Air tools in the truck

I have an impact wrench w/ 27 gallon husky tank,I can tell you it does'nt have the same power as the one my mechanic use cause it won't budge some nuts,I end up soaking it w/ liquid wrench and using a long breaker bar on some tire lugs.I think some garages over torque too much,I mean if the bolt snaps,instead of turning,that's just too tight.They have greenhorns working in some places that don't even know enough to put a bead of oil on the filter before they install it; that's why I do it myself when ever I can.They stripped out a drain plug on me once,didn't tell me just found a puddle of oil under the car the next day, i imagine they used an impact wrench on the drain plug?DIY as much as you can.

 

We have a setup so you can hook an air line to the trucks gladhand and the air tool. It works well for what its gotta do. Anything any more major is probably meant for the shop.

 

You could run an air rattle gun off your air tanks, you may need to stop now and then and wait for air to build back up, as for torque i cant remember off the top of my head but I use a 1/2 inch drive gun and if the nut is too tight I just use spanner/breaker bar then use gun.

 

I carry a 3/8" impact, cutoff wheel, and drill with me in the truck. I highly doubt that you will be able to break loose the bolts/nuts for the shocks with the truck air alone. More than likely you will need a torch to heat them up or a bigger gun too. Best bet is to soak them every chance you get with penetrant spray for a few days. Buy a set of impact sockets if you are gonna get a impact gun...theres a reason impact sockets are made and sold. The normal sockets will split around the ends from the beating the gun puts on them. If you are just snugging up bolts or taking loose clean bolts off the normal sockets will work for a while, but I would rather spend the extra money on the right tools the first time.

 

You will need to hook directly to the air tank with a 3/8" air line to get the CFM's the tool needs.
Going though the glad hand is too restrictive.
I run a line from the truck to a 120 gal tank in my shop get the CFM's to run a 1" air wrench to do my tire work.
I can get 1or 2 wheels off before needing to wait for the air to build back up.

 

i carry a snap on 18 volt 1/2 and 3/8 battery impacts with me in the truck. i also carry their drill and grease gun too. they all work with the same battery except for the 3/8 uses a 14.4 volt battery. the 1/2 gun has 620 ft. lbs and the 3/8 has 230 ft lbs. they are very handy around the shop and out on the road.

 

I have a 3'' cut off air tool & a air metal saw. I have a quick disconnect on my air tank to keep from using my gladhand. the cutoff tool is good for cutting off rusted bolts, & the saw is good for cutting the threaded rod on a brake chamber. after changing shocks on my steers & doing it in 30 minutes, I decided to change my 4 on the drives this week. I have a I.R. a/c in my shop & a I.R. 1/2 impact & could not budge the nut's or bolt's. I had to take a 1/2'' breaker bar & put a 6 ft cheater on the end of that & slowly after several 1/4 turns got the nut off, but could not get the bolt out of the shock. even with the nut off, I had the old shock with the old bolt still thru it. the impact would not budge that bolt. I even tried a 4 ft sledge hammer. could not get bolt out. took it to my mechanic. he used a press to get the bolts out. charged me $60.00 to do it all.I would not trust putting wheels on with air supplied by truck a/c but I have seen drivers do it. if you can put on & take off truck wheels with a 3/4 impact from trucks a/c to me is not enough torque to make me feel safe.

 

When using air tools, dont forget to always run a spanner/torque wrench over every nut/bolt to finish torqueing and ensure they are tight to correct value