Ingersoll Rand PowerSockets provide the torque to loosen hard-to-remove fasteners, bolts and lug nuts, without the need for additional tools. The PowerSocket fits directly on the square drive of a 1/2” impact tool and provides more torque than standard impact sockets, the company says. The PowerSocket is now available in 17mm, 18mm, 19mm, 21mm, 22mm, 24mm, 26mm and 27mm metric sizes, as well as 3/4", 7/8" and 15/16" standard sizes to meet the standard bolt and lug nut variations from a variety of car and tire manufacturers.
The review
The Ingersoll Rand PowerSocket can break some undercar fasteners loose quicker than using a traditional impact socket, says Eric Moore, co-owner of DeMary Truck in Columbus, Ohio.
Moore used the 19mm and 27mm PowerSockets for removal and tightening of numerous undercar fasteners, and for lugnut removal on multiple vehicles at his shop. Technicians at DeMary Truck used the sockets for a variety of other jobs, including removal of ball joints on a 2003 Ford F-350, removal and installation of shocks on an Isuzu NPR and removal of axle U-bolts for replacing kingpins on a Mitsubishi-Fuso FE.
The PowerSockets are used like any standard impact socket, placed on an impact tool or ratchet.
“Our techs found that, as long as the nuts weren’t rusted on, they were able to loosen them with their 1/2” impact guns and the Ingersoll Rand PowerSocket,” Moore said. “If the nuts were seized in any way, it became a job for the 1” impact.”
Originally Moore was only using the 19mm PowerSocket provided to him by Ingersoll Rand, but with the size of lugnuts on some of the smaller trucks DeMary Truck services, he found that the 27mm PowerSocket eventually saw more use in his shop.
Moore said he liked the additional weight of each socket, and the flywheel ring which allowed good grip for hand tightening. Moore said the technicians at DeMary Truck used the sockets for hand tightening and starting fasteners.
“They are well engineered, useful and great quality,” Moore says, of the PowerSockets.
Although the weight of the socket was a plus for Moore, the thickness of it prevented the socket from being used on some wheels for lugnut removal, as they didn’t fit in the wheel space.
Moore says car shops especially would benefit from having the following sizes of PowerSocket available, that aren’t currently: 30mm and 32mm.
“Some of the bigger sizes would be nice for hard-to-loosen CV axle nuts,” Moore adds.
