[StewtheBassman]

OKay, I'll come clean now.

I bought a compressor and an impact wrench with which to change my wheels. The wrench supposedly goes up to about 250 ft/lbs of torque, so I figured that would be easy to get all the nuts off right?

Well, the setup didn't include very good instructions, but I surmised that I needed to put the oil in the wrench. That helped, but really, all the wrench is good for is turning bolts quickly that I have already loosened, and it won't even tighten the bolts more than a light "finger tight". What am I doing wrong?

On top of that, it blows oil all over my wheel.....this can't be right???!!


These are the specs of my compressor:

2HP peak, 5 gallon, oil lubricated compressor
125 maximum PSI
5.0 SCFM at 40 PSI, 4.0 SCFM at 90 PSI
3,450 RPM induction motor

I have no pride left, how does it work???

PS: I wouldn't use it to overtighten my bolts...everything gets hand-torqued to spec.

[larryn]

Hi Stew.. what are the specs for the impact wrench? They are known to take a lot of CFM. Sounds like you are starving the tool for air.

How is that Rob Knob treating you these days, anyway? Did you ever wind up getting charged for extra shipping/duty?

[StewtheBassman]

Standard duty
5.1 average standard cubic feet per minute requirement @ 90 psi
250 lb/ft. ultimate torque
700 impacts per minute
Worry-free built-in regulator
5 lbs

[StewtheBassman]

OMG, that was you!! Ha ha!! LarryN? I sold the '04 325i last May, and the knob went to another Bimmerfester....I can't remember who!
And no, it arrived when you shipped it, just like Christmas!

[larryn]

Yeah.. then it looks like you are starving the wrench. A 5 gallon tank can't compress enough air to keep it running. I have a 20 gallon, and it barely keeps up. Sounds like the compressor you have is mainly suited for nailers.

[larryn]

:rocks:

Originally Posted by StewtheBassman

OMG, that was you!! Ha ha!! LarryN? I sold the '04 325i last May, and the knob went to another Bimmerfester....I can't remember who!
And no, it arrived when you shipped it, just like Christmas!

[StewtheBassman]

Yoiks....what a rip!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why didn't the guy at Canadian Tire tell me!! THey're supposed to know that stuff! F**K!

Hello eBay! Thanks, Larry!

[StewtheBassman]

So I guess you know I'm in a Step now, I could never cozy up to the BMW manual shift, even after all the mods.

I love the Step, it's super smooth and doesn't wear out my left leg.

The '06 Honda Civic has a great shifter and clutch, I wish that were on the Bimmer!

[robdsl17]

A 5 gallon compressor is only good for about 5 seconds of full torque (if that) @ 5cfm.

[StewtheBassman]

Originally Posted by robdsl17

A 5 gallon compressor is only good for about 5 seconds of full torque (if that) @ 5cfm.

Right, so there is no way I could get 5 bolts off quickly without the compressor having to fill up again.

I had noticed that once in a while I would get a good shot of torque, now I know why.

Anything I can do about that blast of oil out the front other than holding a cloth over it?

[ward]

sounds like you've got too much oil in the gun, it just takes a little little bit (it shouldn't shoot oil at all)

yeah you need a bigger tank/compressor

gun needs 5.1, your comp gives 4.0 scfm

[StewtheBassman]

If I buy a different gun will it work better?

[ward]

if you can find a gun that operates at 4.0 SCFM or less (your compressors max output @90psi) then it should work properly

it won't be as powerful as the gun you have (could be with more air) but it would at least operate properly.

not sure if you can get a gun with that air ranage though, I don't know much about air tools

[StewtheBassman]

Thanks ward, I already know more now than yesterday, that's a big plus!

[corpsedub]

you need a better compressor. 5 gallons is good for a nail gun and that's about it. if money is an issue, go get an oiless 20-30 gallon at sears for less than 300$. you cant run an impact on a little compressor like that. it's like pulling a semi truck with a geo metro.

[StewtheBassman]

Ha ha!! I like that, a semi with a geo!

They actually threw in a nail gun with it.....what a laugh. At least I can pump up all the tires I own with this thing.....3 cars, a horse trailer, a shit trailer, a garden trailer, a garden tractor, 5 bikes etc......