DeWalt impact driver too weak to remove screws?

[MisterBoy]

I have the DCF887 about 5 years old and trying to remove some 5x200mm screws it's not budging them even on the highest setting with a full battery... Lots of noise, no turning off screws. I've had to start using a socket wrench with a 10" handle to loosen them half a turn first but with ~300 that's going to be slow.

Is it possible mine could be on the way out or do I just need something more powerful? I'm not sure what the equivalent model is these days.
The screws are through 20mm ply, 120mm PIR into softwood and were installed using an equivalent tool.

 

[big-all]

what battery are you using genuine matching or generic or old via adapter ???
tools seldom reduce in power much whereas batteries can turn from 100% to 20% if older age and type[old nicads 'nmh or over 10 year old first generation li-ions
i have the 887 perhaps 4 years old [can check] and its drive 4" 5mm screws through 160mm timber head and all easilly

 

[blup]

I have the DCF887 about 5 years old and trying to remove some 5x200mm screws it's not budging them even on the highest setting with a full battery... Lots of noise, no turning off screws. I've had to start using a socket wrench with a 10" handle to loosen them half a turn first but with ~300 that's going to be slow.

Is it possible mine could be on the way out or do I just need something more powerful? I'm not sure what the equivalent model is these days.
The screws are through 20mm ply, 120mm PIR into softwood and were installed using an equivalent tool.

The tool must be on its way out if it ant get through that but worth trying similar sized screw on some softwood off cuts of the relevant length.

Blup

 

[Diver Fred]

My impact driver has the same issue - can't remove screws it has put in...

 

[MisterBoy]

what battery are you using genuine matching or generic or old via adapter ???
tools seldom reduce in power much whereas batteries can turn from 100% to 20% if older age and type[old nicads 'nmh or over 10 year old first generation li-ions
i have the 887 perhaps 4 years old [can check] and its drive 4" 5mm screws through 160mm timber head and all easilly

I have a mixture but right now I'm using a genuine 5Ah DeWalt fully charged. I could swap battery and double check.

 

[catlad]

When I come across that situation I use the drill as a screw driver and break the inertia by hand and then use the battery power to do the rest.

 

[big-all]

i must admit i missed the 8" bit old and rusty a lot off friction there

 

[foxhole]

I have the DCF887 about 5 years old and trying to remove some 5x200mm screws it's not budging them even on the highest setting with a full battery... Lots of noise, no turning off screws. I've had to start using a socket wrench with a 10" handle to loosen them half a turn first but with ~300 that's going to be slow.

Is it possible mine could be on the way out or do I just need something more powerful? I'm not sure what the equivalent model is these days.
The screws are through 20mm ply, 120mm PIR into softwood and were installed using an equivalent tool.

Have you tried tighten first ?

 

[robinbanks]

Where did you find 5x200 screws? That's a fairly obscure size; they're typically at least a 6 I find

When I come across that situation I use the drill as a screw driver and break the inertia by hand and then use the battery power to do the rest.

I don't think that's possible with the impact driver I have; it doesn't lock like the combi does

I also find that the combi on day rate mode has more grunt for winding screw in despite being rated at half the torque of the impact driver

The tool must be on its way out if it ant get through that

Hear here; essentially we're talking about a screw in 60mm of softwood; the ply and the insulation aren't going to offer significant friction

Perhaps buy the same tool again from screwfix for a compare (you can always return it, maybe after you've tried it out 300 times) or use it as an opportunity to go tool shopping (how about a cordless half inch socket driver? Makes changing wheels etc much less of a chore)

 

[MisterBoy]

Have you tried tighten first ?

Yeah I've tried banging them back and forth. Even with my ratchet handle, it's only just possible to get them to turn... They don't really seem to "break free" they're just really really tight which I did odd that only about 20-30mm is actually in the wood. Unsure what could make them so stiff

 

[robinbanks]

Unsure what could make them so stiff

Show us a photo of the ones that you've removed

 

[cdbe]

I thought my 887 had died the other week, I was fixing some 2x2's through some bits of batten into a ridge beam with some big screws, I thought the gearbox had gone seemed to be working but not turning the screws much. I had my combi drill there and stuck the bit holder in that to finish off (can you see what's coming here?), exactly the same problem! Turned out the cheap bit holder was knackered and the hex section that goes in the chuck was slipping in the tube.