Wrench97
Well-known member
I have a Tekton flex head, the screw that holds the head on at the pivot joint loosens up a lot even using blue locktite.
Which 24” 1/2 ratchet should I get?
- Thread starter Hakeem
- Start date
Ohio Andy
Well-known member
Try orange, they claim three times the holding power but you don't need to heat it up to get it off. They say it still unscrew as easily as blue but won't come loose. Probably some kind of dark magic. I have a tube of orange gel but I haven't tried it yet. I bought it because I had to put something else in with blue and I was annoyed I thought. Well. I'll try the orange but I also just put it in with the blue so I don't want to just take it out.
Last edited:
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Tekton has an evolving product line. The early Tekton tools sold in big box type stores basically sucked. Their newer items from the last three years or so are outstanding!!! They've become my use most ratchets. Unfortunately, Tekton doesn't offer a long 1/2 inch drive flex head ratchet. In fact, I believe their half inch drive flex head is only like 14 inches long. I know they measure their ratchets differently. Instead of overall length, they measure usable length from the square drive to the end of the handle. I say ********!! they need at least an 18 inch 1/2 drive flex head ratchet and while they're at it, add an inch or two to the 3/8 flex head. Tekton's 24 inch long 1/2 drive fixed head ratchet is a beast. It could double as crowd control
I wouldn't want a quick release on a long ratchet that I was leaning on but, that's just me.I agree with Denny's Harbor Freight G2 ratchet recommendation. I bought one just to abuse it. It's doing well and they'll be 40% off when the black Friday sale starts.
So, after 81 posts have, we made a decision?
Drunkonunleaded
Well-known member
LS crank bolt: 240 ft-lb
M14 lug torque: 140 ft-lb
If I need a 24" ratchet for the former, it should be able to do the latter. It's a good litmus test.
finn
Well-known member
Even my Dewalt Atomic can handle that.
If not, there’s always the M18 2767. Or the SnapOn air impact, or, the old Blackhawk 3/4” drive with a six foot galvanized pipe cheater.
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Agreed. Use a breaker bar and finish with a ratchet.
I have a 1” ratchet sitting in a box. I thought it was neat when I saw it for sale and got one. I’ve never used it. I have bounced my fatass on the end of this 8’ pipe to break loose a nut tightened to 3,000ft/lbs. I know other big boy tools exist to make this more safe but I had my safety squints on.
For the “get a 1” impact” crowd. I stuck my 1” impact powered by a 185cfm IR compressor on that 3” nut and it laughed at me. So out came the breaker bar and pipe. That’s the short pipe as well lol
I can’t fathom putting the kind of torque on something that’d require a 24” handle on a 1/2” ratchet. I have destroyed a 24” breaker bar by hand, I can’t imagine what I’d do to a 24” ratchet.
Last edited:
On my excavator, I need to take off top access panel covers that have not been off in a while. They are on tight, but not too tight so a 24" ratchet makes that job easier. When they have been on a while, I don't want to use an impact because I can feel with a ratchet and not snap a bolt.
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The key there for me is impact vs something handheld. I have a ratcheting dealio for a breaker bar that I’ll use once it’s broken free. It works great if I don’t have room for an impact. Break it free with the impact, pull the ratcheting deal out of them pocket and proceed.
a6hux
Well-known member
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I hear you loud and clear but I do not feel comfortable putting that kind of force on the end of a 24" ratchet. I will do it on a breaker bar and not think twice. With that in mine all I need to carry is the ratcheting dealio to use after the fastener is loosened vs another long ratchet or ratchet in general. Sometimes I'm wedged into a corner so dumb on some of this farm machinery that I do not want to carry anything extra in there.
You know a ratchet is one less thing to carry than a breaker bar and ratchet adapter….
If you break a good ratchet, you will likely destroy a breaker in the same situation.
Just use a ratchet. I’ve barely touched a breaker bar since I bought the SO 24” flex ratchet. It’s absurdly strong.
Last edited:
Drunkonunleaded
Well-known member
I don't understand your point. We're discussing ratchets, not cordless impacts. There are situations where an impact simply will not fit and thus necessitates the need for a long ratchet or breaker bar. Yes, you could argue that the breaker bar is the proper tool for this due to the ratcheting mechanism, but we were discussing deflection in the bar itself and not strength of the ratcheting mechanism (which I should add far exceeds the torque values discussed here).
Buckgnarly
Well-known member
Great real world example of where a long ratchet/breaker bar did the job when an impact could not.....
We were doing inner tie rods with an inner tie rod tool, (the hollow tube tube with crowfoot type) and the IR2235 and Milwaukee M18 would not budge it. Hooked on a 24" Snap On 1/2 ratchet and it came off no problem. We had infinite access, but the tube acted like a torque stick, not allowing the impact to work. I would NEVER turn down a tool for lack of "use"......
We were doing inner tie rods with an inner tie rod tool, (the hollow tube tube with crowfoot type) and the IR2235 and Milwaukee M18 would not budge it. Hooked on a 24" Snap On 1/2 ratchet and it came off no problem. We had infinite access, but the tube acted like a torque stick, not allowing the impact to work. I would NEVER turn down a tool for lack of "use"......
Wrench97
Well-known member
Unless of course there is no room for impact gun.....
finn
Well-known member
I just looked at my 3/4” Blackhawk. Must have undergone gene therapy, as it appears what I thought a Blackhawk is actually a Williams.
Obviously I don’t use it much. I suspect the accompanying breaker bar was the Blackhawk. I bent that with the assistance of a cheater bar. It’s around here, somewhere.
I do remember that the whole 3/4” set, ratchet, breaker bar, and miscellaneous sockets, was $25 at a swap meet.
Nothing is written in stone on what is right or wrong, we use the tools we have and buy the ones that we think will help us. I have both the 24" SO flex ratchet and BB. Not only are they nice to have for torque multiplier because of the long handles. The long handles also make my arms longer giving me greater reach, why contort my body and be in uncomfortable position when a long handle will make my life easier. The same goes for 24" long extensions with universal sockets. Why would I try and twist my body sticking my arm way into a engine bay to reach a nut when a long extension works?
Sure we all can all argue what works for us on jobs we do. We can say what might break, what might not be needed to buy. One thing we can't replace and buy more of is our bodies, they are irreplaceable. One tweak of your body trying to reach or loosen something can put you out of commission for weeks, month or life time. Yeah I think I would rather have a tool that makes the job as easy as it could be on my body even if I only use it once in a while.
Side note, @jblnut is that you? AK and other audio sites?
Sure we all can all argue what works for us on jobs we do. We can say what might break, what might not be needed to buy. One thing we can't replace and buy more of is our bodies, they are irreplaceable. One tweak of your body trying to reach or loosen something can put you out of commission for weeks, month or life time. Yeah I think I would rather have a tool that makes the job as easy as it could be on my body even if I only use it once in a while.
Side note, @jblnut is that you? AK and other audio sites?
jblnut
ALLIANCE MEMBER
You do you and I’ll do me. I have several 24” 1/2” ratchets and grab the breaker bar and ratchet dealio first just about every time so
Come work on some of the rusted right **** I work on and I bet you I can break that fancy SO ratchet. I have a hatred of flex heads to the point that I have more than one breaker bar with the head welded solid. It is a “breaker bar” and is meant to break things loose, not completely remove them.
Nope. I’m @jblnut on a few other sites but not AK. Twas first jblnut on a car forum that we put to bed when it got overrun with 16yr old kids wanting to “toss a 3.4 pulley on and go fast”.
Coming from the uk, I’m no stranger to rusty ****. It rains 360days/year and the roads are salted for about 3 months of the year. Great place if you love welding sills, terrible if you want a tan.
After 30years of battling rusty **** the 1/2” long ratchet is a revelation. Stuff either gets cut off, torched or undone, and if the 1/2” ratchet won’t do it, probably I should be using 3/4” anyway. Sure it’s going to break at some point, but it’s got a warranty.
Ok update:
I ended up buying the Snapon 24” flex head, the SLF80A, and I’m loving it. I am straining much less on to remove stuff, from fuel filter housings to differential plugs to large chassis bolts. The added reach is nice, too.
This is my first Snapon ratchet and it totally lives up to the hype. The ratchet action is just so smooth and easy, like zipping up a zipper. It’s a downright joy to use. I don’t know what kind of special sauce Snapon has but no other company has really come close.
@AEAdam - you’ve always talked about how one of these was essential for working on stuff and I would always roll my eyes. Well, after getting one and using it for a bit - You were right. The added reach + leverage makes everything easier and just more comfortable in general.
Thanks to all for the Input
I ended up buying the Snapon 24” flex head, the SLF80A, and I’m loving it. I am straining much less on to remove stuff, from fuel filter housings to differential plugs to large chassis bolts. The added reach is nice, too.
This is my first Snapon ratchet and it totally lives up to the hype. The ratchet action is just so smooth and easy, like zipping up a zipper. It’s a downright joy to use. I don’t know what kind of special sauce Snapon has but no other company has really come close.
@AEAdam - you’ve always talked about how one of these was essential for working on stuff and I would always roll my eyes. Well, after getting one and using it for a bit - You were right. The added reach + leverage makes everything easier and just more comfortable in general.
Thanks to all for the Input
Wamsutta
Well-known member
Not just any zipper either. More like those plastic zippers you find on dress slacks. Those are smooth.
Wrench97
Well-known member
Just remember if you tighten it up with that ratchet you'll need a longer one to get it loose next timeOk update:
I ended up buying the Snapon 24” flex head, the SLF80A, and I’m loving it. I am straining much less on to remove stuff, from fuel filter housings to differential plugs to large chassis bolts. The added reach is nice, too.
This is my first Snapon ratchet and it totally lives up to the hype. The ratchet action is just so smooth and easy, like zipping up a zipper. It’s a downright joy to use. I don’t know what kind of special sauce Snapon has but no other company has really come close.
@AEAdam - you’ve always talked about how one of these was essential for working on stuff and I would always roll my eyes. Well, after getting one and using it for a bit - You were right. The added reach + leverage makes everything easier and just more comfortable in general.
Thanks to all for the Input
Oh and to add a D13 with an empty coolant tank....oh the memories..........
Glad to hear it’s a good fit for you. Love the pic!Ok update:
I ended up buying the Snapon 24” flex head, the SLF80A, and I’m loving it. I am straining much less on to remove stuff, from fuel filter housings to differential plugs to large chassis bolts. The added reach is nice, too.
This is my first Snapon ratchet and it totally lives up to the hype. The ratchet action is just so smooth and easy, like zipping up a zipper. It’s a downright joy to use. I don’t know what kind of special sauce Snapon has but no other company has really come close.
@AEAdam - you’ve always talked about how one of these was essential for working on stuff and I would always roll my eyes. Well, after getting one and using it for a bit - You were right. The added reach + leverage makes everything easier and just more comfortable in general.
Thanks to all for the Input
Not gonna lie, it’s little brother the FHLF80A is really nice too. Now there may be others, or better, and I wouldn’t know.
Not to start trouble, I’d say, rotos aside, these are the 2 best Snap on ratchets, possibly ever made, not necessarily on paper, not necessarily to behold, admire etc, but to actually work with to fix cars and trucks. If I could have only 2 ratchets, these would be the 2. Yes, I like short ratchets for some jobs. Yes, I like having more than 2 ratchets. But these are ratchets that, if I didn’t have them, I’d know work was gonna be that much harder and a bit more unpleasant.
About the SHLF80, people can say, “I just use a HF breaker bar that I bought with a coupon for $3”. This tool, I’d be surprised if after 2 jobs you weren’t in love. It’s just that great. And who’d think a fine toothed, super long, super stiff, super strong ratchet would be great. It’s maybe not great on paper. But it’s a great problem solving.