Snap On FOD Ratchet Rebuild - Possible?

[MaverickDMD]

Hi has anyone out there rebuilt a Snap On FOD ratchet? The problem being of course is the use of rivets instead of bolts to fasten the back cover plate. It would appear that the rivets need to be drilled out and replaced after disassembly, perhaps with bolts and threads. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[scissorman]

My Snap-on dealer said they are non rebuildable.

 

[WWheeler]

Assuming the inner workings (gears/pawls) are the same it probably is possible to replace the rivets with new ones or drill/tap it to accept bolts instead, but I don't know of anyone who has done it. It would surprise me if it hadn't been tried before though.

If you have a non-working FOD ratchet then it's the perfect time to see. If you document what you run into and post a thread about it I'd be interested to see how it turns out.

 

[MaverickDMD]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't disassembled the ratchet yet, but I can't imagine that Snap On underwent massive redesigns just to ensure that the backing plate doesn't separate under use on what must be a small percentage of their ratchets produced. My guess is they just riveted through the existing bolt holes. I will take your suggestion of photo documenting the disassembly process and will devise a new way to rebuild this ratchet. The simple answer of course would be to rerivet the backing plate after the rebuild. I'll remove one rivet and consult a machine shop on how to replicate the rivets. I'd further bet that it could be rebuilt with a stock kit if the kit includes bolts and a new backing plate. I'll repost once I've tackled the project!

 

[snapmom]

post a pic as it is now, want to see the plate.

 

[T45]

My guess is there is no tapped threads to put screws into regardless.

 

[T45]

This pdf has comments about repair at authorized dealer only, perhaps it is possible to repair one.

https://www.snapon.com/international/13pdffiles/RatsHSFOD.pdf

"Repair: Should repair be chosen over a new purchase, there is a $13.00 fee (plus
shipping) to the customer. “Turn around time” is approximately three
weeks.Repair procedure is detailed on reverse side"

Note, upon closer reading of the fine print, this is 936, but the same FOD standards/methods/concepts was likely carried over to the newer series/ F80.

 

[snapmom]

It seems like the best way, would to drill, and get a faceplate with screws.

 

[Biomed]

Why not just warranty it?

 

[Sco Deac]

Why not just warranty it?

+1. Just send it back. Even if they charge for the kit and service it's still cheaper than a new one and even if you try to fix it yourself you are paying for the repair parts. I'm not even sure what you will do when you drill out the rivets. The selector should be permanently attached to the internal space. Maybe the plate will rotate out of the way around the selector.

 

[scissorman]

Why not just warranty it?

Because FOD ratchets do not have a warranty just the same goes for all of the Snap-on Industrial which do not have a warranty.

 

[Sco Deac]

Not a free replacement warranty but according to the post above they seems to have a low cost repair service or limited warranty.

 

[Derek420]

Just call snap on and tell them you need a repair kit for a dual80 3/8 ratchet it's free fast, and simple and just drill out rives carefully and go to HF and get a rivet kit with assortment of rivet sizes the kind with the little black rubber pieces on them the small ones they got them. It's easy I just had a 3/8 dual80 apart yesterday seeing if I could sway out the selector switch but they are not reusable it didn't look like as the are press fitted but no big deal for you all the guts come out with taken the selector out its easy nothing to the internals of a new snappy. The rebuild kits come with screws but no backing but you never know I'd say the backing on it is a normal one that's tapped. Just give it ago it's easy my wife could do it even and she knows nothing about tools. If you want I can take a pic of internals but there's videos on YouTube. Hell even if you wanted to buy a rebuild kit they are only $10 but I would get a free one.

 

[KNagle]

A few months ago I picked up a GFL80FOD because I REALLY like the smoothe industrial finish it comes in and wanted the longer handle. I regularly clean and lube all my ratchets, so the sound of this bone dry mechanism was like nails on a chalkboard to me.

Once I drilled the rivets out I talked to a guy in our fab department about tapping threads in the head for me, but I was told it would be pretty tough because of the hardness of the steel the ratchet is made from. My particular model has the screws coming through the faceplate and fastening into the head. If it were the other way around I imagine this wouldnt be too hard of a task.

While I never got around to a solution, I can confirm that the guts are identical to any other 3/8 Dual80 Ive taken apart.

 

[MaverickDMD]

Hi just an update to the FOD rebuild. The part that receives the socket was trashed - the FOD has a unique stud rather than a retractable ball like the standard 936, perhaps to ensure that a socket doesn't go easily astray. This depressible stud had been manhandled in offset to its bore and no longer was salvageable. The innards were "nails on chalkboard" dry so it desperately needed a rebuild.

To disassemble it, I was able to graze out the head of the rivets on the hammered-in back side on the backing plate. Once out, the backing plate looks exactly the same as a 936 but the holes in it are smaller and unthreaded. The rivets themselves are unique in that the face ends are a bullet shape with a shoulder. The entire rivet is wide then steps downs to a narrower portion which exists through the backing plate where the ends are mushroomed. They don't appear to be a stock rivet; perhaps new ones could be sourced to do the job but I didn't go searching.

I was able to convert this into a regular F936 by purchasing a new stock threaded backing plate with new bolts and a rebuild kit to fix the broken socket attachment gear. Everything went together normally.

It's not a true FOD now, but a functioning clone/hybrid 936 with FOD markings. I say clone because the head of the ratchet is a full 1-2 mm narrower in width than a 936, yet the stock backing plate fits.

This method here is a relatively cheap way to salvage an 830/936 FOD ratchet ($23 CDN all told) and I suppose for a true restoration, new rivets could be found, perhaps from Snap-On. If anyone is really interested in the photos I took start-to-finish, I probably can post them here if I can figure out how.

 

[WWheeler]

Good info to know.

I know I would appreciate the pics if you can manage it.

 

[MaverickDMD]

As a footnote regarding the potential to rebuild the F80 FOD, it actually might be easier than the procedures for the 936 noted above. The stock F80 does not have bolts drilled through to the face while the F80 FOD's rivets are factory through-drilled. In essence here, one would only need to drill out the rivets, rebuild the internals, then re-rivet with virtually any stock rivet given that stock they stand proud anyway. (Recall that the 936 FOD rivets are a specific dome shape ending in a shoulder). Still working on photos.

This would also work for a regular non-FOD F80 closed head where the bolt holes have been stripped. Rather than toss it or attempt to drill/tap for bigger bolts, one could just drill straight and make it into an F80 FOD hybrid.

 

[MaverickDMD]

I have many more photos if anyone needs them. Only allowed 7 per post but hopefully this gives the gist of it. I stumbled across photos of a 710 rebuild kit on ebay and on examining the pics there closely, the central pin for securing the selector switch looks almost identical to the rivets here. Wonder if Snap On can provide them. The kit was marked Oct/16

 

[mikebaker1129]

What is an FOD ratchet ? I never heard of one.
I did some research and found out.

 

[rsanter]

I bet you could find an aircraft solid rivit that is close enough that it could be made to work

Bob

 

[MaverickDMD]

I did look into a variety of solid rivets thanks to your suggestion. Most of the round headed ones I found online for quite cheap would do the job if need be. I still am searching for the right rivet in order to restore the ratchet (and to allow future maintenances) to its factory correct configuration. I'll repost here once I've solved that one.

I've heard many reports that Snap On doesn't warranty/repair these ratchets, so to come up with a publishable method to restore these FOD-marked ratchets would go a long way to keeping these in use. In the interim, the fix with a new cover plate will do for functionality.

 

[MaverickDMD]

UPDATE: The exhaustive hunt for the right rivet never materialized, so the trail went cold. As it turns out, a rebuild kit comes with a new threaded backing plate so when removing the original plate, there is no need for special tools or undue concern about damaging this plate.

Once the old rivets are out, the job becomes a simple rebuild like on any other ratchet - just replace the guts and install the new plate and screws The central stud with the weirdly-shaped pin (see comparison photo above) is better replaced by the more functional caged ball bearing type anyhow.

 

[ecotec]

I always wondered about this. I have always passed on these, because I did not think that I could service them and also dislike the pin detent.

I need to find one now, so I can try this repair. This seems like it would be a fun project.

I have been wanting to find a mint condition 1/2” scaffolding ratchet and put a rebuild kit in it. I think that it would also be a fun project. These have a socket permanently riveted on. I feel that it would be safe to assume that drilling out the rivet would be the hardest part. Actually, finding a scaffolding ratchet in good condition would probably be the hardest part… as they are used as a hammer every day.

 

[Jacobs976]

The locking drive is for FOD, use sockets with a detent hole and they're locked on until you depress the pin with something through the hole so the socket physically can't fall off in use.

Also know as Loxit, or at least adjacent, which is used for 3/4 drive snap on ratchets/sockets which have a pin installed in sockets. Originally Blackhawk in 1/2 and 3/4 but snap on licensed the design and still maintains use.

Ideal for use with most impact sockets if working in FOD and difficult workspaces like telephone lines or towers. Basically anywhere you don't want to lose a socket.