Full of Hot Air

[Tinkerin_wit_tools]

I purchased a Chicago Pneumatic CP886 3/8-Inch General
Duty Air Ratchet and it was top rated for a general duty piece.
I do have a question that pertains to it, because from the
quality of the name is why I initially bought it (and the price was nice) but was wondering if I am doing something wrong. I am just a home mechanic that fixes the family cars, so I don't get heavy use from my tools, but still want them to perform. The specs say that it is between 10 to 50 ft lbs of torque and that I shouldn't exceed 90 psi on it. I have a large 60 gallon compressor and a 50 ft air hose with a regulator that can be locked for max psi, and I do lock it. All my air tools have a 90 psi max rating. Was removing and installing a water pump on my car and the torque specs call for only 25 ft lbs per fastener. Now, common sense tells me that if I have a tool that can take double that, then why wasn't it able to remove the fasteners. I am not an expert, but I think that makes sense to me. Am I doing something wrong???

[NetDriver]

Hi,

Even though the initial installation torque was supposed to be 25 Ft-Lb does not mean that it will only take 25 to remove it. The bolt may have been installed at a higher torque by the factory or by a later mechanic in a rush with an air tool set to 90 psi. It may have been installed with a Loctite type product, even the red stud mount which is very tough to free, and as always there likely has been corrosion. You may need to be very careful when trying to loosen up an old bolt, especially around the water pump.

Worst case is that you snap off the head of the bolt or break it off further down, then need to drill it out. If there is no space to get a drill to that spot, then you end up needing to remove a lot more of the car to get at the area you would need to drill. Be sure that you keep the socket or wrench flat & square on the bolt head to reduce the risk of rounding it off.

Good Luck!

Jay