Walked into a Pete's shop outside Red Deer and saw a guy using an impact gun on oil pan bolts...

Like, I get that you're in a hurry but that's the kind of shortcut that leaves you with a cracked pan and a 500 dollar mistake, has anyone else seen this kind of lazy work lately?

2 comments

2 Comments

wadeg9216d ago

Nah I gotta disagree with you on this one man. I've been turning wrenches for like 15 years and an impact on oil pan bolts is totally fine if you know what you're doing. The trick is just setting the clutch low enough so it stops before the bolt gets cranked down too tight, same as any other bolt really. Ive seen way more cracked pans from guys reefing on a ratchet by hand cause they think they gotta torque it down like a head bolt. If the guy was using a big impact gun on high setting sure thats dumb but most guys just use a little m12 or something with a low setting and its fine.

gray_perez5215d ago

Jimmy Joe down at the corner garage uses a half-inch impact on his oil pans and swears by it, but I’ve seen the aftermath in his scrap pile too many times. The low clutch setting trick only works if you actually remember to switch it off high when you grab the wrong gun in a hurry. Last I checked, a cracked pan doesn’t care about "knowing what you’re doing" once the bolt hole is already stripped.