Tried a torque wrench vs impact driver for stubborn refrigerator compressor bolts...

I spent 20 minutes wrestling with an impact driver on a stuck compressor bolt last Tuesday in Chicago. Switched to a manual torque wrench with a cheater bar and it came loose in 2 seconds flat. Has anyone else had better luck with hand tools for those tough appliance bolts?

2 comments

2 Comments

tyler36814d ago

Yeah impact drivers are useless on stuck bolts, they just rattle and strip the head. A breaker bar and some elbow grease will beat power tools every time on stuff that's been sitting for years.

noahhernandez7h ago

Tyler's right about the rattling thing, I read something similar in a mechanic's blog where they said impact drivers just vibrate the bolt head into a different shape without actually turning it. For compressor bolts that have been sitting in a humid fridge for years, the rust basically locks the threads tight. A manual torque wrench or breaker bar lets you put steady pressure on it without that jarring motion that strips things. I've noticed it's more about applying constant force than sudden bursts, which seem to just bounce off the bolt. Hand tools all the way for those stubborn ones.