Folks,

I'm restoring an old Nova and I'm having trouble with my air impact wrench. I can't find any information on the internet about troubleshooting these things so I thought I'd check one of the few sources where people seem willing to repair their own stuff.

I hook up my impact wrench and when I squeeze the trigger besides getting soaked in oil nothing is happening. I don't think the pressure on my compressor is too high (it's a homemade compressor, so no manual). Anyone have any idea why the tool isn't spinning?

Thanks!
Mike

 

has it worked before with the mentioned air compressor?

 

It has worked in the past with the compressor I have. Now, since I last used it the switch on the compressor went bad and I replaced it. The air compressor runs and charges up just fine. It does seem that maybe it is blowing too much air because all of my tools are blowing water out of tools. I think all of the heat and humidity we've had hear in the south has caused massive moisture collection inside the tank and it needs to be drained. I have a filter installed to remove the moisture, but it may not be sufficient.

I appreciate any ideas! These air tools don't have 6 hours of use in them even though I've had them for close to two years now. I'd hate to have to scrap them and get new ones (Craftsman has changed it's tool exchange policy on these things).

Thanks!
Mike

 

is there any way to drain the whole compressor, like a valve on the bottom of it?

 

I have the air outlet side mounted pretty low on the tank. I'll unscrew that tonight (it's just threaded in) and drain the tank. Hopefully, that'll work. I'm coating the frame with POR tonight so I'll need something to do while the frame is getting tacky for a second coat.

I'll keep you updated!
Mike

 

Might be time to take your wrench apart. If water caused it to lock draining the water from the tank won't fix the wrench.

They usually come apart pretty easily. There's not a whole lot of pieces/parts, relatively anyway.

 

what tends to go bad in these things? I've been reading a little bit about the bushings, screens, etc., but I won't even know where to start looking. Of course, I guess I don't have much to lose at this point anyways....

Mike

 

Your air outlet is mounted pretty low on the tank? Look for rust in there gumming things up. A good cleaning is usually all it takes.

Get that outlet mounted higher if water's getting thru to your tool.

 

Well, I drained the tank and the water accumulator on the compressor last night. There was a lot of water in the tank, but I still don't have a functional tool. The water was gross looking but no rust inside. The other tools I used last night worked although they were still sputtering out some water. I think we're stuck looking at the tool itself.

Thanks!
Mike

 

This isn't an appropriate Tech/General Engine topic. I'll let the mods here decide if it is okay on this forum.

 

Most of those have a note "oil daily", and... are assumed to be used daily. Moisture is a byproduct of compressing the air so its always going to exist, and its going to get in the tool to a degree even with a trap. Probably something in there is frozen up from the water sitting in the tool while it was not in use. Probably could take it apart, clean it, and it'll work fine.