Gearwrench fail

[340wedge]

I just literally placed my NEW 10MM Gearwrench against the bolt, and the ratchet part, spring fell right out. I have never used this wrench before so it was not abused. This is the Taiwan made set. Purchased via online at Sears so we will see how the return goes. Anyone else have this failure?

Okay I have an update. I went to Sears and they refused to take the wrench back and exchange it and they had one on the shelf. I went through two salesperson and a manager! I was told they do not warranty Gearwrench only their own line of tools, Craftsman. I contacted the number provided and spoke to a lady from Apex tool, who stated Sears is SUPPOSED to be accepting the returns and they are not doing it!. She advised me to go to a Fastenal and they will do the return, I have one in the next town. I have been a life long Craftsman supporter since I bought my first tool in 1982. This will not sit well for me purchasing from Sears again. It is no wonder they are going under.

I saw some of the pics on this post and I can tell you this wrench had no snap ring, maybe that is why it fell apart.

 

[bonneyman]

I've had a set of GW combo wrenches for like 15 years now, and never broke one or had a failure.
maybe your failure was just a fluke? But it's interesting to see the internal construction of those.

 

[Goldhawg]

I had the same thing happen to my 15mm. I still haven't tried to warrant it (can't even remember where I bought it), but I can pop it back in and still use it. But it keeps coming out.

 

[SMKS]

Call Gearwrench and see what they say. Apex has spotty customer service. Some people claim they'll just send you a new one, others say they'll tell you to go to a distributor to warranty it.

 

[cheechi]

I had an issue with them long ago, but it was that the flex heads lose their stiffness and eventually get floppy. I have never seen that happen and I've had a lot of GW tools with ratcheting mechanisms.

I do have one that has a dent in it from a recent 2-3ft drop on concrete floor. I wouldn't care but it's sharp and on an edge where you couldn't just grind it off. Mine is also taiwan and somewhat recent (past 2-3 yrs)

 

[slyonedoofy]

I just literally placed my NEW 10MM Gearwrench against the bolt, and the ratchet part, spring fell right out. I have never used this wrench before so it was not abused. This is the Taiwan made set. Purchased via online at Sears so we will see how the return goes. Anyone else have this failure?

Take it to Sears. They replace them there just like Craftsman.

 

[340wedge]

I am going to head too Sears tommorrow and see if they can exchange it.

 

[NKlamerus]

Any chance you can post more pics of the inside?

 

[Dustball]

Did the factory assembler forget to put the snap rings in?

 

[rtole]

I have broke some. I have had that part fall out as well. I just put it back together and it has been going strong. Maybe it just didnt get snapped together at the factory. Put it back together and see if it still works. I have pulled them apart like that when pulling on stuck bolts in wierd angles. I have always been able to snap em back together and keep going. I wait till somethin breaks before i warranty it.

 

[Pumpman1968]

I am going to head too Sears tommorrow and see if they can exchange it.

I've never seen Gearwrench singles at any Sears........maybe they will break open a set for ya.

 

[340wedge]

here is a few internal pics..one little part that holds the spring fell out and I couldn't find it.
before i lost the small piece that holds the spring i tried to get it back together but it would not ratchet.

 

[MikeF2316]

My 7/16 Craftsman / Gearwrench comes apart when I ratchet it too quickly. It always goes back together, and works fine as long as I ratchet slowly.

 

[stonesfan68]

I've never seen Gearwrench singles at any Sears........maybe they will break open a set for ya.

The Sears in Houston have singles. I've done a warranty exchange for Gearwrench at Sears.

^^ Thanks for posting the clear photos, I've always wondered how the wrenches went together.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[91bronc300]

I've had that happen before but like rtole, if the snap ring didn't break or anything, you can just put it back together again and see how long it'll go. But if you lost the pawl you're kind of boned now.

 

[Jason280]

I had a 13mm one fail, simply swapped it out at Advance Auto.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I just literally placed my NEW 10MM Gearwrench against the bolt, and the ratchet part, spring fell right out. I have never used this wrench before so it was not abused. This is the Taiwan made set. Purchased via online at Sears so we will see how the return goes. Anyone else have this failure?

Supposed to use the open end to break the bolt. People don't (all the time) and never pay the price, but that's the deal (supposed to use the open end). But then again there are ratcheting wrenches with double ratchet ends...maybe they're built better (see below).

The point is while it's not abuse (it's a failure of manufacturing) if it happened while you were trying to break a bolt it technically is. They should replace it anyway but in the future might not want to do it unless it's those bar ratcheting wrenches which are (somewhat) more able to take it. They will replace but you'll end up using the open end anyway.

 

[vjquan]

No way would I ever use an open ended wrench to break loose a bolt. That's a recipe for disaster, rounding the bolt and/or personal injury from slippage.

 

[stonesfan68]

Supposed to use the open end to break the bolt. People don't (all the time) and never pay the price, but that's the deal (supposed to use the open end). But then again there are ratcheting wrenches with double ratchet ends...maybe they're built better (see below).

The point is while it's not abuse (it's a failure of manufacturing) if it happened while you were trying to break a bolt it technically is. They should replace it anyway but in the future might not want to do it unless it's those bar ratcheting wrenches which are (somewhat) more able to take it. They will replace but you'll end up using the open end anyway.

It might not be a best practice, but there is nothing in the Gearwrench literature or warranty that says not to use the ratcheting end to break a bolt. I've seen videos from Gearwrench that claim that the ratcheting mechanism is strong enough to do just that.

 

[cheechi]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the two examples here being 10mm and 7/16"

No you probably shouldn't be breaking loose with the ratcheting end. No you shouldn't have a problem doing it with those sizes either. And no, I wouldn't use the open end to do it. Maybe if we were talking about 3/4" or so, we'd come to a point where it's impractical. 10mm? That's about the size of a larger head 72t 3/8 ratchet. I'm sure, even though everyone knows what a breaker bar is for, there are plenty of us who break loose with a ratchet for a lot of sizes.

 

[MikeF2316]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the two examples here being 10mm and 7/16"

No you probably shouldn't be breaking loose with the ratcheting end. No you shouldn't have a problem doing it with those sizes either. And no, I wouldn't use the open end to do it. Maybe if we were talking about 3/4" or so, we'd come to a point where it's impractical. 10mm? That's about the size of a larger head 72t 3/8 ratchet. I'm sure, even though everyone knows what a breaker bar is for, there are plenty of us who break loose with a ratchet for a lot of sizes.

My 7/16 comes apart only on the back swing, and only on a fast back swing, not under torque. I never use any ratcheting device to break loose fasteners.

 

[cheechi]

That's my point. Clearly its broken and should be replaced, but you didn't abuse it to cause that. Both examples weren't cranked on hard to cause this issue, they just broke.

I half expected when this thread started that people would also claim to have bigger wrenches failing the same way. But that didn't happen. Pleasantly surprised me.

 

[sloppy]

Supposed to use the open end to break the bolt. People don't (all the time) and never pay the price, but that's the deal (supposed to use the open end). But then again there are ratcheting wrenches with double ratchet ends...maybe they're built better (see below).

The point is while it's not abuse (it's a failure of manufacturing) if it happened while you were trying to break a bolt it technically is. They should replace it anyway but in the future might not want to do it unless it's those bar ratcheting wrenches which are (somewhat) more able to take it. They will replace but you'll end up using the open end anyway.

In what technical journal is this written?? Or is this just some interwebz story??

 

[nicksnothereman]

In what technical journal is this written?? Or is this just some interwebz story??

It's printed on the material of some stuff. Might've been the apex ratcheting wrenches I bought at home depot...you know, which are the same thing as gearwrench china (pretty much).

Well...if that's not what it's there for then why bother putting open end wrenches on the other side of a ratcheting 12 point wrench when you could just add more sizes? I'm not talking about regular rings, I'm talking about ratcheting rings. Regular rings tend to take more torque than open side, doubt ratcheting rings do.

 

[gagreen]

breaking a bolt with an open end is a quick way to skin your knuckles. I know I don't have the time to swap between a non ratcheting wrench and a standard box end to break bolts loose. If a ratcheting wrench can't hang it gets tossed. Maybe I'm lucky but the kobalt ratcheting wrenches I bought over a year ago are pretty impressive, but I rarely use a ratcheting wrench for fear of it breaking open and fod'ing out whatever I'm working on.

 

[nicksnothereman]

breaking a bolt with an open end is a quick way to skin your knuckles. I know I don't have the time to swap between a non ratcheting wrench and a standard box end to break bolts loose. If a ratcheting wrench can't hang it gets tossed. Maybe I'm lucky but the kobalt ratcheting wrenches I bought over a year ago are pretty impressive, but I rarely use a ratcheting wrench for fear of it breaking open and fod'ing out whatever I'm working on.

So what do you use the open end for? Say you break the bolt with the ring, it's not like you'd switch to the open end to loosen the bolt because that'd be slower than using a 12 point ring. 6 point sure, the open end can get where the ring might not be able to, but most rings nowadays are 12 point. Obviously the open end is still there for something.

 

[sloppy]

So what do you use the open end for? Say you break the bolt with the ring, it's not like you'd switch to the open end to loosen the bolt because that'd be slower than using a 12 point ring. 6 point sure, the open end can get where the ring might not be able to, but most rings nowadays are 12 point. Obviously the open end is still there for something.

Yeah its there for a blind hole. Something you cant get a box end around..

Its not there for higher torque as your suggesting, you will never be able to get more torque out of something that is open on a side as you could something that is inclosed..

With your reasoning no one should be breaking things loose with a ratchet at all, which is not the case..

 

[cheechi]

ratcheting combo wrenches really should just be double box. You have standard combos if you need an open end, the ratcheting should be fixed box on one end ratcheting box on the other. Or for those that like the flavor, ratcheting open on one end, ratcheting closed on the other.

The open end is not there to break a bolt free. It's there because it's cheaper to machine than a box end.

The best solution is manufacturing double ratcheting, one flex one fixed. Perhaps reversible? Let somebody do that, since you don't need a second box end either with your standard combos, long combos, etc.