So I've had my milwaukee 1/2" cordless impact driver for years, like so long I don't ever remember when I got it. It's an M18 tool, full size, but back when full size meant 650ft lbs in reverse, not double that like they have now.
It used to easily spin off wheel nuts torqued to 100 ft lbs, now it won't at all, even with fully charged batteries.
So, is this a battery issue and some new M18 batteries gets it back up and going again, or do I just need to replace the entire driver/battery system?
These are pretty popular, as a first step I would see if anyone local to you has a known good battery pack you can test with.
Is it brushless? If it's older it might not be - new brushes needed perhaps?
In reply to therieldeal :
I'm sure I've had it at least 8 years, probably longer. When did they start making brushless ones? Are the brushes replaceable?
I can't picture what part inside an impact wrench would wear out to reduce the torque. That's not to say it's not possible, it just seems unlikely. It would be ideal if you could test a fresh battery on it. I bet it fixes it, but it would stink to be stuck with an extra battery if you didn't end up staying with Milwaukee stuff to replace it if it doesn't fix the problem.
In reply to dculberson :
Yeah, especially since all my other stuff is Ryobi. Who now makes a nice 1/2" impact too, and I would be able to use all my ryobi batteries with it.
I have the older Ryobi brushed 1/2" impact and have been happy with it, no problems with wheel nuts and suspension components. Now, it's not and never will be a match for the latest and greatest Milwaukee but the price reflects that.
It looks like the Ryobi 1/2" impact lineup currently consists of the old brushed version, a brushless version, and a "high torque" HP brushless unit. I would be very interested to try out the big boy.
In reply to newrider3 :
I was looking at the high torque one, ~1300ft lbs in reverse. Basically the same price ($20 more?) as the one below it that's half as strong.
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