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Does exactly what it's supposed to do and does it well.High torque, fast, easy on and off with sockets/extensions, and quality construction. I never looked for a better quality impact wrench b/c I thought it would cost me several hundreds of dollars, which I could not justify. Ordered it from Amazon, and a few days later hooked it up to the same air compressor, same long length of hose, same pressure as the Goodwrench, and the same axel nut: BLAP. Considering the price and quality/performance, this is a terrific value. Laughably easy. It IS loud though; be smart and use some kind of noise suppression while using this fine tool. It even *sounds* good when you use it, LOL. Finally one day recently, faced with an axel nut that would not come off, I got on the computer and started researching, never suspecting that I could buy an Ingersol Rand impact wrench for a very reasonable price.
(10 years ago I bought a Goodwrench brand air impact wrench and can't believe I put up with its terrible performance for all these years. Its inability to remove tight nuts caused me untold hours of lost time (even days) and agony. and it was off, no sweat. This tool is a joy to use, and the feeling of having bought a great tool for a very good price gave me that rare good feeling of SATISFACTION).
Plenty of power in both forward and reverse to get what I need to do DONE.The moral of this story is simple, when it comes to air tools as with other big purchases, do your homework. I came across this jewel and after a bit more reading decided that this was to be my next purchase and I'm glad that I did.
This wrench was rated at 350 ft/lbs yet it couldn't even begin to loosen the lugs on my truck tires. I am usually a person that researches everything to death before I make a purchase, this drives my girlfriend crazy, however for the purchase of an impact wrench for some reason I had a brain melt down and simply bought the $40 Craftsman unit from Sears.
I returned the Craftsman wrench the next day, slapped myself, then began the research I should have done at the get-go. Thinking that maybe they were on too tight as they had just been replaced on the truck while in the shop I tried again after tightening by hand to the same result.
Never one to be discouraged I decided to test it out to put the lugs back on and found that I still had to hand tighten the lugs as they were still too loose for my comfort. I recieved this wrench and tested it out and was very satisfied with the results.
The Ingersoll Rand 321 is a great tool for the price and when dealing with impact wrenches, price usually does mean better quality.
The many professionals who rave about the 231C are right about quality, durability and price. Complete lubrication of the 231C is done at the factory. Add grease after 40 hours of use. There is only one grease port on the back of the 231C. What a surprisingly courteous and helpful reply I received. The Product Information manual is a runt.
Inside the front cover is a small diagram, less than 2 inches square, showing the tool and all lubrication points using tiny icons which I found to be somewhat confusing. So I contacted IR customer service for clarification. The first thing I do with any new tool is to grasp a full understanding of maintenance and care before using. IR offers an Impact Wrench Care Kit and it is sold by Amazon.Com. Here's what I learned. Since the owner's manual also covers the 231H and the 244A, the one diagram shows the lube points for all models. It includes the grease gun,heavy duty impact wrench grease (105-4T) and air tool lubricant (10Z4).
I've used impact wrenches all of my life. Here are a few things I discovered that are not mentioned. If you do not have an in-line lubricator on your pressure hose, add 3 drops of oil/air tool lubricant to the air intake port every 6 to 8 hours or daily. They were great and answered every question I had. The 231C is a prize and I wanted to treat it right. That's all. If you want the best, deserve the best, buy the best.
Although, I had to torch heat some rusted bolts on a differential I was working on. Affordable price for a IR name brand tool. This seems to be a good solid, basic impact gun. Trigger is stiff and takes some practice to control. It is heavy. Seems powerful enough for most work. It may even be a bit too much for my first impact gun. Overall, I am happy with it and feel it will last me a long time as a casual backyard mechanic.
This impact removed lug nuts from a 1979 Chevrolet one ton van. The tires had not been removed for 15 yrs+-. The compressor used was a 15 amp, supposidly five horsepower electric Campbell-Hausfield. I would have to wait for the compressor to build back up to maximum air pressure between lug nuts.Nice gun.
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