After 12 years in shops, I still refuse to use impact guns on lug nuts

Every kid coming through my bay grabs the Milwaukee or Snap-On and zips lug nuts on like they're in a pit crew. I keep telling them to use a torque wrench and I get laughed at. Last month a guy brought in a F-150 with studs snapped clean off, all five on the front passenger side. He said a shop in Akron put his winter tires on with an impact and he heard a pop driving home. I had to replace the whole hub assembly, cost him $640. I grew up using a breaker bar and a torque stick, still do to this day. Am I the only old head who thinks impacts are for removal only, or do the rest of you trust them on installs too?

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finleyh8914h ago

Had the same thing happen at my shop with a Tacoma, guy came in with two studs already stretched from an impact and I ended up swapping all five. Now I hand the new guys a torque stick and make them do a star pattern by hand till they get it. Takes an extra two minutes and saves the customer a hub job every time.

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