My old foreman swore by breaker bars over impacts, now I get it

Back in 2019 my first foreman, Larry, would yell at us if we grabbed the impact gun for anything with more than 400 ft-lbs on it. He said impacts rattle the fastener and round off heads on seized bolts. I thought he was just old school and cranky. Then last month I had an F-550 hub nut that would not budge after 3 minutes of gun work. I finally broke out the 3/4 breaker bar with a 6 foot pipe and it popped loose with one solid yank. That was the moment I realized he wasn't being difficult, he was saving us from broken studs and wasted time. Now I only use the gun to break things loose if I know the threads are clean, otherwise it's bar and pipe first. Has anyone else had a stubborn bolt that only gave in to pure leverage after the air tools failed them?

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2 Comments

quinnm771mo ago

Forget heat and penetrating oil, try a long cheater pipe before you even touch the gun.

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wilson.olivia1mo ago

Cheater pipe has saved my ass more times than anything in the box. Did an old Ford F-150 lug nut last year that laughed at a breaker bar. Slipped a 4 foot pipe over it and it broke loose like it was nothing. Heat and oil still have their place, but you skip that mess half the time with just leverage. Plus you dont risk melting any rubber or wiring nearby. Strongly agree with you on this one.

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