Using Impact Gun For Sockets...

[Derek Arita]

So I've got this Makita 14v impact gun and I'm wondering if I could use it with my 1/2" impact sockets? I've seen adapters that would make it possible. Would it work or is it just too weak to drive and remove bolts?

[Ben Hatcher]

I've used my 18v makita to drive sockets. It won't torque a bolt very much, but it'll get them kind of snug. I've actually used mine to help with removing tires on the car. Once they're broken, the impact driver makes quick work of getting them off and back on the studs.

[Jeff Monson]

You can use any adaptors up or down, you will just be limited to the amount of torque you get to the fastener.

[Matt Meiser]

I don't even have impact sockets but I use my regular sockets on my impact pretty regularly. I've got hex to 1/4" and 3/8" drive adapaters in my bit set.

I really want a 1/2" drive M18 Milwaukee impact for tractor and vehicle work.

[Derek Arita]

I see that there are 14 and 18v impact wrenches on the market. Are they any different from 14 and 18v impact drivers, besides the 3/8" or 1/2" fittings?

[Matt Meiser]

The Milwaukee 1/2" drive one is definitely significantly beefier than the 1/4" hex drive one. It looks pretty much like a pneumatic 1/2" drive model with a battery sticking out the bottom.

[David G Baker]

I don't have a Makita impact gun but I suspect that it may not be designed as a replacement for pneumatic impact guns designed for heavy duty work. It probably won't hurt to use the Makita for an occasional heavy duty use but to use it to work with larger sockets and for heavy duty driving may shorten its useful life. I got the impression that the Makita was designed for heavy duty driving of screws in wood working or similar type projects.
The Milwaukee that Matt M writes about is designed for heavy duty use.

[Michael Flores]

I have a 12v dewalt impact and it kicks butt, but then again im not a mechanic using it everyday.

[Jason Roehl]

Impact drivers and impact wrenches, though similar in operation, are different animals.

A $100 battery-powered impact driver will get you on the order of 1000 in-lbs of torque (or 80 ft-lbs). You're mostly paying for the battery and a DC motor.

A $100 pneumatic impact wrench will get you around 500 ft-lbs of torque (6000 in-lbs). You're pretty much paying for an air motor.

With the impact driver, use any sockets you want, you probably won't hurt them a bit. With the impact wrench, use only impact sockets, extensions and swivels--they're softer with higher tensile strength so that they're less prone to cracking and shattering. If you can loosen your vehicle's lug nuts with an impact driver, they weren't put on with near enough torque (most I've seen spec 100 ft-lbs or more, my 3/4-ton truck gets 8 lug nuts torqued to 150 ft-lbs).

[Harvey Melvin Richards]

If you can loosen your vehicle's lug nuts with an impact driver, they weren't put on with near enough torque (most I've seen spec 100 ft-lbs or more, my 3/4-ton truck gets 8 lug nuts torqued to 150 ft-lbs).
I have 3 vehicles that get their lugs torqued to 95 ft-lbs with a torque wrench. My 3/8" Milwaukee impact driver (14.4 volts) will loosen those lugs. It takes a fresh battery, but it will do it. When I put the wheels back on, I tighten them good with the impact, drop the vehicle and torque them to spec.

[Larry Edgerton]

We use Makita impacts all the time on the race engines just because they do not have that much torque. Assembling an engine it speeds it up getting all of the fasteners in place without a hose in the way, and then we go back with a torque wrench for final torquing. Kind of like an electric speed wrench.