The right tools can generally...
The right tools can generally make a tough job a lot easier, and this month we'll show you a unique and very useful new design from Ingersoll Rand.
If you're like most Mopar owners, you tend to perform most of the maintenance and upgrades on your car yourself, using your skills and tools to save a little money. And even if a job requires a tool we don't have, most of us would rather spend the money on a tool than pay a mechanic to do the job. This way, the next time we need to perform the task, we'll have both the tool and the knowledge to do it properly.
No matter how many tools you have, though, chances are at some point you've been working on your Mopar and thought, Man, this would sure be easier if I had a (insert tool name here). And while there's no way most of us could afford or even house all the tools we'd like to have, there's no doubt that having the right tool for the job does make most automotive maintenance much easier. The focus of this column usually isn't tools, so much as the jobs we do with them, but we found a new tool called the Hammerhead from Ingersoll Rand that was so unique and useful we just had to tell you about it.
Like some of Ingersoll Rand's most popular products, the Hammerhead is a pneumatic impact wrench but is built differently than any other impact, with a unique 90-degree head. Designed to meet the torque criteria of an impact and size requirements of an air ratchet, the 1/2-inch drive Hammerhead we tried out is about the size and weight of a 3/8 air ratchet. But while an air ratchet is limited in terms of the power necessary to break loose tight fasteners, the Hammerhead provides nearly the torque of a 1/2-inch impact wrench, making short work of most fasteners and gaining access to tight quarters.
To really analyze this new tool from Ingersoll Rand, we took a 1/2-inch Hammerhead up to Inline Performance Specialists for some real-world testing. Working with Inline on a couple of projects, including some Cummins diesel heavy line maintenance as well as a transmission swap in our '09 Challenger, we were impressed with the versatility of the Hammerhead. This tool has remarkable torque for its size, and is lightweight, well-balanced, and easily reversible, offering the best features of both an air ratchet and an impact wrench. In fact, after using the Hammerhead we agree with Ingersoll Rand that this tool would be great for a mechanic needing a high-quality, entry-level air tool that will perform the work of both an air ratchet and impact wrench.
It's not often that we feature...
It's not often that we feature a tool in Quick Tech, but the new Hammerhead impact wrench from Ingersoll Rand offers some unique innovations that not only make work easier, but can save you time and money.
The Hammerhead impact wrench...
The Hammerhead impact wrench is just slightly larger than Ingersoll Rand's latest 3/8-inch air ratchet, and is actually dimensionally smaller than many older air ratchets, making it great for fasteners with limited access.
We took our Hammerhead up...
We took our Hammerhead up to Inline Performance Specialists for a real test. These professionals do a lot of Dodge truck and Cummins diesel work and gladly put the tool through its paces for us.
A conventional impact wrench...
A conventional impact wrench wouldn't fit inside the exhaust, and an air ratchet didn't have enough torque to break these driveshaft bolts loose. The Hammerhead fit easily and had plenty of power to remove the fasteners.
One of the many features of...
One of the many features of the Hammerhead that stood out was the reverse/rpm switch located conveniently on the tool's handle. This is far handier than the traditional switch on the head of an air ratchet.
While the Hammerhead won't...
While the Hammerhead won't completely replace an air ratchet and powerful impact wrench, we can say that after adding this tool at our shop, our other air tools spend more time in the box than attached to an air hose. This would be a great first air tool for either the new professional mechanic or the occasional weekend do-it-yourselfer.