Aldi Rattle Gun / Impact Wrench

[sam_d]

I've not been to my local Aldi but noticed the other day they are selling 12v Rattle Guns / Impact Wrenches.

They boast 400nm force and are currently $50.

Would this be a worthwhile addition to my small (but growing) tool box or a waste of time/money? Would 400nm be sufficient to undo the wheelnuts after my local mechanic has tightened them?

I'm only wondering since last time I had to try and undo wheel nuts on my Disco it was a near impossible task using just the wheel brace and I was in the comfort of my own car park space. I wouldn't like to have tried to this out in the coutryside.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Nothing beats a rattle gun as a tool to make life easy,,,:cool:
I use a Kingchrome when racing and its a set and forget policy, fully charged batts, do'em up once, forget em, no breaker bars bull****.
The trick with wheel nuts is use the same tool to do'em up as you will to undo'em. and the same set of arms!!

will 400nm be enough??
beats me.
someone will know though:D

[waynep]

I have had a couple of the 12V ones over the years - they both packed up after a while due to the stress on the metal castings. For the occassional use they might be OK.
I wouldn't bother with another 12V one- the air driven ones would be the go - but then they're not exactly portable.

[moose]

I would imagine 400nm would be more than enough to tension wheel nut, however breakaway (un-doing) torques can sometimes be very high, especially if the mechanic has been a bit keen with the rattle gun.
I would suggest it's probably not a bad idea for an addition to a tool box to save time, but you would want to "break" the nuts first with a bar, and checking them afterward with the bar (or better still a torque wrench!) to ensure tension and avoid stressing the poor little cheap tool!
Bottom line, if you're expecting to be able to do it all with a this tool, you'll be disappointed, but if you're just using it to run-up the nuts it should be fine.

[Barefoot Dave]

G'Day, Sam.
We have one of the same, here at cheapskate central. $50 beats $100 for a KCI with less torque.
You will need to purchase a 1/2 drive 27mm socket, though. Set only goes to 23mm. As pedro said, I would ALWAYS had tighten the nuts to ensure they will come off when you need them to.
Dave.

[Tank]

I've not been to my local Aldi but noticed the other day they are selling 12v Rattle Guns / Impact Wrenches.

They boast 400nm force and are currently $50.

Would this be a worthwhile addition to my small (but growing) tool box or a waste of time/money? Would 400nm be sufficient to undo the wheelnuts after my local mechanic has tightened them?

I'm only wondering since last time I had to try and undo wheel nuts on my Disco it was a near impossible task using just the wheel brace and I was in the comfort of my own car park space. I wouldn't like to have tried to this out in the coutryside.
My advice is go and have a look at the Aldi product, I was going to buy one for my Son, but the Quality and feel of the product turned me off, the insides actually rattle side to side, looks to be very poor quality, but that's my opinion, Regards Frank.

[sam_d]

Well, thanks for the replies all - I was only thinking about getting this to try and shirt the wheelnuts when they've been done up too tight but having thought about it I now might just go and buy an extension for my existing wheel brace.

I don't change wheels often enough to warrant the money and space for this thing to use it just as a time saving device. I think a length of steel pipe might be what I need! :)

[catch-22]

Wheels nuts only have to be done up to 100 - 120 NM when cold.....

[leeds]

For occassional use a 3/4" (20mm) 2 foot (600mm) breaker bar works wonders with a 27mm socket. I would not use any of the smaller wheel wrenches.

Regards

Brendan

[Kandy]

I've not been to my local Aldi but noticed the other day they are selling 12v Rattle Guns / Impact Wrenches.

They boast 400nm force and are currently $50.

Would this be a worthwhile addition to my small (but growing) tool box or a waste of time/money? Would 400nm be sufficient to undo the wheelnuts after my local mechanic has tightened them?

I'm only wondering since last time I had to try and undo wheel nuts on my Disco it was a near impossible task using just the wheel brace and I was in the comfort of my own car park space. I wouldn't like to have tried to this out in the coutryside.

Yep, bought one myself and works a treat ---drop the hints for a chrissie present. Tested the tightening force and when tightened to 3 clacks of the gun ( the max recommended by their enclosed doc.) the nuts are done to the recommended torq-- 140nM ( 103 ftlbs). Dont tighten up to this immediately as it will misalign your wheel and probably the brake rotor (a common cause of brake probs.). I hand tighten diagonally pretty tight and finish off with the gun. Ideal for those ( myself included soon) doing 5000k wheel rotations.
Steve

[JohnF]

for years I have used a 3/4 drive socket with a length of pipe on the socket handle. Removes the most stubborn wheel nuts with ease. That is what the tyre place uses when their rattle gun wont work.

[sclarke]

1/2 socket and 3 foot breaker bar... Cheap and if its high quality will last for ever

[moose]

Don't forget if you go using a breaker bar, length of pipe or whatever, it is very easy to go far too tight, you should easily get more than the recommended torque. Lots of people make the mistake and go too tight by resorting to things like jumping on the bar or similar, in which case the wheel stud can get stretched and severely weakened.

[MoodyBlue]

For my "Two Bobs Worth" I looked at them and put them in the Novelty basket.

Bought an extendable (telescopic) wheel brace plus socket from local auto place for under $30 total, and the whole thing fits in the tool holder nice and neat.

Cheers
Jeff

[Blknight.aus]

not to rain on anyones parade....

Please us a proper 6 sided socket and a torque wrench or torque slip extention bar with a breaker bar to tighten up your wheel nuts... over tightening a wheel nut can be as bad as not tightening it enough. if you get one over tight and a couple loose well thats just begging for trouble.

Those cheapy electric rattle guns tend to do it due to the motor and striker mech heating up and loosing drive Air ones tend to do it because as you use them the pressure in the tank drops off lowering the driving force so the first nut of a set tends to go on hard and the later ones not so much.

the use of a bihex socket and rattler can easily damage the pretty boy chroming on the nuts that hold on the ally rims of the discos and deefers and once thats gone then the socket will just spin in place and not shift the nut.... rip it round too much and when a helpful mate turns up with a real 27mm it may just finish off the rounding process that the bihex started..

But once youve got them cracked those 12v guns are just the ticket to whip em off pit stop style.

[pop058]

As previously mentioned, correct torque settings are fairly important. there is a huge range of cordless rattleguns which are great for undoing and running the wheel nuts back up. I have a Panisonic drill driver kit which has a 1/2" drive output and comes with a 13mm keyless chuck and a 6mm tek driver adaptor in the kit (2 batteries, charger, blow mould case, blah blah). Most impact wrenches have more grunt on reverse by design and as a bonus, the extras with the Panisonic does lots of other stuff. Most hand tool manufacturers (I have a KC brand) have "Torsion bars" that vary between 50 and 175 ft/lbs. They are colour coded and fit 1/2" drive breaker bars. spend the money and get the right bar and socket for your wheel nuts and you shouldn't have too many probs

paul

[953]

Much good advice here.
Ive had a couple of the 12v rattle guns that seem 2 quit just after the warranty expires (12 months):mad:.
I use a breaker bar 2 crack them, then a 12v cordless impact driver 2 spin the nuts off & vice versa 2 do then back up. It takes my son & I about 20mins 2 do all 5. If you`re only doing the odd wheel, just the breaker bar & a socket is all u need.
Ive done them up with a tension wrench b4 but they came loose:(. 130nm does`nt seem like alot of tension 2 me? Anyone else had this prob?
Cheers Dean.

[neil-d1]

130nm does`nt seem like alot of tension 2 me? Cheers Dean.


although it might not seem tight did they get any looser over time?

[953]

although it might not seem tight did they get any looser over time?

Yes Neil, very quickly:eek:, no damage done:).
Cheers Dean.

[neil-d1]

you were lucky then, so do you set them to a certain torque now? or just till they feel tight?

[rovercare]

I have a Panisonic drill driver kit which has a 1/2" drive output and comes with a 13mm keyless chuck and a 6mm tek driver adaptor in the kit

I got one of these:)

Awesome thing:cool:

[rovercare]

And here it is in bits, after my old man dropped it in the water tank, repairing the roof, he had to get in and get it:eek:, poor bugger, 'crete tank, FUGGIN FREEEEEEEZING:(

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/10/87.jpg

It worked as soon as it was pulled out, baked it in the oven for a bit:angel:, but after a little while it grew a kind of "grunge" around the brushes and started smokin:o, so needed a pull down

[953]

you were lucky then, so do you set them to a certain torque now? or just till they feel tight?

I use a small breaker bar & tighten them almost as tight as I can,then I carry a bigger breaker bar with me;).
Cheers Dean
Ps I also carry a speed brace, not the 12v impact wrench.