Wamsutta
Well-known member
I know where you can get a 13mm ratcheting wrench that's built very well and comes with a full support network that's only a phone call away. It don't cost me anything to recommend it.
Disappointed in GearWrench
- Thread starter f575gtc
- Start date
I know where you can get a 13mm ratcheting wrench that's built very well and comes with a full support network that's only a phone call away. It don't cost me anything to recommend it.
I know where you can get a 13mm ratcheting wrench that's built very well and comes with a full support network that's only a phone call away. It don't cost me anything to recommend it.
I've had a set of 0° GW ratchet wrenches at work for 10 years and only ever warranted 2 of them.
These are the angled, reversible ones I bought for home and they feel MUCH cheaper. The whole set still cost less than ONE snap-on wrench.
Pitalplace
Well-known member
I got this set of Williams for $83 on Amazon before Christmas. They are not Snapon but they don't even come close to the price. I know they are from Taiwan but I will give them a try. I also got the SAE set earlier but have not had much shop time do to the cold.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HV7R38M/?tag=atomicindus08-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HV7R38M/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Wamsutta
Well-known member
https://mobiledistributorsupply.com...ersible-ratcheting-wrench-set-metric-oem.html
Taiwan made, satin finish, free tools included. Very tempting
Taiwan made, satin finish, free tools included. Very tempting
Tekton Star / Allen head / E torx set - 2 different stars bent on the first uses. I returned it and the GW I bought is 100x nicer.
Tekton chrome and impact sockets. One had a ratchet included.
I returned all of it. The impacts werent that nice, Sunex was worth the step up in money every day of the week. The chrome sockets and ratchet were not even close to the same category the GW is. IMO the GW sockets are a good amount nicer than my made in USA Craftsman (Armstrong) sockets.
I dont know if its a debate, but obviously the Tekton ratchet wasnt as nice as either the 84t or the 120xp GW's.
I'm no pro. Just a hobbiest that likes decent tools and actively wrenches on all my stuff. YMMV.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Tekton ratchets used to be nothing special. They were the universal Taiwan made 72 tooth quick release ratchet that internally resembled an old Proto ratchet. However, Tekton recently replaced their old style ratchets with new 90 tooth versions with or without quick release. Although their new flex heads come in some unusual lengths, they are very nice ratchets especially for the price. I think with Tekton, you have to judge each tool on its own merits. I know i like the items I've purchased from them.
Isnt that how much tools should be judged lol? Anyone who's judging whole brands based on one tool or one experience is short sighted, in my opinion. All chevys for example aren't like the Chevy Cruze, that's forsure
rustbucket5
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2015
- Messages
- 252
feel like gearwrench has been creating 2 classes of tools, one with better quality than the other with out any sort of naming scheme (like snap on/bluepoint) also when talking about ratcheting wrenches, the design plays a huge role in it. use a 0* offset non reversible and an offset reversible and youll see the difference. for most uses offset and reversible are what you want.
ineedtools
Well-known member
As soon as they left Taiwan quality went out the door
mudflap
Well-known member
I dont have alot of GW..but what i have is good stuff...i would even say pro grade....Tekton is HF..with a couple of made in USA pliers and screwdrivers..maybe thats why they seem to get a pass on here...? Its kind of a mystery really.
JonDick13926
Well-known member
I got several gearwrench items for Christmas this year. Overall it was mostly good. Everything I got was made in Taiwan.
One complaint I had, and it's not too big of a deal as it's the ONLY complaint that I'm able to have, is that a 6mm socket in one of the sets had the chrome chipped off. Flakes of it were laying in the case. This had me really worried about the quality of the rest, but every other socket looked good. This must have been just an oddball occurrence. I'll see if I can have it swapped out with one, but even if I can't I'm sure a 6mm gearwrench socket isn't expensive.
One complaint I had, and it's not too big of a deal as it's the ONLY complaint that I'm able to have, is that a 6mm socket in one of the sets had the chrome chipped off. Flakes of it were laying in the case. This had me really worried about the quality of the rest, but every other socket looked good. This must have been just an oddball occurrence. I'll see if I can have it swapped out with one, but even if I can't I'm sure a 6mm gearwrench socket isn't expensive.
Every company has good and bad items. The hard part is changing your mind when the company changes. Will I ever buy a Chrysler product again after my experiences with them in the past? Probably not. Will we ever think of HF as a place to buy world class tools? Probably not.
Has MIT (owner of Tekton trademark) evolved beyond being an importer of cheap Asian and Indian tools into an innovator and supporter of US manufacturers? Evidence is supportive of that conclusion but you clearly disagree.
I don’t work on hydraulics but I assume you do if the county owns dump or plow trucks. Would you try one of these and tell us if they are junk?
https://www.tekton.com/angle-head-open-end-wrenches
mudflap
Well-known member
That is a much nicer wrench than you will find at HF..assuming fitment is good, im sure it would work just fine..
Wamsutta
Well-known member
That leaves me wondering whether the the Chevy Cruze is a good car or a bad car. I'm not up to date on my Chevy Cruze news.
That leaves me wondering whether the the Chevy Cruze is a good car or a bad car. I'm not up to date on my Chevy Cruze news.
It's such a great car it'll be discontinued inside the next three months.
As for Gearwrench, I bought a set of SAE and metric ratcheting wrenches (Taiwan) when they were the only game in town in the 90s. Only used a handful of times, never abused. The chrome is flaking off of some, and a couple are locked up every time I try to use them. They've been relegated to the "drawer of junk I just can't bear to throw away".
I think they're so popular here because they're cheap, sold everywhere, and perpetually on sale.
Yup!
I had the same exact experience as you. Bought them many years ago, apparently when they were still "good", and after very light use they crapped out. Garbage.
Soak the heads of those ratcheting wrenches a couple of days in transmission fluid. That has worked well for me. It also leaves enough in it to where they haven't seized again.
I would say most of my Tekton ratchets are identical to the HF ones. HF doesn't offer the really long handles.
Same, think I spent 200 or so on myself and my mom got me one thing from Gearwrench, all of it made in Taiwan. Pretty crazy considering they've sent all their production to China!! /s
I'm sure they will swap it out, send them an email or see if you have a Fastenal/Advanced Auto that can warranty it.
That leaves me wondering whether the the Chevy Cruze is a good car or a bad car. I'm not up to date on my Chevy Cruze news.
Its a cheap econobox, not bad, not good. My sister is reckless and knows next to nothing about cars so I've been doing all the work on it, had a few quirks but not ABSOLUTE garbage, just cheap. Its no Z06 or Chevy SS for example.
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There are so many tool options out of Taiwan I don't get it why folks limit themselves to a few like overpriced Williams, Tekton (mostly poor design) or GW. The tools can be bought so cheap warranty should not be a deciding factor. Most 'name brand' Taiwan tools can be purchased under another label much cheaper & are sourced from the same factory.
Wamsutta
Well-known member
I heard they have an electric thermostat that can be troublesome.
And a plastic Theromstat housing
And E-torx? That engine was obviously designed by Satan himself.
Whats with the schmoo?
84t ratchets Taiwan
Sockets Taiwan
Combination wrenches (ratcheting, flex head, non ratcheting) China
Zero offset double box ends Taiwan
Not sure about other stuff like spline or the 120xp stuff.
That’s why I bought my first set.
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TwoInch
Well-known member
Im taking my 15pc GW metric non ratcheting combo wrench set back and getting something else. I have used an older set of these many times, and they are great wrenches. Still retail for $60-80... I figured for the $40 I paid, they would new fine for light home use... WOW was I wrong.
Finally opened the package... I think 5 of the 15 wrenches are unacceptably poor. Of center broaching on that box ends... Also not square.
The open ends are almost universally broached at an angle... And since they are ASD type wrenches, it's very visible and completely unacceptable..
These wrenches are WAY below the quality of made in India HyperForce Wal-Mart or harbor freight... I can't even believe it honestly. Still love the ratchets and sockets, or really any of the Taiwan GW.. But wow.
Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk
Finally opened the package... I think 5 of the 15 wrenches are unacceptably poor. Of center broaching on that box ends... Also not square.
The open ends are almost universally broached at an angle... And since they are ASD type wrenches, it's very visible and completely unacceptable..
These wrenches are WAY below the quality of made in India HyperForce Wal-Mart or harbor freight... I can't even believe it honestly. Still love the ratchets and sockets, or really any of the Taiwan GW.. But wow.
Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk
TwoInch
Well-known member
Here are a couple doozies
Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk
Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk
TwoInch
Well-known member
Nice straight beam.... [emoji43]
The dewalt taiwan wrenches are miles ahead of the Chinese GW wrenches. Many miles.
Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk
The dewalt taiwan wrenches are miles ahead of the Chinese GW wrenches. Many miles.
Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk
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Negen
Well-known member
With channel lock and Milwaukee and Capri and many others making the same or similar Taiwan wrenches there are plenty of choices. All are similar prices.
The China gear wrench ratchet wrenches are not the worst but not great either but I did get them from Napa's sale a while back. The China sockets I had were no better than what you find in the dollar stores. I haven't seen locally or in person the praised Taiwan gear wrench sockets. I don't mind the functionality of their ratchets but I am picky about ratchet handles.
Sent from my G8141 using The Garage Journal mobile app
The China gear wrench ratchet wrenches are not the worst but not great either but I did get them from Napa's sale a while back. The China sockets I had were no better than what you find in the dollar stores. I haven't seen locally or in person the praised Taiwan gear wrench sockets. I don't mind the functionality of their ratchets but I am picky about ratchet handles.
Sent from my G8141 using The Garage Journal mobile app
Rogers954
Well-known member
Got any recommendations on brands? I’m always looking for other alternatives, i recently acquired a 1/2 gearwrench set as i was lacking in that department big time on my old craftsman mechanic set and i do a lot of wrenching on my 3/4 ton diesel. I’m not overly disappointed in the 1/2 set i bought for the sale price i think it’s decent but when you really look at the sockets compared to my 2002 craftsman set the quality margins in the finishes are pretty noticeable. Cheers
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
I would go with Capri for non-reversible. The 100 tooth design seems to be the nicest in the current crop of Taiwan production. They have flex and non flex.
I like sunex fine for sockets but not wrenches.
Rogers954
Well-known member
Those capris look really nice, would have probably been my choice except for i want a complete set 8–19 wish there flex head set was the same as there regular ratcheting wrenches which was a complete set with no skips, guess I’m back to looking at Williams again. To bad i really like the look of these
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I found the skips disappointing as well. They do sell them individually though so you can get them all it just takes a little more effort.
ihateminimumwage
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2012
- Messages
- 3,961
If the red/pink coolant is good for anything, it's good for making that mess. Walked into countless generator rooms to find an engine and tank covered in it thanks to a factory radiator hose or block heater heat cycling until it leaks for 6 months straight.
Best thing I learned is spray can engine degreaser takes it right off and wipes clean with just a shop towel.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I have the Sunex zero offset metric set. They're nice. I got them during an ebay sale awhile back They're probably made by the same company that makes Capri's ratcheting wrenches because, they share the same anti slip v cut open end with teeth.
The Sunex feature spline ratcheting boxed ends with a direction arrow stamped on each side to show rotation. Nice chrome, size markings in two places on both sides. They look like the Capri's aside from the spline boxed end only having 72 teeth and no color coded ring.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
That's where Capri lets you down though. On their home page, they list part numbers for the sizes like 18 mm not in the flex head ratcheting wrench set but, when you try to order them, they don't exist. I don't care how many free tools Capri sends to you tube people for infomercial videos, they're not going to do well here if they can't figure out how to sell a 10-19 mm set without skipping sizes. How hard can it be?
Rogers954
Well-known member
That's where Capri lets you down though. On their home page, they list part numbers for the sizes like 18 mm not in the flex head ratcheting wrench set but, when you try to order them, they don't exist. I don't care how many free tools Capri sends to you tube people for infomercial videos, they're not going to do well here if they can't figure out how to sell a 10-19 mm set without skipping sizes. How hard can it be?
Just to add even if they were all available for order I did the math and assuming you bought the 7 piece metric set and then added the 8,9,11,16, and 18mm to have a full set you would be at $185.00 on tools delivered I can get the Williams 12 piece set of flex-head reversible wrenches 8-19 no skips for $150.44. I keep looking else where for options but keep coming back to this set and it may just be the winner for me.
Not sure why capri didn't just copy there regular ratcheting wrench set which is 8-19mm with no skips. That looks like a nice set and the price isn't bad at all saw them on amazon for $108
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That's where Capri lets you down though. On their home page, they list part numbers for the sizes like 18 mm not in the flex head ratcheting wrench set but, when you try to order them, they don't exist. I don't care how many free tools Capri sends to you tube people for infomercial videos, they're not going to do well here if they can't figure out how to sell a 10-19 mm set without skipping sizes. How hard can it be?
I didn’t know that. That really makes them impossible to recommend.