Sources for husky ratchet rebuild kit

[Magnum440d100]

Long story short, I have this husky CS-43 ratchet that is worn out. I’ve taken it apart, cleaned it, lubed it, etc.


The issue is, it won’t ratchet unless I’m putting pressure on the selector switch. If not, it locks up.

I’m having no luck finding a rebuild kit on eBay.

This ratchet isn’t my every day ratchet anymore, but I still would like a “backup”.

Besides eBay, where are you guys finding the rebuild kits?

Or should I just warranty it out??

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I would not warranty it out. Personally I’m not impressed with the new Husky stuff really. I have an old Husky just like that and there is one at the pawn shop I’ve got my eye on too. They feel better built for sure. Sounds like the typical issue I usually have with round heads and that is it getting out of line inside unless you keep it in one spot. I think there might be an SK kit to fit it.

 

[Kscardsfan]

Hell just buy a Pittsburgh pro at harbor freight for a backup piece.

 

[Badgerstate]

Long story short, I have this husky CS-43 ratchet that is worn out. I’ve taken it apart, cleaned it, lubed it, etc.


The issue is, it won’t ratchet unless I’m putting pressure on the selector switch. If not, it locks up.

I’m having no luck finding a rebuild kit on eBay.

This ratchet isn’t my every day ratchet anymore, but I still would like a “backup”.

Besides eBay, where are you guys finding the rebuild kits?

Or should I just warranty it out??

Just turn it in under warranty and get a new one. No sense in rebuilding it when you can just get a new one for free, unless you have some sort of sentimental attachment to it.

 

[Magnum440d100]

No sentimental attachment besides it being USA.

It rides in my road box, and was my junkyard ratchet for a while, since it’s kinda beat up.

I don’t mind a Chinese ratchet for junkyard runs, since it’ll get beat up, lost, or broken eventually.

I would PREFER to rebuild it and have it as backup though, vs Chinese equivalent. My other 1/2” ratchets are Snap-On, which I really really don’t want to take to the pick a part.

 

[Magnum440d100]

Hell just buy a Pittsburgh pro at harbor freight for a backup piece.

That would cost money, when I can maybe turn this one in for free, or even better yet, I could spend the same money on a rebuild kit.

I’m not hating on Pittsburgh. I used a friends 3/8” extending handle to pull an engine out of a truck (undo the bolts, not lift it out).

Definitely an option.

 

[oak_park]

If you warranty it out, I'd find the person working in the tool department and show it to them and explain that it was a higher end ratchet when you purchased it and that you'd like it to be replaced with one of their 100 or 144 position ratchets, not the basic Husky round head that *****. I've then had the tool guy walk me to the return counter and explain to the cashier that we're swapping it out under the Husky lifetime warranty with no questions, no receipt required.

If you just go to the return counter, often they'll give you the basic round head which *****, imho.

 

[mikebaker1129]

Look on eBay under the Blackhawk brand for a repair kit. It will be a different model #, Make sure the kit looks like your ratchet,they made a couple different styles since then.

 

[Al Borland]

That's likely a New Britain-based design. I say "Based" because Stanley acquired the ashes of New Britain and did continue this design for a while. Some of the ones I have seem to be a "Stanleyed" version of the original, others look like Stanley acquired a LOT of NOS and sent it out.

 

[Walkers]

It is a disposable tool, turn it in for a new one.

 

[Badgerstate]

No sentimental attachment besides it being USA.

It rides in my road box, and was my junkyard ratchet for a while, since it’s kinda beat up.

I don’t mind a Chinese ratchet for junkyard runs, since it’ll get beat up, lost, or broken eventually.

I would PREFER to rebuild it and have it as backup though, vs Chinese equivalent. My other 1/2” ratchets are Snap-On, which I really really don’t want to take to the pick a part.

Yeah, Id just turn it in then. Im not one to get all worked up about where a tool is made though. A tool is a tool. Its meant to be used and then replaced when it wears out. IMO, some people put waaaaaaay too much emphasis on whether or not a tool was made in the USA.

 

[Mgdoug3]

That's the same ratchet as a New Britain. That design was used by several different names. Don't quote me on this but I think the 43 was 60 teeth and the 45 was 45 teeth. There's a thread somewhere on GJ that listed all of the brands that used the NB mechanism. Husky, Sparta, Penncraft, Mustang and Matco just to name a few.

 

[bonneyman]

Agree with Borland and MgDoug. You could probably find a donor NB ratchet at a pawn shop or tool place and do a swap. Should cost too much.

 

[bbrins]

Just keep an eye on eBay, the kits show up from time to time. That same ratchet may have sold under several different brand names; Husky, New Britain, Blackhawk, Mac, Matco, Mustang, ect. Just be mindful of tooth count before you purchase. I think they were sold with either a 45 or a 60 tooth mechanism, depending on model, they are not compatible with each other, at least not the pawl anyway.

 

[rooster59]

your ratchet is much nicer than the one they will try to give you in a warranty swap. If you do what oak_park said in #7, the Husky 144s are pretty decent.

 

[bigjeff94]

These ratchets were great. They were branded under several different brands. Unfortunately kits are hard to come by, but there were so many ratchets made a replacement from ebay should be easy to find and would likely cost about the same as a kit.

 

[DadsTools]

Someone had to resurrect this old thread so I had to look at it. Oh well. OP has probably long since resolved his ratchet issue. But anyway....

OP's ratchet is known as the New Britain "Kilness" ratchet. Like others have mentioned, it was made for many different brand names, all of which are mechanically identical and mostly bearing the same NB model number. There are indeed 45t and 60t versions.

The Kilness is considered by some to be one of the best RH ratchets ever made from the classic USA era, along with the SK and the JH Williams 52 series Superratchet (the original Williams from the 1980s and before, not the re-designed Snap-on "Williams"). Sometimes the Craftsman RHFT gets mentioned, but usually in the context of being the best that ever bore the Craftsman name, which to me is not in the same league. There's no way I'd trade that in for a modern Husky rat. It would be like the magician in Aladdin promising "new lamps for old." No thanks.

An interesting feature of the Kilness is in the 1/2 dr ratchet. For years I used the 1/2 (bearing the Giller neame brand) as my first line go-to 1/2. I once acquired a 1/2 SK and when I first used it I wondered why was it so heavy. Copme to find out on close inspection that the 1/2 Kilness actually used the same head and mech as the 3/8 but with a 1/2 stud. made it so much easier to maneuver, and wielded almost like a wand in comparison. I've since have acquired a couple more, one having the Penncraft name. The Kilness is still my go-to for 1/2.