Upcoming lidl impact wrench 26th september 20v

seatbeltnoob

Hi

I really needed an impact wrench for taking off the lower control arm. Unfortunately i only had a breaker bar, despite being 60cm long i coukd not get the big nut off of it to take it off to change the bush.

Ended up having to take it to a mechanic who charged £45 per side to for the job.

Lidl have this really cheap one for sale. I was wondering if the spec on these are any good.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/car-essentials/parkside-20v-cordless-vehicle-impact-wrench/p25478

They have a corded one too at 500nm

seatbeltnoob

Turns out i need to take the damn wishbone off again to do the ball joints

wgl2014

I have a corded electric impact gun, very useful.

Make sure to use copious amounts of penetrating fluid to reduce friction as well, I use GT85 after seeing some positive test results (and it's cheap).

Jackmydad

Personally if it's for occasional use I'd get the corded one.
No batteries to go flat and get tired, and always ready to go.
Generally, I've found Parkside stuff pretty good for the DIY type stuff I do these days.
Price is difficult to beat.

EdGasketTheSecond

I have a Clarke corded one; its much better (more powerful) than the cordless which is only good for wheel nuts. You might invest in a 3/4" socket set too if you are doing jobs on suspension.

Rolandtheroadie

I've a Clarke one, think it's 350 nm.
I've also a 4" angle grinder. Better on stubborn nuts when replacing anyway.

seatbeltnoob

I really don't know what to do. I dont want a glorified wheel bolt remover. 400nm seems a bit low compared to the other cordless impact wrench on screwfix. The dewalt has over 1000nm+ but it comes at a price.

Goudy

I have a Clarke cordless and the battery does suffer after a while, seems to get progressively worse each time I use it.

If I come across anything an impact wrench or breaker bar can't shift, I have an off cut of steel tubing to slip over the breaker bar that give me more leverage, but you need to be careful you don't shear anything off.
Suspension bolts are usually high tensile, so can take a bit of a swing unless there are badly corroded.

It's also worth pointing out some captive nuts on rear wishbone bolts are welded up and trapped under the floor skin and with too much force on older cars, they can break away, which means you end up cutting up the floor in the footwell to get at them, so go careful.

ANDY597

Personally I wouldn't buy this, it will be underpowered, and before you know it you'll be rounding off nuts and swearing at it.

A Bigger longer bar, lots of release spray, some heat on really stubborn nuts and you can do most things.

Recently couldn't get the big nut from the end of a classic mini gearbox, tried everything, large scaffolding tube for the leverage eventually did the trick.

Chrishazle

If you do buy the parkside one, make sure to test it thoroughly as soon as you get it, and keep the receipt. I have their 10.8v version, first time I tried to use it, it did not work, no impact action trying to remove a wheel nut on a friends car. No problem getting it replaced under warranty, but have not used the replacement in anger yet!
Similar problem with a Parkside "dremmel" type cordless tool, after a couple of months it stopped working, again replaced under warranty without problem.
Mate of mine does a lot of car mechanicking, has a name brand 18v impact wrench and swears by (rather than at) it.

Jackmydad

EdGasketTheSecond wrote: »

I have a Clarke corded one; its much better (more powerful) than the cordless which is only good for wheel nuts. You might invest in a 3/4" socket set too if you are doing jobs on suspension.

I was always going to get a 3/4" set and never got round to it, generally because I suffer from short arms and deep pockets.

TBH, I'd rather have the flexibility of the socket set, than either impact tool.
And the bigger drive set is amazing on really tight stuff. You don't get the "spring" that you do with a half inch set, and it gives the confidence to apply a lot more welly.