Craftsman Micro-torque wrench repair

[pickn4him]

Hello all,

I have a Craftsman "Micro-torque" torque wrench (all chrome) from the 1970's that belonged to my late father that I need a ratchet repair on. It does ok on the lower settings but I was torquing something over 100 lbs recently and the ratchet wants to slip and/or kick over to the opposite direction. I put a piece of duct tape on the knob and it held long enough to do the one bolt I needed to torque.

I went to my local Sears (which was almost no help at all) and all they would do is try to sell me a new one, get me on the Craftsman club membership, or point out that it was a 90-day warranty (which I already knew by the papers in the box). I wasn't trying to pull a fast one, I just wanted some assistance with a Craftsman tool.

I'd like to pick the infinite wisdom of the forum membership for a place to repair & calibrate it, or for a web address I can find a repair kit. It hasn't seen anything near constant use in it's almost 40 year life span and I hate to junk it or make it a museum piece.

I live in the East Tennessee/Southwest Virginia area.

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[krusty the clown]

Angle Repair & Calibration Service, Inc. 175 Angle Drive Beckley, West Virginia 25801 (304) 253-5726

 

[Charles (in GA)]

It sounds like you have a ratchet problem. Post a pic of the tool. Possibly it uses the same ratchet mechanism as a regular ratchet. Kits you cannot get in the store, are available online for some models.

Charles

 

[krusty the clown]

It sounds like you have a ratchet problem. Post a pic of the tool. Possibly it uses the same ratchet mechanism as a regular ratchet. Kits you cannot get in the store, are available online for some models.

Charles

yes and it may just need cleaned and lubed, but if he want's it calibrated angle is who i'd use

 

[Bull]

I asked a question on here within the last month about a place to repair and calibrate torque wrenches. I got a web address for a company that looked pretty good.

It might take me some time to find it again, but I will look for you.

 

[bmxr4life87]

sounds like its just the gears in the ratcheting head. find a sears repair center they can get you a rebuild kit if your sears store is no help

 

[Tool Pants]

http://www.craftsmantooltalk.com/BBS/Craftsman_Tool_Collection/4004/4004/flat-page1.html

 

[krusty the clown]

http://www.craftsmantooltalk.com/BBS/Craftsman_Tool_Collection/4004/4004/flat-page1.html

i think i recognize the OP in that thread

 

[crashbumper]

teamtorque.com/

Calibration and repair services.

 

[Tool Pants]

If it looks like mine then Utica made it for Sears. But the ratchet part is not a Utica design. Utica uses a round head ratchet. It is a Sears quick-release design. If you look at a page 5 of the link Adam think you might be able to use parts from a Sears rebuild kit.

 

[pickn4him]

To; Tool Pants
My wrench looks VERY similar with the plastic case. I went to the Craftsman link posted and I think I may just need to disaasemble and lube it. I am hoping against hope that it works. At least I will be able to see what the ratchet gears (and pawl) look like. As I said, the lower the setting the more dependable but if I have to get rough with it on a larger piece of hardware, it pops and reverses the ratchet.
Thanks to all who posted! Much help and "much obliged"!

 

[billymade]

FIRST, I would take it apart inspect for damage; if everything seems fine; clean all the parts lube and reassemble, many times... this will fix the head. AFAIK, the rebuild kit for that is obsolete... you might ask the PMT @ your local Sears, if they have some "extra" parts laying around and they can swap parts until you have a working ratchet head... we used to do this for fun on old, obsolete ratchets that came in for warranty repair. You might check out eBay or other "sources" for this type of thing... also look for a part # on the wrench.... like this ***.XXXXXX; check www.searspartsdirect.com for replacement parts. Also, teamtorque.com may have parts as well with NOS parts, you never know!... good luck!

 

[Tool Pants]

I bought another old Craftsman torque wrench at the flea market today. Took the ratchet part of the torque wrench apart and the teeth on the gear and pawl were not in good shape. So I took those parts out of my older 1/2' drive ratchet, and put them in the torque wrench. Same parts, except for the selector.

 

[Tool Pants]

I paid a visit to Adam of the Craftsman tool message board fame. His store has not had the repair kits in years. He called the local oldest store and nothing there.

So he took the parts I needed out of ratchets that had been traded in. Those ratchets will not be rebuilt because there are no kits for them. The gear and pawl from the discontinued ratchet fits the old all metal Utica produced torque wrench.

I am back in business.

 

[vssjim]

I agree with the Team Torque address above, they cost alittle more but they really try to fix any wrench they can so when it comes to old they are the people.

 

[pickn4him]

As Gomer used to say, THANKEE, THANKEE, THANKEE!!!! Lots of great and VERY useful info!

 

[Tool Pants]

Here are part numbers.

The torque wrench is 44443. The 1/2" ratchet I used for parts is 44985, and the kit for that ratchet is 43447. Both the ratchet and kit are discontinued. But I see plenty of those ratchets at the flea market. Or see if your local Sears will take parts out of that ratchet which was traded in.

The older version of this ratchet, the one with the oil hole, is 44975. But this will not work because the pawl is a bit different, as it has what Adam calls a D-post pawl. But I think the gear might be the same - I did not look when I saw the pawl was different. My older torque wrench which was made in 7/76 has a D-post pawl. My made in 5/78 torque wrench in the above pictures has what Adam calls a tang pawl.

 

[pickn4him]

Well, I took the ratchet apart and cleaned things out and lubed it but the ratchet and pawl had some flattened or well worn places. Even at 50 lbs it slips in the wrong place on the ratchet. I'm searching for a kit on ebay but to no avail so far. I will look at Team Torque.

Thanks to everyone!

 

[bmwpower]

Angle Repair & Calibration Service, Inc. 175 Angle Drive Beckley, West Virginia 25801 (304) 253-5726

Krusty, do you have personal experience with these guys? Just wonderin....

 

[krusty the clown]

Krusty, do you have personal experience with these guys? Just wonderin....

yes they were the authorized repair service for MATCO when i was a dealer.

 

[danbyers]

And now the rest of the story........

If anyone has a hankering to fix the ratchet end of one of these older style Craftsman torque wrenches, you can still get the repair kit from Fastenal for about two weeks. After the 1st of the year Fastenal will no longer carry Craftsman. I paid $13.53 for the kit and didn't have to pay shipping.

The link to the Fastenal page is:
www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0231454&ucst=t

There are two wrench P/Ns displayed on this page. This kit is NOT for 9-44978 as the link claim as this is a round head ratchet.

I just finished repairing my wrench with this kit. I had to reuse the spring, the direction switch handle (on the outside of the ratchet which connects to the pawl inside) and the c-clip which keeps the direction switch handle connected to the ratchet. They were not the correct size for my version of the torque wrench.

The new is on the left and the old on the right.

danB

 

[Tool Pants]

Interesting that Sears no longer has that kit unless it has been sitting around, but you were able to get it from Fastenal. I see that the pawl in the kit is shaped a bit differently than the original, but I guess it works.

That 43447 kit is for this discontinued 44985 ratchet.

I used the gear and pawl from my discontinued 44985 ratchet to fix the 5/78 torque wrench. Then Adam gave me the gear and pawl from a traded in 44985 ratchet, and I put it in my ratchet.

 

[danbyers]

I think there must be a few kits sitting around, but finding out how to get them is the trick. I must have made 5 calls to Sears and Sears parts and repair and they were useless.

I was putting up with the wrench and I could get by with holding the direction switch to one side. I keep thinking I should do something but never got around to it. I was surprised to see all the metal chunks when I took it apart. I though maybe a relub would work. Although it's not evident in my pictures, the tops of the teeth on the gear were shaved and the pawl had chips missing, similar to yours.

Yes the pawl shape is a little different, maybe an engineering change, but seems to work fine.

I want to thank all that provided the part numbers and information so I could get my wrench fixed.

danB

 

[mzqcc1]

Here are part numbers.

The torque wrench is 44443. The 1/2" ratchet I used for parts is 44985, and the kit for that ratchet is 43447. Both the ratchet and kit are discontinued. But I see plenty of those ratchets at the flea market. Or see if your local Sears will take parts out of that ratchet which was traded in.

The older version of this ratchet, the one with the oil hole, is 44975. But this will not work because the pawl is a bit different, as it has what Adam calls a D-post pawl. But I think the gear might be the same - I did not look when I saw the pawl was different. My older torque wrench which was made in 7/76 has a D-post pawl. My made in 5/78 torque wrench in the above pictures has what Adam calls a tang pawl.

I really appreciate this information. I have the 44443 torque wrench, went through the hoops with Sears to no avail. Took your information and found the 44985 ratchet on e-Bay. It's on the way. My dad bought this one for me probably 35 years ago. Sears said I was do for a new one since it did last that long. Thanks very much!

 

[chevyboy91188]

they sell a whole replacement head through sears parts and repair dept I have a little newer model and they just said they sell the head for 30

 

[Elroy]

And now the rest of the story........

If anyone has a hankering to fix the ratchet end of one of these older style Craftsman torque wrenches, you can still get the repair kit from Fastenal.....

The link to the Fastenal page is:
www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0231454&ucst=t

Good advise and absolutely true. Elroy just purchase (2) of the old 1/2" drive kits from Fastenal this week. All though the price has gone up a little. If you have and old vintage Craftsman ratchet that has sentimental value then Fastenal is the way to go. The Fastenal kit even has Craftsman paper work in it.

I must have made 5 calls to Sears and Sears parts and repair and they were useless.

Yep, Sears blows chunks!

Dan: Elroy thanks you kindly for the link.

 

[Elroy]

Elroy just installed the Craftsman #9-43447 kit purchased from Fastenal in this NAPA ratchet. It fit perfect except for three little issues

First issue was the reverse lever that came in the kit wouldn't fit. Elroy simply used the original reverse lever. Not that big of a deal other than looks

Also the square wire clip for retaining the reverse lever that came in the kit wasn't even close! It was like way too small so the original got reused as well.

The owner of this 1/2" ratchet tried to get it warranted at NAPA and they just laughed at him. It looked the same as a Craftsman to Elroy so he offered to get the parts

You'll also notice the heavy retainer ring is Black where the originals are chrome.

Then there is the "Elroy Trick" to really improve these ratchets. The spring loaded ball that internally loads the ratchet paw is way too weak !!! Elroy simply shimmed the spring by using the old ball. Then installed the new spring and topped it all off with the new ball. Shimming this spring really improved the mechanism. Try it. you'll like it.

Thanks again to Dan the Man for posting the Fastenal link. If you want one of these kits you better move fast as Elroy understands Fastenal has less than two dozen kit left in stock!!!

 

[rdsgarage]

Here are part numbers.

The torque wrench is 44443. The 1/2" ratchet I used for parts is 44985, and the kit for that ratchet is C. Both the ratchet and kit are discontinued. But I see plenty of those ratchets at the flea market. Or see if your local Sears will take parts out of that ratchet which was traded in.

The older version of this ratchet, the one with the oil hole, is 44975. But this will not work because the pawl is a bit different, as it has what Adam calls a D-post pawl. But I think the gear might be the same - I did not look when I saw the pawl was different. My older torque wrench which was made in 7/76 has a D-post pawl. My made in 5/78 torque wrench in the above pictures has what Adam calls a tang pawl.

I know this thread is really old but I wanted to thank everyone for all the valuable information. I have a Craftsman 44443 torque wrench that my father bought for me over 40 years ago as I told him I had to have one in order to rebuild the engine in his 69 VW bug. I tried to get help from my local Sears. They were unable to help me but to associates (Kevin) credit, he told me to try hard to fix it because that old wrench is much better quality than the ones they sell today.
Anyways, thanks for the information I found here, I just repaired my 44443 torque wrench. I purchased a 43447 kit on Ebay. My wrench had the D pawl and as Adam said, this kit didn't exactly fit but I was able to make it work. I had to reuse the selector spring clip and I had to grind the underside of the new selector lever so it would clear the wrench housing. I probably could have got away with using the original pawl/selector but there was definitely some wear on the pawl so I think I am better off for changing the pawl too. So for $12, my old torque wrench seems to work as good new. Thanks again for taking the time to post this valuable information.

 

[nitronorm]

Hello regarding to the craftsman micro torque wrench do u know the number of the repair kit any luck I am still looking and store was no help tks norm

 

[Tool Pants]

This thread is almost 10 years old, but when you do a google search for the old torque wrench this thread shows up.

The 43447 kit was reintroduced several years ago. Except it was made in China. The pawl in the kit is of the "tang" style, so the crescent selector on the torque wrench would have to also be of the tang style.

Keep in mind that style torque wrench started in 1966 or 1968 and it was originally a D-post. Over the years Sears switched to the tang style for the ratchets and this torque wrench.

Good luck finding a Sears still in business or a Sears that has the kit.

 

[peejay75]

(Bringing this one back yet again...)

So no repair parts for this gem?



And I should be glad I got the Pittsburgh Pro torque wrench as part of the "liquidation sale"?

 

[Tool Pants]

You didn't saw what parts. If it is the ratcheting part, then I believe it uses the same repair kit as ratchet No. 43175 in 3/8" drive.

 

[peejay75]

You didn't saw what parts. If it is the ratcheting part, then I believe it uses the same repair kit as ratchet No. 43175 in 3/8" drive.

Oopsie! Yes, the ratcheting part, it rotates around freely until it finds an engagement point.

I will look into that repair kit, thanks!

 

[Tool Pants]

It has been over a decade since I took apart what was called a tri-props ratchet. Pics are the 1/4" version.

I has a sliding pawl, and if it doesn't slide properly, then it will spin or grab or not reverse. The lubrication of a decades old ratchet becomes sticky or even turns into glue. Take it apart and clean it. Just use oil when you put back together.

 

[peejay75]

Excellent! Thanks for the pics, I'll give cleaning it a "spin" first!