Hey all, had a run-in with a pretty stubborn set of axle nuts (F150 with 200k miles) the other day, and ended up shearing 4 breaker bars! (varying lengths and "quality" of bars). Ultimately ended up having to put a pipe wrench my dad has (HUGE wrench from his gas line inspecting days with Valero) and a cheater bar.

I'm a huge advocate of "use the right tool for the job" though, so I'm curious if any of you guys can make recommendations for a "holy grail" impact gun that won't flinch at anything car related.

My nice to haves:
- $200-$400 range preferred
- Electric (battery) or Air (preferred) - assume a really good air compressor/tank to drive it
- Break loose anything I could encounter on a vehicle
- Re-torquing lower priority as that will be by hand and/or torque wrench anyway

Spent couple days researching stuff and Ingersoll Rand seems to get very good reviews. Can anyone recommend something meeting the above preferences?

Earthquake at Harbor Freight for the occasional user.

Get the Big Earthquake from Harbor Freight. Has lots of torque to take the rear axle nuts off.

If you can find an Ingersoll Rand IR2131, I would recommend that. Good power and reliable. I used it for many years without fail as a tech. It's heavier than many modern impact guns, but I prefer it to my modern Snap-On and my battery operated impact guns. Price is right too. Older model,but gets the job done.

Electric (battery) stuff will on the edge of the hi-torque stuff need to spend $$$ to get there,air gear will kill it but you need a big compressor to feed them and you have airlines to drag around.
I have a cheap battery impact and have given it death and it still go's but is limited to 90ft/pounds,its truly a great tool for what it is.
End of the day your money,ok.

+1 for HF Earthquake. It's a beast. You don't need an insane compressor to run it for light duty, either. A decent 25 gal unit will get the job done. Or at least it did for me. Don't forget that you'll need impact-strength sockets as well.

Replaced my Harbor Freight of unrealistic torque values with an Ingersol Rand a few years back (sorry, don't have the part # handy). It's been well used and great, though I have run into some issues getting flywheel bolts off my Suby, yet it never fails on axle nuts and others that are torqued higher.

My son has a battery Dewalt which he bought for wheel changes and emergency work at the track. It has become very handy for wheel removal and general use in the garage as we don't have to run a hose. The downside as I've found with all my battery tools is battery replacement - generally costs more to buy a single battery than buy a new tool with two batteries - planned obsolescence.

If I didn't already have air and an old Snap-on 1/2" impact I think I would buy one of these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkPzjV-ZaTU

This guy takes tools apart and tests them.

If your working on trucks you want 1200 lb. breakaway torque.
I have a 700# IR that works on most Porsche stuff. But I borrow a 900# every once in while. We had a guy with a 1200# Snap On for the tough ones. He moved to Seattle. I'm thinking I'll get a 1200# EarthQuake too ............

I have a cheap one for home use but the snap on's at the shop never fail me.

I

Happy with my Ingersoll. Used professionally and at home (30 gallon, 5HP compressor). Don't remember the model number.

Snap-On and IRs are great guns - I've had a couple of each and they worked fine but were generally noisy. My last gun was a clutch style, an AirCat. Quiet and strong....
You didn't mention if you had a compressor or what size it might be or if you were looking at an electric but all of the ones that have been mentioned are good - just depends on what your frequency of use is and what you're using it on.

Another vote for Ingersoll Rand IR2131 (looks same as mine anyway), 20 years of use and mine has never let me down.

Same here, had a Craftsman that gave up after 3 years, bought the IR, that was 22 years ago, still working fine.

+1 on an Aircat. The 1150 (twin hammer) or 1250 (twin clutch) are beasts. Both are inexpensive and relatively quiet.

Aircat 1/2" Impact Wrenches

If you can find one, the Milwaukee M18 1/2" High Torque will either take the lug nuts off, or it will shear the studs off. Up to 1100 Ft-lbs of removal torque, up to 700 fastening torque. It is a great unit.

....Ingersoll,snap-on,matco.......

I don’t have a large compressor with air tools so recently purchased the Dewalt DCF899 (1200 ft-lbs. break away). I have other tools with the same battery and I like the ability to have the same battery work on several tools. The battery is also backward compatible with older model Dewalt tools.

I used it on my parts car (a rusty Ohio car) to remove the axle nuts that have been frozen for years. I had already used my largest ratchet with cheater a bar but gave up before I broke something.

That’s when I got the DCF899 which made removing the axle nuts easy.

I use Mac Tools AWP 050 Titanium Impact Works good for the weekend guy.

There should be a tool talk chat where folks can put reviews on any new tools they buy for garage use.