools most of the time!! heheh, toys.

Of those torque wrench fans, what brand(s) and type(s) do you recommend for accuracy? Is there one that doesn't need adjustment and/or doesn't go bad?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yrethguad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Of those torque wrench fans, what brand(s) and type(s) do you recommend for accuracy? Is there one that doesn't need adjustment and/or doesn't go bad?</TD></TR></TABLE>

you cant go wrong with snap on. I have the 1/2" drive dial type. also have the 3/8" craftsman, but am going to buy the 3/8" snap on dial type as well..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">(non-torqued lug nuts = warped brake rotors, ask me how I know).</TD></TR></TABLE>

Warped rotors, eh? Hasn't this been gone over before?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GrayT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Warped rotors, eh? Hasn't this been gone over before?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It does not permentantly warp them...I have messed with an impact wrench and got the lug torques all jacked...low and behild a shimmy in the steering wheel!!!! Remove and retorque and the shimmy goes away.


That being said....

I use hand tools for 90% of the work I do. I use air when I need to, or when it becomes a timesaver.

The best advise here is to ask yourself, why are you in such a big hurry? Why do you need air?

Most of the time I say to myself, "I am not in that big of a hurry" and "getting the air out might be more invoncenient that just grabbing a bigger bar..."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JH4DC4-2GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you cant go wrong with snap on. I have the 1/2" drive dial type. also have the 3/8" craftsman, but am going to buy the 3/8" snap on dial type as well..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll check that out, thanks.

Anyone else's .02?