and some pb blaster the night before wouldn't hurt either.

You can't use a impact wrench on the fan clutch nut as it's between the fan and water pump. You need a monkey wrench that will open up to at least 38mm, and either a board to wedge between the fan and engine or a pair of think gloves and push/pull against it as you're unloosing the nut. And mine was threaded lefty loosey, thought that was odd when I took it off, but that's what it was.

 

the makita 18v with thr lithon ion bats are powerful anf lightweight (much smaller bat with same amount of juice as the old ni-cad)

 

The snap on is great, my father has one for his business that he uses every day to tear stuff down on 200 ft yachts. They are expensive enough however that you could get air tools and a compressor for half as much... I got my 26 gallon craftsman compressor last month at sears for $242 and it came with a 25 ft hose, 1/2" impact, 3/8" ratchet, and a few other little things. I am very satisfied with it.

 

aw come on guys be realistic. the man doesn't have any air tools and his funds are limited. he needs to spend 500+ on a snap-on brand tool like he needs a hole in the head.

in general, electric tools are more expensive than air, and cordless are even more expensive than corded. i'd recommend either a moderate corded one, or look for a package deal on an air tank and tools. be careful of going too cheap, as you sort of get what you pay for. be on the lookout on craigslist. sometimes you can find a deal there. for new stuff look into northern tool or harbor freight or walmart. for sockets and such, look into the traveling tool trucks and northern. they have black thick wall sockets dirt cheap.

do not not not waste any money on those cheapo 12 volt impacts for 20-30. not worth a crap. won't even remove a lug nut.

i've got a walmart campbell hausfield package (like below) with 1/2 impact, a cutoff tool, a low quality spray gun i never use, hose, connectors, etc, etc. i think it was about $250-300. i use the air wrench some, the cutoff occasionally, pump up tires, ski tubes, blow stuff out. i bought a bunch of cheap sockets from the cheapo traveling truck.

i've also got a 3/4 electric Bosch brand that i ran across for $20. (the deal of the year) i actually use it more than the air gun, but its big and bulky and won't fit in smaller places. it'll out torque my air gun and break bolts if you just let it keep on hammering.

now, having said all that, when i changed my water pump and plenum and timing chain, i only used the air gun on one bolt - the big boy on the harmonic balancer on the end of the crank. my 3/4 electic was too long and wouldn't fit. everything else was just sockets and wrenchs and torque wrenches to tighten. but, on the other hand, when i was working on my daughter's front end, i used air to remove all that stuff. it was all tighter hell.


http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW290-2.../dp/B0000224KD

http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausf...36&sr=1-41


edit... added the Sears kit that JR mentioned. looks like a good outfit.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ir+comprressor

 

I was reading about air tools. I didn't know that you can use those small tanks. My buddy bought air tools and his tank was about 7 ft tall. Thats what i thought you needed for air tools. The craftsman looks better than the campbell. I'll look into those. But the snap on looks really nice. I might just ask for the snap on for my birthday...along with the camshaft/intake and roller rockers and head machining. Not to mention a gasket kit and new timing chain. I can't wait...the hours away from my wife to do my thing,and the constant cursing and driving to autozone.

 

The one I got is now on sale for $285, the reason I got it so cheap was because I bought it a few days before christmas for $262, then I got another 10% off it because they ran 10% off everything on christmas day.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...+%26+Air+Tools

I love it, its quiet, well built, the air tools are not half as bad as the people leaving reviews claim, I used it to rotate the tires on the van and it did great, nothing like my fathers $500 snap on air impact, but is just fine for what I do and should be fine for anything you do. If you do buy it though, get another hose. The one they include is absolute crap, its not flexible, if you bend the ends a little it starts leaking air (crappy crimps), and its only 1/4". Not sure if you do, but, if you have a "Big lots" store near you, they actually have a very nice 50' rubber, not pvc hose for 10 bucks, usually anything they sell tool wise is not good for anything, but this is nicer than the 30 dollar craftsman hoses. There is one other member with this compressor too down in the 2nd gen neon section and he loves it as much as I do.

 

Thanks JR, that is a sweet setup. I think I will go with the craftsman instead of the snap on. I don't know how much I can quantify a 500 dollar tool. Plus, it looks like more comes with the craftsman. The socket looks useful too. Now I am not a tool guy, but does that air socket make "impact" motions as well? I am asking because it looks like it can fit places an impact can't.

 

I know this topic is a few days old, but I am sure you would like your questions answered, lol. I am assuming you mean the air ratchet? It is sort of like an impact I guess, however it does not turn as fast and does not have nearly as much torque. The ratchet is great for tearing stuff down our threading in long bolts that seem to take forever with a regular ratchet. I would definitely recommend it, however like I said before, don't expect much out of the hose that it comes with. Honestly I cannot think of anything else about this that I can complain about, except for some reason the accessory kit came with only 2 male threaded adapters when it should have come with 3 (one for the ratchet, impact, blow gun), but I had plenty of spares so it wasn't a big deal to me, they are only a couple of bucks anyways.