# new toy



## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Nice, but I prefer the old 4 way lug wrench, no batteries to keep charged. 

ED


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

I like being able to "zip" it off.


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## ukrkoz (Dec 31, 2010)

330 Lb F torque? You shouldn't. Return it, save more money and buy 24V more serious one. That torque won't get you far. Besides, every power tool I had from HF I had to return or toss - they simply have no power, even promised. TOOLS is one thing you do not cut corners on, sometimes your life depends on them.


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

I only paid $220 for the Milwaukee, but I already had the batteries. I'm not a professional, but I think 700 lb/ft in forward and 1100 in reverse is definitely worth the extra scratch. 

I wish you well with your purchase.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

I used today with mixed results. It got one rusted nut off a sway bar link but not the other. I didn't use another wrench to keep the sway bar shaft from moving and couldn't get the socket firmly on the nut anyway. When I was finished I tried it on lugnuts and it took them off fine. Here's a


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

A video today. https://youtu.be/eezfuI2hJkE


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## sleepyg (Dec 30, 2011)

I have the same model, and must say I do like it. I got a killer deal on mine so could not turn it down. I use it all the time working on my truck before I take it on the trails.

Sleepyg


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## Greg.Now (Feb 23, 2015)

ukrkoz said:


> 330 Lb F torque? You shouldn't. Return it, save more money and buy 24V more serious one. That torque won't get you far. Besides, every power tool I had from HF I had to return or toss - they simply have no power, even promised. TOOLS is one thing you do not cut corners on, sometimes your life depends on them.


I completely agree. I'd rather spend more on a reliable tool than spend less and having to worry about the chance of it working and dying all the time. It's not only practical but it is also for your own safety.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

I agree with you both in general. The better tool is the better choice, in any performance comparison.

Performance isn?t the only factor, unfortunately. I would be happy to pay $101 for a Milwaukee M18 Fuel, one battery and a charger. As chance would have it, in my inbox this morning I got an email offer from Amazon for a Milwaukee. The bare tool, one battery and a charger for $366! Now that is a very fair deal. For 3.5X times the money, I can replace a Chicago Electric 18V Ni-Cd Cordless Impact wrench with a Milwaukee 18v lithium Ion (extended range) cordless impact. The Milwaukee is superior in every way. There is no comparison.

There is the matter of price, though, balanced with the ?expectations? I have of my needs and my use of the tool. I am not a professional (or even serious amateur) mechanic nor do I work on projects that would require a high torque impact wrench. My ?expectations? of this tool is that it will take lugnuts off my mini-van, and off any other vehicle I own that had a flat. That?s it.

If I keep it, it will stay in the van for roadside tire changes. If we go on a trip in my wife?s (better) van, I?ll take it with us for the same purpose. It comes in a case with room for sockets, short extension bar, etc. for fast lugnut removal.

I will be going to the salvage yard soon, to find a better tire than the one that got ruined by my bad alignment. This will be a good test, as every time I have gone to a salvage yard to buy a used tire/wheel, I could only get it off the junker with a 25 inch breaker bar and standing and bouncing on it. If the Harbor Freight gets the old junker?s lugnuts off, then it has met all my expectations and I?ll keep it.

I have no expectation I will ever be removing Honda crank bolts or axle nuts but I do intend to test the impact wrench I bought at a salvage yard soon. Just want to see if it will do it out of curiosity. It should be pretty funny to watch the Chicago Electric try to take off a Honda crank bolt! I?ll post a video if I find one in the yard to test it on. I have a 36mm socket somewhere, so I?ll test it on a junk Villager?s axle nut too. It will be fun!

Personally, I don?t see any safety issues associated with the cordless impact wrench I bought. It either takes the nut off or it doesn?t. I wouldn?t buy a parachute at Harbor Freight, even with a 20% coupon, but I don?t have any safety concerns with their cordless impact wrench. Again, I completely agree there are better tools, but for the money and for the expected uses, the one I have seems to be more than adequate.


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

I used my Milwaukee Fuel to keep the bolts tight on our gravel screener the other day. Doing it by hand took 5 times as long and made my arms hurt. Cranking them down with the Milwaukee took way less time, and got them a helluva lot tighter (I even feathered the trigger a little, I didn't want to snap the bolts).

It didn't save my life, but it made me hate life a lot less.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

For your application the Milwaukee m18 fuel is the way to go. I am considering the m12 fuel. At $200 it seems the best compromise. Powerful, not terribly expensive and far better technology. An extra 100 gets me that. I am seriously kicking it around. Anybody ever use the m12 line of Milwaukee lithium ion tools?


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

Yes have m12 1/4 drive ratchet and impact driver. I use the crap out of them daily and I am very hard on them over a year old look like hell but work great. In an auto shop get the only time I grab a wrench anymore is if it won't fit or very rusted


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

I have the snap on impacts but I will buy the m18 when that finally dies(6 years and still strong though) Guy next to me has one and it is very close on power. But several hundred cheaper


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

I've only used the M18 stuff, but the M12 gets rave reviews on Contractor Talk. 

Remember, the M12 Fuel impact is 3/8 drive, not 1/2". Different animal.


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Saw a couple of Youtube videos of guys zipping off lugnuts, axle nuts, etc with an m12. Seems like an awesome tool for 200 bucks, plus with two battery's it makes other bare tool m12's attractive.


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

Yeah, I'd go for that. As soon as I get into M12 stuff I want that and the ratchets. Hell, I already have the charger, maybe I'll go for it. Wife needs a drill.


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## cjm94 (Sep 25, 2011)

You will love the ratchets I have the1/4 inch need to get the 3/8. I think the 1/4 inch has as much power as my snap-on 1/4 air ratchet


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