Milwaukee
Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2962 Impact Wrench
4.9from 2,265 buyer reviews on Home Depot, as of Sep 2025
Milwaukee's Gen 2 mid-torque packs 650 ft-lbs of nut-busting torque into a 6-inch head and 3.5 lbs bare, which is why it lives on so many shop carts. Four-mode Drive Control gives three speeds plus Mode 4, which quits at about 35 ft-lbs when snugging and backs off RPM once a bolt breaks free in reverse. Three LEDs ring the anvil, and the friction-ring 2962 has pin-detent (2962P) and 3/8-inch (2960) siblings built on the same body.
Specifications
Features
Why people buy it
- ✓Owners in shops and driveways alike say it knocks off lug nuts and suspension bolts without reaching for the high-torque gun, at roughly half the weight.
- ✓At 6.0 inches long it gets onto control-arm and caliper-bracket bolts that a full-size 1/2-inch wrench can't reach without pulling parts.
- ✓Mode 4 bolt-removal slows the anvil the moment a fastener breaks loose, so nuts don't spin off and drop into the splash shield.
- ✓Tool Box Buzz's rig broke a bolt torqued to 610 ft-lbs, within 40 ft-lbs of the 650 spec, and the crew rated it a consistent performer and a favorite throughout testing.
- ✓The three-LED ring around the anvil was rated the brightest and widest light of any mid-torque wrench in that head-to-head.
- ✓A shop mechanic who came from a Snap-on air impact reports daily use on customer cars with no complaints so far.
- ✓Five-year tool warranty beats the three years DeWalt, Makita and Ryobi give their mid-torque wrenches.
What to watch for
- ✗Milwaukee doesn't publish a fastening-torque figure for this one, only the 650 ft-lbs breakaway number, which makes spec-sheet comparisons awkward.
- ✗At $279 bare at Home Depot it costs more than DeWalt's DCF891 and well over Ryobi's P262, which both quote higher or similar torque on paper.
- ✗Nut-busting spec trails the Makita LXT (740) and XGT (810) mid-torques, and heavily rusted hub or axle nuts can still call for the high-torque 2967.
- ✗It weighs 5.1 lbs with a 5.0Ah pack per Milwaukee, so the compact-head advantage shrinks once a big High Output battery hangs off the foot.
- ✗Some owners coming from other brands say the foot-mounted mode button gets bumped into a different mode mid-job, so check it before trusting Mode 4 to stop short.
Common Questions
Will the 2962 mid-torque take off lug nuts?
What's the difference between the 2962 and the 2962P?
How does Mode 4 on the 2962 work?
Why is there no fastening torque figure for the 2962?
Do I need the 2962 if I already have the M18 Fuel 2953 impact driver?
Which M18 battery balances best on the 2962?
Compare the Milwaukee M18 Fuel 2962 Impact Wrench
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