RalloZ35
Well-known member
There probably a thread on this but I just got anxious to pull apart my first ratchet.. so now I want to oil it or grease it.. should I use oil or grease? Thanks, Austin.
Grease or oil for ratchet?
- Thread starter RalloZ35
- Start date
osborn.ozzy
Banned
Get your eye down at floor level. It will be easier to see small objects and maybe you can find the ball. If that doesn't work , empty your shop vacuum. Then vacuum the area. Go through the contents of the vacuum with a magnet.
Maybe my article will help...
http://shopngarage.com/2010/03/ratchet-maintenance/
Maybe my article will help...
http://shopngarage.com/2010/03/ratchet-maintenance/
B17E1943
Well-known member
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
This might have been mentioned in the other threads, but for ratchets with a spring/ball assembly that might go flying, you can try disassembling them with the head stuck inside a plastic bag or similar, to catch the projectile and keep them from going to points unknown. Not really feasible for re-assembly, but that's not usually where things go missing.
fourtythree
Well-known member
A flat, thin piece of metal or plastic will work just as well as the tool. Thick paper may even do the trick.
I've used a thin piece of cardboard before, but I had good luck using a paper clip I bent into a tool to depress the ball. A dab of grease helps to hold the ball in place too.
I use a light oil (like 3-In-1, 20W) or plain 5W30 on finer toothed ratchets, particularly round heads, and a heavier oil (75W90 gear oil) on the older really coarse ratchets with loose tolerances and more of a tendency for the oil to seep out.
As fondly as it's spoken of here I'm not sure it isn't a bit overrated, but one thing I do like about lubing ratchets is getting a good bit of lubricant into the reverse mechanism, which makes the reverse lever easier to switch and can prevent it from jamming up.
As fondly as it's spoken of here I'm not sure it isn't a bit overrated, but one thing I do like about lubing ratchets is getting a good bit of lubricant into the reverse mechanism, which makes the reverse lever easier to switch and can prevent it from jamming up.
gatewaysysop
Well-known member
With regards to the fancy tool from StephenW's blog, I really can't recommend it enough. It's cheap off the Snap-On website (free shipping too) and works like a charm on any ratchets with a similar setup. Definitely worth the invest of a couple bucks. Matco also has a really good version of this tool, which I got from a member here. Not sure how available that is, but either one is a thousand times better than improvised tools, hands down. 
PowderKeg
Well-known member
While RLL (the "Red Lube of Love" - don't ask, just blame Merk) can work wonders for medium and coarse toothed ratchets (not so good for ultra fine ones), it has one major annoying (IMHO) feature - it bleeds. AND bleeds, and bleeds, and bleeds, and bleeds, and bleeds...... I hit a few of mine with the stuff years ago, and I STILL wipe up/off RLL from the ratchets, from where they rest in the drawer, from whatever they might have sat against in the drawer.... The stuff is relentless. I've been using 3-in-one oil in almost all the ratchets I've cleaned up in the ratchet obsess.... er, collection so far. Then again, most of those ratchets no longer see daily use, so a relentless bleeding lube like RLL might better suit you, provided you don't mind the mess. My tools see a variety of uses often not under the hood, so oily/greasy tools lying in oily/grimy drawers are unacceptable to me. YMMV
PowderKeg
Well-known member
As far as the tools go, I've got the Matco (graciously sent to me by a member here) and the Snap-On versions, and prefer the Matco at the moment. They're a little different from each other, and each has positives and negatives. The biggest plus they both have in common is that they're (usually) much easier and safer (as far as controlling the ball) to use than a screwdriver - but you're still an inconvenient slip away from launching the ball into the nether regions. They're certainly well worth the cheap price. As said before, a dab of grease will help too.
just for informational purposes... 75w90 gear oil is the same viscosity (or near enough) as 5w30 motor oil. gear oil and motor oil use two different scales for their weights, but when measured in a common unit (cSt), they're almost identical. lots of different properties, but viscosity isn't really one of them.
ahm
Well I ended up using a binder clip and cut it with my tin snips, put a little grease on the spring. And stuck the ball on there, had a few errors, but got her in then used gear oil in it. Then I was like, that was easy gonna do it with my 1/4 too, well pieces shot out.. but I caught em! And then it locked up :/ lol so apart it came again 
so now they both have a little oil in them and are smooth as ever! Thanks for the help guys! I couldnt have done it without you (wouldnt even had tried without you guys)
so now they both have a little oil in them and are smooth as ever! Thanks for the help guys! I couldnt have done it without you (wouldnt even had tried without you guys) Interesting, didn't know that. One way or another, I find gear oil gives less bleed on less tightly sealed ratchets (like, say, a vintage 20-tooth model).
atlinwi202
Well-known member
Does anyone have a part number for the Matco and Snap on tools mentioned above.
Snap-on SPP744
TwoInch
Well-known member
after searching for bearing for a 1/4 ratchet for an hour on my hands and knees, i made a tool for the ball bearing when reassembling ratchets. i took a very small slotted screw driver, dotted it with a punch almost at the end, and drilled a small depression. heat the end with torch, and bend it over to about 75* with pliers.
put a dab of grease on the end, holds the ball bearing nicely, and the angle allows you to have a lot more control. the grease helps more than anything tho.
i use superlube in my ratchets. couldnt ask for a better lube. smooths out my low tooth counts nicely.
maybe a magnet will help finding lost bearings?
put a dab of grease on the end, holds the ball bearing nicely, and the angle allows you to have a lot more control. the grease helps more than anything tho.
i use superlube in my ratchets. couldnt ask for a better lube. smooths out my low tooth counts nicely.
maybe a magnet will help finding lost bearings?
JDS968
Well-known member
I see a problem here.
For the ratchets where you EXPECT the lubrication to seep out (and probably make a mess wherever you store it), you use 75W-90 gear oil, which is possibly the most foul-smelling and pervasive lubricant known to man. How does your whole toolbox, if not your whole garage, not reek of the stuff after a while?
TwoInch
Well-known member
little sulfur never hurt nobody....
i never understood the oil in unsealed ratchets, and grease in sealed. seems backwards to me.
i never understood the oil in unsealed ratchets, and grease in sealed. seems backwards to me.
fourtythree
Well-known member
The RLL is like anti-seize, a little goes a long way. Just a drop or two is all you need.
GMZ
Well-known member
I like Break Free LP, not CLP but LP. I usually have large quantities of it laying around so I just use that and it works great on Cman Premiums and Wright ratchets too.
transittech
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2012
- Messages
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Phil Wood tenacious oil. Like gear oil, but WITHOUT the smell.
TwoInch
Well-known member
I put oil in mine.. its unsealed, but grease made it function wierd.. Gear oil smoothed it out some and I like it now.. Tool box is probs filled cause I did 2 ratchets with it
what kind of ratchet? i find that you can get a good balance of smoothness and good lock up if you adjust the spring length, usually need a slight stretch. sometimes a trim. but if grease is making it act up, probably needs a little stretch.
as for using gear oil. i dont see the point, unless you prefer the sulfur smell. motor oil will work the same, and have the same viscosity. if i were to use oil(i dont) i would go with the heaviest weight i could find. sae 50 motor oil is thicker than 80w-90 gear oil
just rebranded oil marked way up for a specialty use. i would not waste that kind of money on a few ML of "special" oil. they also sell a grease that is just over priced repackaged bearing grease.
Superlube makes many oil weights, and greases. they are truly PAO synthetics, and contain PTFE that doesnt settle out of the solution. i have been nothing but 100% pleased with their products. RLL is great stuff also.
i prefer using grease because once you put it back together, you can force out any excess right off the bat, and have very little escape later on.
JDS968
Well-known member
Can...can you use it in differentials???Phil Wood tenacious oil. Like gear oil, but WITHOUT the smell.
TwoInch
Well-known member
is it a round head or the teardrop? if it is the teardrop model, its made by danaher and is the same as the USA craftsman RPs and chrome flexs.
i have the 3/8s teardrop allen. brake cleaner to wash the old oil, slight stretch of the spring, and superlubed it back up. smooth as butter.
i would not use #2 automotive grease.
TwoInch
Well-known member
if you decide to take them apart again, pull the gear out, but leave the pawl and selector in the ratchet. use brake cleaner with a tube, and you can get everything out without having to mess with the bearing and spring.
Paco Pena
Well-known member
If its not sealed I like ATF.
Paco
Paco