Ness' Outpost

I found out that my Motomaster 5-Gallon Twin-stack Air Compressor (#58-7949-6) compressor is too small to run the Mastercraft ½” impact wrench (#58-8413) that comes in the Mastercraft 100-Piece Air Tool Kit (#58-7872-0).

After lugging the beast of a compressor out of the basement plugging it in and hooking up the 50′ 3/8″ hose with 1/4″ quick connects all I could get out of the tool was a steady hiss of air – no impacting as expected on the lugs of the Vibe. I was able to get one nut off after fiddling around with the compressor regulator and cranking up the PSI to the max but the tool specifications say the max is only 90 PSI not the 120 PSI I was trying to feed it to get off the lugs.

Lugs were put on by a tire shop so they were probably at 90 ft/lbs. I torque the lugs to 80 ft/lbs when I change the tires myself on the steelies unless the vehicle says more or less.

Returning to the specs again the air compressor delivers 4.1 scfm @ 90 PSI while the impact wrench requires somewhere around 5.0 scfm according to the tool manual – not the Canadian Tire website.

Dang. I guess I’ll need a garage with a bigger air compressor some day or a better air wrench. ;)
For now the electric impact gun is a lot lighter and easier to use in the driveway.

Never use a gun to torque on your lugs – do it by hand with a proper torque wrench.

I got out the tools to do an oil change on the Vibe tonight before it rains. 14mm box wrench, oil filter and filter wrench, 3/8″ ratchet and extension. The brand spanking new rino ramps were cut free from their packaging and I was all set to go.

The Vibe is a standard and I drive an automatic every day. I can drive standard — it just isn’t pretty. The rino ramps aren’t that high, only about 8 inches or so but became obstacle number one. I couldn’t get the vehicle up on them since our driveway is sloped too that extra slope made it really hard to get her up on the ramps. Lauren put the car up on them no problem for me.
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