IR impact wrench not working

luc.who · Feb 16, 2019

Looking for any help here, I have an IR 1/2 impact. While I was doing brakes on an older car today, bolt was too tight, so i got out my impact wrench. It broke the first bolt free no issues, (PB blaster soaked...) and when i went to remove the 2nd bolt the wrench just blows air.

Any thoughts on what the issue could be?

Talenel · Feb 16, 2019

Can you manually turn it a bit, or trying to go the other way with it sometimes works

luc.who · Feb 16, 2019

Talenel said:
Can you manually turn it a bit, or trying to go the other way with it sometimes works

Thanks. I'll give that a try. Never thought to try reversing it.

Daren Todd · Feb 16, 2019

Try switching between forward and reverse. Your switcher could be popping in between and getting stuck. Before I had my snap on gun rebuilt the valve would move very easily and pop halfway between the two positions. I had to hold my finger on the button when using the gun to keep it in position.

My snap on gun quit working. Mine ended up being a snapped anvil. A chunk had broken off and was locking up the unit.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

skeets · Feb 16, 2019

Make sure you are using air oil, one time I used what ever oil was laying around. I wound up taking the impact apart it was all gummed up,,, soaked everything cleaned it and lubed with air oil,, worked fine after that

bernhardine · Feb 16, 2019

luc.who said:
Looking for any help here, I have an IR 1/2 impact. While I was doing brakes on an older car today, bolt was too tight, so i got out my impact wrench. It broke the first bolt free no issues, (PB blaster soaked...) and when i went to remove the 2nd bolt the wrench just blows air.

Any thoughts on what the issue could be?

What temperature did you have at that time? and how cold/warm was the impact wrench? - was ist below let's say 4°C/ 40°F ?

If you have a little too much moisture in the compressed air, the wrench then starts to freeze inside and wont work any longer.

Lil Foot · Feb 16, 2019

I had a Snap-on 1/4" & a 3/8" air ratchet both fail about the same time- working fine, then they stopped & just blew air as you described.
(they were probably 30+ years old, but lightly used.)
Turns out there is a small neoprene "button" that seals the air either off or through the tool, when you press the lever. This seal had disintegrated in both tools. A quick disassembly, cleaning, and seal replacement was all it took.

KennysNewFarm · Feb 16, 2019

luc.who said:
Looking for any help here, I have an IR 1/2 impact. While I was doing brakes on an older car today, bolt was too tight, so i got out my impact wrench. It broke the first bolt free no issues, (PB blaster soaked...) and when i went to remove the 2nd bolt the wrench just blows air.

Any thoughts on what the issue could be?

Diagram of a typical IR impact gun. Maybe this will help if you decide to break it down.

luc.who · Feb 17, 2019

Thanks for all the help.

I brought the wrench in from the outside garage yesterday, wondering if the cold temps we have had could have slowed the oil. Took it out to the garage this morning, and cycled the forward reverse switches and it worked fine.

I did find the diagrams on the wrench and how to take it apart. I use the wrench so infrequently that it may have 10 hours on it.

Thanks for all your help guys, really appreciate it.

Tooljunkie · Feb 18, 2019

Water in airline,froze in the air inlet screen. Drain the air tank.
Oil with air tool oil and you should be fine. Oil as in 7-10 drops into air inlet.
On back of some IR impacts is a flush grease fitting. You need a contact tip to grease the hammer. I have an Ir impact that i have been beating the hell out of for 14 years. It still pounds like the day it was born.

luc.who · Feb 18, 2019

Tooljunkie said:
Water in airline,froze in the air inlet screen. Drain the air tank.
Oil with air tool oil and you should be fine. Oil as in 7-10 drops into air inlet.
On back of some IR impacts is a flush grease fitting. You need a contact tip to grease the hammer. I have an Ir impact that i have been beating the hell out of for 14 years. It still pounds like the day it was born.

Thanks Frank. I will add some oil to the gun and drain the compressor.

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IR impact wrench not working

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