I bought this to change tires at the race track. But I just keep finding uses for it. Tons of power for a cordless and decent run time on the little lithium batteries. At first the little batteries do not fit, but there is a ridge in the tool there to force you to use the big batteries. All you have to do is grind it off and the smaller kit batteries will fit. Works great for: driving in big lag bolts for a deck, changing a flat tractor tire in the middle of a field, swapping car tires.
What it does lack is variable speed, but this is a brute force tool anyway. The little led light is handy too. FYI, at the track, one battery will do almost 2 sets of tires tourqued to 100 ft/lbs.
I used to make my living as an auto mechanic. I used a friends Dewalt cordless 1/2" impact wrench and was very impressed but when I saw the price I backed off. I own several other makita tools that use the same lithium-ion battery and have been very happy with them. When this unit came up for less than half the price of the Dewalt I jumped. I still own a 1/2" air impact and this cordless wrench appears to have as much power as the air wrench. It is heavy especially with the battery but at least there is no hose attached to it. I like the shock absorbing battery mount. I think that's a great idea.
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I purchased this solely for removing the 1 1/8" pinion nut on a 15 year old Jeep Cherokee. They're torqued from the factory to 200 ft-lbs. In MN, the salty roads lead to a lot of rust on threaded fasteners, so I was worried about being able to remove such a large, heavily torqued nut.
This impact had absolutely no problem getting the nut off. 2-3 seconds of hammering and off it came. For anyone who lives in the rust belt, buy one of these immediately. I wish I had gotten one sooner, it is SO much better than a 2' breaker bar with a pipe over the end of it. Plus it's still small enough to get into most places.
It paid for itself on just this one repair as the local shop quoted me ~$250 for this fix.
For anyone who frequents junkyards, this tool's value is immeasurable. Taking apart rear ends or suspensions is absolutely no problem, though I recommend an extra battery.
Cons? It's a bit heavy, especially at arm's length, but it removes nuts and bolts so quickly that you don't have to hold it for long.
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PRO'S:
* Extremely powerful, comparable to many of the best air-powered impact wrenches but without the hassle of a hose.
* Uses Makita's super lightweight 18V lithium battery.
* Forward and reverse are built into a single trigger. The top of 1/3 of the trigger activates reverse, while the bottom 2/3 operates the wrench in forward. No need to press a switch or button before changing directions.
* Seems very wellbuilt: Has a shock absorbing base to protect the battery, solid feel, and sockets are easy to change.
CON'S:
* It's heavy plain and simple. Although that is probably to be expected from a powerful impact wrench.
* It is unbalanced because the top is so heavy while the battery is very light.
* Dual-use trigger takes a bit of getting used to (but is a better design once you've done it a few times).
Overall, this is heavy-duty and efficient unit that makes a good addition to the already outstanding line of Makita LXT tools. We use it for lawn mower repair in my landscape business, and it is definitely the preferred tool. It would be great for automotive work and will spin the lugnuts off of a verhicle in a flash (we tried it on a trailer wheel).
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I have two of these now, one for work and one for my garage. Durable, and strong. Has all the power you could really ever need to tackle any nut or bolt. I prefer it over air impacts because its quiet and you never have to wait for the compressor.
