durable, high quality drill, after 3 years of use the unit has held up, and I would recommend it over a dewalt 14.4 volt. I install cable and phone lines and am very satisfied with the performance (concrete, wood, brick etc)

Purchased this tool 2 1/2 years ago to replace an aged Makita and used it lightly for home remodel and weekend projects. I'd say it has been a very good tool, but recently the clutch died despite the fact I rarely changed the setting. It also had the tendency for the chuck to loosen up during use and drop the bit despite being well tightened. I'm disappointed with the durability.

The Porter-Cable 14.4 Drill is well designed from a balance and handling standpoint. There is more than enough torque to handle normal applications that the tool could be used for. My drill/driver has been in use for more than three years,which I do not consider to be a long time for a $180 dollar drill/driver. Shortly after purchasing the drill one of the battery flanges broke from a minor accidental blow. Since the broken flange did not effect the operation of the drill, I did not consider the damage to be serious. A few months ago while placing a battery in its charger the charger's battery guides (plastic flanges that guide the battery connection to the charger) broke off completely. I assure you there was no excessive force of any nature beyond normal use that would have caused the failure. This charger failure renders the drill/driver nearly useless. I would have considered replacing the drill/driver with another 14.4 Porter-Cable if it were not for the thoughtless response that I received from Porter-Cable after notifying them of the defect. Their (we aren't going to do anything about it response) did not even say, Sorry. From what I have read and heard, Panasonic is the way to go for top quality. I have a lot of Porter-Cable tools but it may be time to move on to another make.

Before I found out the fact Porter-Cable/Delta had been to sold to BD, I found Porter-Cable tools to be of high quality, and very reliable. Alas, the future is quite dark for Porter/Cable loyalists. For now you will get no more than grown up toys not a high quality professional tool Porter-Cable was famous for. Now though instead of replacing my Porter-Cable tools with more Porter-Cable, I will look elsewhere for the same level of quality.
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br /Do not get me wrong, once upon a time BD made very good power tools, but in the last 15 years or so I have found them suspect, even the more jazzed up DeWalt, so called porfessional tool, is not what it once was. What a mess.

I have only just recently(Jan 2006)got my drill motor. In the few times used,the balance is good and power is fine. Getting the second battery is a must. I only use it for home use so after 3+weeks of sitting I picked up the drill and the charge left in battery pack was great.
br /A 1/2inch keyless chuck came with tool, but I'm going to change to 3/8" chuck because I mostly use drills below 3/8". The 1/2" does not close tight on small drills.

I bought the PC 14.4v drill over 10 years ago. Up until 2-3 years ago it was my favorite drill --- the first one I'd grab if it fit the task. I liked the size of it, feel and balance, it had good battery life, plenty of torque, etc. I'm a general contractor so I have a number of drill drivers including 5 Makitas (old ones), 3 DeWalts, Bosch, and 3-4 more I can't remember.
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br /Getting back to the PC; the clutch gave out on it a couple years ago. I had it repaired because I liked it so much. Within 6 months it went out again! so I didn't replace it. The problem is whenever I use one of my other drills I always wish I had the PC again.... so I've decided to get another one. Hopefully the clutch will survive on this one. If it doesn't I won't buy another PC. If it wasn't for that problem I'd give it 5 stars.
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br /I've been disappointed with the battery life on my DeWalts which are otherwise good tools; the Makitas have great batteries, I've had some Makitas over 15 years and they're still going strong, in fact I only remember having one old 9.9v go bad and it must have been 20 yrs old.
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br /I've used a Panasonic and was impressed with it. I would seriously consider it down the road sometime when I'm in store for something different.
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I agree with most of the reviews I read on line. As a professional who uses my "Two" 9978's every day along with a couple of older 14.4 volt models, Porter Cable, for my money is
br /the choice. The adjustable hand grips are a real plus when using your drill all day long. The batteries hold a charge for a good long time, even under constant use. I read another review that gave what I consider unfair critisism, and inaccurate facts associated with this drill. People should stick to the facts, and not give a tool a bad wrap because of their own lack of knowledge and familliarity with a product!

The people that write these reviews are so biased because they either did not know how to properly use the drill, broke it themselves and expected it not to break, or don't know much about drills to begin with. I have been using this drill for 2 years for renovating my home. It has screwed thousands of fasteners, been dropped from a ladder to the ground on MANY occasions, been left in the rain, and has just been used a lot. I have been thru many batteries because NI-CADS don't last forever, no matter who you buy them from. Heres what I found.
br /First the negatives's: The batteries don't last as long as they should......I have gone thru a dozen and others I spoke to using this drill claim the same problem with life. They need a better battery.
br /The drill is heavier than comparable drills.
br /The pro's:
br /The chuck has never had any problems....never slipped, never locked up. It chuck locks to make a bit change.
br /The drill is powerful for a 14.4 volt drill.
br /The case is very strong and held up well despite drops to the ground.
br /The batteries have strong cases also.
br /Customer service is not an indicator of a good company as it will vary with each incident or rep you talk to. Most people don't want to pay a lot of money for a product............so customer service get's cut back....with all manufacturers. If you tell them you dropped the battery and it broke because it was defective, I would be surprised if they didn't laugh at you. The solution.....buy from a reputable dealer.
br /All drills have strengths and weakness's.......find the one that has the most of what you want.
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I purchased this drill after realizing I needed a new charger for my old PC 12 Volt. My thought was to buy the new drill and use the charger to keep my old batteries and drill. Seeing that the new charger worked with both 14.4 V. and 12 V. I ASSumed thia was a logical step. Why would anything in the tool world be logical, no need for modularity since we can throw out the old and buy new, better stuff. pSo, I bought the damn thing. My new batteries are now shot after 1 year of mild use (or the charger is shot), the new charger won't charge the old batteries, and I'm looking at more drills, batteries, or charger purchases.pI refuse to buy another PC drill even though the torgue was good and not to heavy. The batteries wouldn't hold a very long charge (somewhat forgivable due to a lighter battery weight) but what really turned me off was the non-modular systems and the total disregard for past products that worked ok (but needed a new battery/charger) for the idea that a new better product exists. Thus, I say farewell to PC and hello to Makita or Panasonic - which I should have done before my last PC purchase.pww