Impact Wrench: Which one?

VinRRR

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2018
Threads
16
Messages
541
Reaction score
365
Location
Empire State
Vehicle(s)
R16017
Country flag
Which one should I keep? They’re both high torque impact wrenches and have similar rated power. I think Milwaukee has a slight edge. Dewalt is $300 and comes with 4Ah battery and a bag and charger. Milwaukee is normally $430 but currently on sale for $300 and comes with 5Ah battery but nothing else. I’ll need to buy a charger for $70. Dewalt seems to be a better value for this reason. But Milwaukee also comes with the One Key feature which allows you to program the wrench using their apps.

I was about to keep the Dewalt because it is cheaper and will probably good enough to work on cars, but the Milwaukee also seems to be a a sweet deal.

Honda Civic 10th gen Impact Wrench: Which one? 99EB45E5-EC77-4D2D-BE30-0A38D6092CF3
Sponsored

 

stoots_sgp_fk8

Senior Member
Joined
May 24, 2019
Threads
1
Messages
55
Reaction score
56
Location
SF Bay Area
Vehicle(s)
2019 Sonic Gray Type R, 2019 Honda Ridgeline
Country flag
I have that dewalt and it’s great. It’s powerful and I don’t need to get the compressor out anymore. I went with dewalt because all my tools are dewalt basically. Look into the Milwaukee stubby impact m12. They are suppose to really good and light weight. The dewalt can get heavy after extended use. I’m looking to pick up the stubby since I have some m12 tools also.
 

JT Si

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Threads
19
Messages
1,299
Reaction score
1,151
Location
Place
Vehicle(s)
Car
Country flag
If the options are limited to these two specific models, I'd keep the Milwaukee.

I have that dewalt and it’s great. It’s powerful and I don’t need to get the compressor out anymore. I went with dewalt because all my tools are dewalt basically. Look into the Milwaukee stubby impact m12. They are suppose to really good and light weight. The dewalt can get heavy after extended use. I’m looking to pick up the stubby since I have some m12 tools also.
I have the 1/2" M12 Fuel Stubby and it rocks. It broke loose all the subframe bolts in under a second.
 

HRace

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2018
Threads
5
Messages
320
Reaction score
207
Location
United States
Vehicle(s)
Honda Civic
Country flag
Another vote for the 1/2” M12 fuel stubby. Really fun to use if you don’t need more than 250 ft lbs. Very small and light weight. Makes the ones pictured above seem giant!
 


dwag0588

Senior Member
First Name
David
Joined
May 19, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
700
Reaction score
648
Location
Chattanooga, TN
Vehicle(s)
2020 CW CTR, 2014 Mazda CX-5, 2006 NC Miata, 2018 Silverado 5.3 (work)
Country flag

J o n

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 14, 2020
Threads
7
Messages
190
Reaction score
144
Location
Pittsburgh
Vehicle(s)
'15 Z/28, '22 Ridgeline , '22 CR-V Hybrid
Country flag
If you're doing general maintenance on a car, a normal impact driver with the adapters for sockets is all you need. Full blown impact guns, as you have shown, are over kill for most/all applications or situations

*** Items like the lug nuts can/will get over torqued with even an impact driver with the socket adapters. Always use torque wrenches as to not over tighten/stretch the studs
 

JT Si

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2019
Threads
19
Messages
1,299
Reaction score
1,151
Location
Place
Vehicle(s)
Car
Country flag
*** Items like the lug nuts can/will get over torqued with even an impact driver with the socket adapters. Always use torque wrenches as to not over tighten/stretch the studs
This is why many newer Milwaukee impacts are a gem with their finger tight refastening mode.

Although it appears the one pictured in the OP is so large it does not have that. Different target demographic I guess.
 


Hayabusa160

The Master
First Name
Matthew
Joined
Jun 18, 2018
Threads
0
Messages
327
Reaction score
137
Location
New jersey
Vehicle(s)
Civic type r
Country flag
i use dewalt only because i can share batteries with all my other stuff like my drills. i have a bunch of drills and 3/8th impact i plan to get a 1/2 in next

so really depends what you plan to use beyond just the impact gun.

but the Milwaukee is a better made impact gun.
 

charleswrivers

Senior Member
First Name
Charles
Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Threads
43
Messages
3,736
Reaction score
4,468
Location
Kingsland, GA
Vehicle(s)
'14 Odyssey, '94 300zx, 2001 F-150
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
I can just chime in with my experience with the Dewalt.

I’ve had it for 6-7 years... and it was originally bought on my own dime based on its specs to help my guys with open/closing large shore power access hatches on submarines. This requires adapting to a 1” drive to try and push a 2”+ socket. I’d snug to the first torque increment (a few hundred pounds) and finish torquing else properly with a torque wrench and multiplier from there out.

It claim to go 1100... 1300... whatever it is...yeah, no. It will absolutely not break 1000 ft-lbs. if you crack 1000 loose by hand, it’ll finish the job. I’ve pushed mine several times to the point it’s thermal shutdown kicked in and to where the metal end would burn you if you exposed it to skin. It never missed a beat. For the torque values cars go up to, it is, in my experience a 100% replacement for a pneumatic. The Milwaukee was one I cross shopped and, if I recall correctly... it was a 3/4 vice 1/2 drive (might be wrong about this) and had marginally a higher torque rating. It might have done better for my application on a boat but the Dewalt was fine for around the house. I’ve taken it to the junkyard and zipped heads off engines a couple times in next to no time or effort. A couple long extensions (I’ve got a 1, 1.5 and 2 foot) a universal and a socket set and you can *demolish* an engine rapidly.

I’m not too impressed with Dewalts batteries. While I’ve pushed those to thermal shutdown to where they would not charge for awhile but sit in cool down for a bit, both died young. Admittedly, I did use them for non-Dewalt applications. I used a 18 to 20v max adapter wired into my kids power wheel to use 20v max batteries in it, in lieu of the 12v Pb cells. Goes faster and charges in minutes instead of 1/2 a day. If you have a few, just swap ‘em and let them keep going. I have read they do not have internal low voltage protection and the tools themselves have low voltage cutoff. If so, overdischarging certainly did them in. I bought some 3rd party Dewalt batteries that claimed to have internal low voltage shutoff and they’ve gone much longer than the Dewalts with seemingly good capacity as well. They were also something like 1/2 the cost or less of the Dewalt-branded batteries.

Anyways... in summation, either should directly replace a low/mid pneumatic and be much more convenient. I’ve used pneumatics to break 1000 consistently (with some effort) but the highest torque fastener I’ve run across in a car has been in the 200-300 ft-lb range and either one will tighten towards or break that, w/o issue. Either will also vastly over torque if you aren’t careful. I tend to blast things off with my Dewalt and just snug at setting 1 or 2 then finish with a torque wrench.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
VinRRR

VinRRR

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2018
Threads
16
Messages
541
Reaction score
365
Location
Empire State
Vehicle(s)
R16017
Country flag
Thank you all for the input. Keep them coming. I get these high torque impact wrench to work on cars and also stuff around the house. I rather get a wrench powerful enough to do it all so I don’t have to spend more money down the road. I already had a mid torque impact wrench from Craftsman which couldn’t remove the subframe bolts when I installed lowering springs.

The Milwaukee is about 2lbs lighter than the deWalt and also comes with One Key feature which allows you to control the torque. Like @JT Si said, it also comes with lug nuts mode that allows you torque the lug nuts to the specified torque through the One Key apps. Not needed but definitely a nice feature for sure. I always torque my lug nuts by hand. The DeWalt is also comes with Anvil Pin which is great at keep the socket in place but has a little wobble during rotation. The Milwaukee comes with Friction Ring which makes it easier to remove the socket and less wobble because the socket is more snug. Definitely better for automotive use when you change sockets all the time and don’t want to scratch your wheels from wobbling sockets.

I think overall, I like the Milwaukee more especially with the sale price, but I hate the fact that I have to buy the charger separately. Dewalt also comes big a carry bag, not a big deal but it’s nice to have. At original price, the Milwaukee will be about $200 more so it won’t be even a debate at that point.
 

charleswrivers

Senior Member
First Name
Charles
Joined
Nov 3, 2017
Threads
43
Messages
3,736
Reaction score
4,468
Location
Kingsland, GA
Vehicle(s)
'14 Odyssey, '94 300zx, 2001 F-150
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Thank you all for the input. Keep them coming. I get these high torque impact wrench to work on cars and also stuff around the house. I rather get a wrench powerful enough to do it all so I don’t have to spend more money down the road. I already had a mid torque impact wrench from Craftsman which couldn’t remove the subframe bolts when I installed lowering springs.

The Milwaukee is about 2lbs lighter than the deWalt and also comes with One Key feature which allows you to control the torque. Like @JT Si said, it also comes with lug nuts mode that allows you torque the lug nuts to the specified torque through the One Key apps. Not needed but definitely a nice feature for sure. I always torque my lug nuts by hand. The DeWalt is also comes with Anvil Pin which is great at keep the socket in place but has a little wobble during rotation. The Milwaukee comes with Friction Ring which makes it easier to remove the socket and less wobble because the socket is more snug. Definitely better for automotive use when you change sockets all the time and don’t want to scratch your wheels from wobbling sockets.

I think overall, I like the Milwaukee more especially with the sale price, but I hate the fact that I have to buy the charger separately. Dewalt also comes big a carry bag, not a big deal but it’s nice to have. At original price, the Milwaukee will be about $200 more so it won’t be even a debate at that point.
...if the sale price narrows the gap, for the extra features your mentioning, a larger drive and (supposedly) a little more torquing power, as much as I like the Dewalt, I’d do the Milwaukee in a re-do 6-7 years ago if I had the chance now. I’d like to have known if the 1500 vs 1200 breakaway the 3/4 Milwaukee (has 100 more than the 1/2 Milwaukee) vs the 1/2 Dewalt could have broken ~1000 ft-lbs w/o resorting to a breaker bar. It would have saved a good deal of time and wear-and-year on my guys and got us home a little earlier. I’ve run across some 19-21mm suspension bolts that were supposed to be in the 250-300 ft-lbs realm (remember one just exceeded my 250 ft-lb torque wrench) but never done a subframe so I don’t know how high they go.

Still, the Dewalt has seemed relatively durable and good enough for sub-300 ft-lb on automotive work. I wish I could have done a side-to-side trial and a return but there would have been no way to return the loser in the environment I worked in w/o it being so messy a return might have been refused. If they’d cost within $100 when I was buying (same price + battery) I’d go Milwaukee since you like the features. That one you mention is pretty cool sounding. Not sure if it dials down in such a way where it runs slow to the point just snugging and grabbing a torque wrench you know for sure is good... plus I don’t know how accurate it torques to. Still... for that close in prince... if you already like it, go Milwaukee IMO. Mines going strong years later and will likely work for a long... long time. There’s no reason to think the Milwaukee won’t last years... hopefully stretching into decades and you might as well buy once and have what you want. The only feature I thought could be threatened is that mobile-based torque setting thing... but hopefully it’ll always (as “always” as anything can be) be supported though I wish you didn’t need an external item to set it (maybe you can... am just assuming). Bang for the buck, automotive only, non-sale price or for someone already invested in Dewalt w/20v Max batteries and a charger... a bare Dewalt for $200 would win in my book. I’ve since added one of their drills that came with some smaller batteries and normally use the smaller 1.5 or 2 ah batteries on the impact wrench when I’m just dorking around doing lug nuts for a lighter setup than going back to the 5 ah ones that are a bit heavier/bulkier.
Sponsored

 


 


Top