Been running a corded 1/2" electric impact for a few years, it does almost everything I've ever needed it to Jeep-wise. If you can afford a beefy cordless impact, probably even better. I run a 1/4" impact driver for small jobs too. An air impact with that compressor will just be annoying.

 

I love Milwaukee's 18v fuel half inch electric impact. I got mine for like $350 I think. 2 batteries, charger, and hard case included. Rave reviews here and elsewhere as well.

 

I have the Dewalt 20v brushless 3/8 and 1/2 impact guns. The 1/2 does about 1000lbs. I used it a lot when redoing my front end on the XJ, and I use it for wheel work (lug nuts), and axle bolts. The 3/8 is good for almost everything else, and is generally useful on other home projects like jungle-gyms, etc. It has a great size/power ratio. Fits nice in the hand. After seeing how well they both work, I am glad I went electric.

However, I notice I don't use either of them much any more. I use them when I have to, but it just doesn't come up as often any more. Most under-hood fasteners do not require more than a few twists of a ratchet before finger loosening. Plus, clearance under the hood usually doesn't allow me to fit a gun in without swivels or adapters any way. So end up just grabbing my low profile flex head ratchet, or ratcheting box end wrenches.

But, I'm glad I have them. They are very useful when I need them. If I had to get just one of them, I suppose it would be the 3/8 wrench. Its the most flexible and useful of the two. But the 1/2" does have all 4 of my wheels off in about 1 minute, so it actually gets used the most these days.

 

I have the Milwaukee 3/8 cordless ratchet....i use that on a daily basis. Love it. The head isn't much bigger then a normal ratchet so clearance isn't too much of an issue.

 

I just picked one up. Almost brand new with a 6.0 battery if not brand new. $80. No charger but I picked up a Milwaukee impact gun awhile back and the charger I got with that one charges both the M12 and M18 batteries so I was good to go. Been wanting one for awhile now.

 

I also got on of these for fathers day and it changed my life. Seriously pays for itself with the time saved. Here is the link to what I got - gun no battery for $190.


If you get everything piecemeal its cheaper than the "kit". If you get knockoff batteries, it's even cheaper. Cannot recommend it enough.

 

Man great thread here, thanks for all the input.

Yeah that little compressor of mine can be a PITA. I'm sure it'll run an impact gun what maybe like 10 sec at the most?

Although I'd love a honking 1000 ft lb batt type, in the end I found a deal on a slightly used 1/2" 800 ft lb pneumatic Husky from HD.

Has anybody had a bad experience with this one?

 

Cordless impacts are great but they don't take as much use and abuse as a good air impact will. A properly maintained good air impact will last 20 years if you are just using it for home use. I have an AirCat 1150 that I got for $150 brand new and it is supposed to have over 1000 ft lb of torque. I also have a Klutch 1/2" impact from Northern Tool it works good but doesn't have as much power as the Air Cat. I have also heard good thing about the Harbor Freight Earthquakes but I have never used one. A good size compressor will come in handy for many different things I have a 30 gallon Husky that I picked up for $300 at Home Depot. I had a 21 gallon Harbor Freight before and it did ok but I wanted something with more capacity so I sold it.

 

One of the reasons I bought the Milwaukee 3/8" ratchet is because I while back I scored that Millwaukee impact for $150. The tool, a 5.0 Milwaukee battery, and the charger. All looked like they had never been used. So the charger from that will also charge M12 batteries and did not have to spend a few bucks more for a charger when I bought the ratchet.

 

For what it's worth, I have a Harbor Freight Earthquake 1/2" air impact gun and a craftsman 8 gal compressor.

It seems a bit weak, my front axle nuts for example take about 20-30 seconds of letting it hammer before they will spin free. I get about 30 seconds of runtime before having to let the compressor catch up.

My friends Aircat beats the snot out of it, and his Milwaukee electric is not that far behind but also takes some time to get the really stuck bolts out.

But still, it was cheap and has come in handy alot. Even more handy is the air ratchet, but those Milwaukee 3/8 electric wrenches seem even more handy.
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The HF 20v lithium impacts work very well. We have 1/2" and 3/8" Earthquake XT 20v.

1/2" with 1200 ft. lbs. easily spins off pinion nuts.

We have a whole collection of other battery, electric and air impacts, all brands and now prefer the HF 20v impacts. If that doesn't do it, 4' breaker bar.

 

i have been using a 7amp corded electric 1/2 inch impact for years with great success.

i have recently picked up a 20v dewalt 1/2 inch impact (tool only) for 169.00 plus tax from canadian tire. i already have a bunch of batteries and a couple chargers for my other 20v dewalt tools, including a larger double size battery which i use for the 1/2 inch which removes anything i've put it on.

my air impact hasn't seen the light of day in a few years now.

go corded with a rocker switch if money stops you from dropping a couple hun on a battery powered tool.

 

i also have a snap-on 3/8 impact. that thing is a beast for it size. It will do almost anything my Milwaukee 1/2 will do, aside from stubborn rusted large bolts. I use it allot where i would normally use a hand ratchet. so much faster. I like battery powered, because i can take them on the trail with me to speed up repairs out in the booneys.

 

I bought a 1/2 inch impact wrench at Walmart and run it with my C02 tank. Works great, has all the torque I need for on trail repairs. Cost about 40 bucks and came with some impact sockets.

 

I got it for around a $100 with one of those famous HF discount coupons.

https://www.harborfreight.com/18-vol...nch-62658.html

While it removed previously torqued 100 ft-lb lug nuts, it seemed to struggle torquing them back on though it was still torquing little by little.
Didn't want to risk over torquing so finished up with my trusty torque wrench. Not sure about that 330 ft-lb spec.
Just as well, good enough for tire rotations.
Never gonna fire up my 220 volt air compressor again for a simple tire rotation.

By the way i also picked up one of their battery drill/drivers which also uses the same 18volt battery as the impact.
Now i've got two chargers and two batteries in case one battery craps out during a long job.
After the tire rotation, the impact's battery sure seemed ready to go another round as it still had enough battery life left.
The batteries fully charge in about an hour.

All in all satisfied with both of those purchases.
If i need an impact wrench for the heavier jobs, i always got my air impacts as back up.