Got an Air Compressor, but can't take off lug nuts!

[sunil6784]

hope everyone had a good Christmas. Santa brought me a 33 gallon air compressor from Sears. Its really nice. The kit also came with an impact gun, air ratchet, and air hammer. It said a 100 dollar value on it. I hooked everything up, but the impact gun can't even take off lug nuts ! Once I loosened the nut off by hand a little, then it was able to spin them off. The regulator i at about 100 psi, i've tried 90 psi as well, but same thing. There are no leaks in the system. Is it just a crappy impact gun ? This one says 230 ft//lbs of "ultimate" torque.

Here's the impact gun, some guy is selling the same one on Ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/CRAFTSMAN-1-2-I...430605754QQcategoryZ22663QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

For those that have an impact gun, how much torque do you need to take off a lug? I figured around 80-90 ft/lbs.

 

[onefstsnake]

Well find a better one online and compare specs.

A friend of mine has an electric 18V impact gun and it takes off lug nuts easily.

 

[TrophyHead]

My dad has a IR. 1000 lbs of tq rating on the highest setting. 1/2 inch drive. It's silly. He got it at Sears. Not needed but cool.

I dont understand why yours dosent work? I forgot what the torque specs for lug nuts are......but it's no more than 200 ft lbs of tq. Maybe they where over tightened?

 

[SmockDoiley]

Sometimes the nuts are just on really tight and havent been touched in awhile. Its an impact gun, not a torque breaking gun. Impacts are great, but they arent the cure-all torque breakers that people make them out to be unless you have a really crazy one.

 

[larrendeuce]

Yeah its a cheap impact gun. A good one is gonna cost some money. Also a fastener tightened to a cirtain torque will require more torque then that to remove it. Its possible the gun doesn't have the torque to loosen a nut tightened to 90 ft lbs.