How do you open Gearwrench roto ratchets to lube it?

imom · Oct 21, 2010

Hi,
I took my SK ratchet apart to put grease in it and it's very smooth now. I like to do the same to my Gearwrench roto ratchet I bought during the Sears sale. I don't see any screws or snap ring to remove. So how do you open the roto ratchets? I like to remove it to put some synthetic grease inside to make it smooth and more quiet. I appreciate some input (photos if possible). Thanks

tonydanzah · Oct 21, 2010

the is a circlip by the drive end you need to remove with a pic

MrMark · Oct 21, 2010

any tricks, seems very hard to do.

tonydanzah · Oct 21, 2010

MrMark said:
any tricks, seems very hard to do.

a third hand helps. But once you do it once, it easy to do again.

imom · Oct 21, 2010

I'll give it a try tonight with the 3/8" drive.

Fedwrench · Oct 21, 2010

The corner of a single edge razor blade may be easier to use to start walking the circlip off. You could always just apply 3 in one oil from the bottom and let it work it's way inside without disassembly. Why does it need to be lubed? :headscrat

I've had mine since they first came out and haven't ever lubed it despite daily use.

reptilezs · Oct 21, 2010

use a small screwdriver to wedge against the circlip and drive plug to keep the clip from spinning. i used a pick to lift the clip. the ratchet come dry when new, they have some white crusty stuff in them

MrMark · Oct 21, 2010

Fedwrench said:
The corner of a single edge razor blade may be easier to use to start walking the circlip off. You could always just apply 3 in one oil from the bottom and let it work it's way inside without disassembly. Why does it need to be lubed? I've had mine since they first came out and haven't ever lubed it despite daily use.

They seem a little tight. I have a feeling a little super lube would be very beneficial.

MrMark · Oct 21, 2010

reptilezs said:
use a small screwdriver to wedge against the circlip and drive plug to keep the clip from spinning. i used a pick to lift the clip. the ratchet come dry when new, they have some white crusty stuff in them

thanks, will give that a try

MrMark · Oct 21, 2010

OK, this is not working. I have the rotohead Gearwrench here, which is the Snap-on copy. I don't see how this clip is coming off. In fact, it looks like it spirals around the drive in the form of a helix and must engage inside the body of the ratchet. Spreading the clip accomplishes nothing by outward appearance.

The only thing I can figure is that spreading the clip would cause the clip to tighten inside and come out of a groove(which I obviously can't see) I would need that third hand to spread the clip, two hands needed there, while simultaneously pulling straight up on the anvil, but even that is not working.

need more help.

tonydanzah · Oct 21, 2010

the clip will come off if you keep pulling at it. It wraps around twice.

MrMark · Oct 21, 2010

tonydanzah said:
the clip will come off if you keep pulling at it. It wraps around twice.

Just got it Tony. Dry as a bone inside. Persistence always pays off.

Here is the magic trick: insert one small screwdriver between clip (spiral helix that wraps around twice into a hidden internal grove) and body of ratchet. Orient screwdriver straight up and down. Wedge screwdriver between clip and ratchet body to capture clip and keep it from spinning. Simulateously use a pick to spread the free end of the clip and lift it up. Once it is lifted up and the end is out of the groove, walk the clip out with the pick.

Not a simple exercise, but once done, it will be easier the next time if you remember.

Now, just will need to figure how to get that clip back after lubing.

The screwdriver orientation was the trick that made this doable for me.

MrMark · Oct 22, 2010

Further edit.

There is no internal groove. The clip simply creates a shoulder that captures the drive end in place.

Now, to figure how to get that clip back. Because it has to be put back AFTER the drive is inserted through.

MrMark · Oct 22, 2010

Got it back together. What a B@#$%^tch.

100 percent improvement, though. Feels almost like a Snap-on now.

littlekillertoad · Oct 22, 2010

When I opened mine, I used a small pair of needle nose pliers to keep the retaining ring from spinning and then used a small pick to get it out.
It was a little bit of a pain, but completely worth it.

plinker · Oct 22, 2010

I find the S-O (or other) 45* mini pick works really well for these.

If there is room, you may be able to put a snap-ring in instead.

imom · Nov 3, 2010

I did mine last night...the 3/8" drive was a real pain...the 1/4" was a snap...but I did 3/8" first so there was a learning curve. It is so worth it thought...the 3/8" was bone dry and the 1/4" had just a little bit. I put a **** load of Pedro's synthetic bicycle grease...it's what I had lying around. It's night and day difference it feel and noise. I like it. Thanks for the suggestions.

Displaced Hokie · Nov 3, 2010

Would this in any way apply to the HF rotoratchet? Looks really similar to the GW.

imom · Nov 3, 2010

Hokie, Post a picture...if you see a little spiral compressed clip...then yes. The trick as I discovered and soon read about from Mr.Mark soon after is two have two tools...one screwdriver to hold the spiral clip in place...and then a pick to pull the clip out of the lip and once you do...it's like changing a bicycle tire...you run it around until the spiral clip pops out. Putting it back can be more difficult. It took me about 30 minutes the first time.

spartyon8 · Nov 26, 2010

Sorry to bring an old post back to life but I am lubing mine and got the clips out just fine but cannot for the life of me the the circlip back in. Anyone have any tips as to how they got theirs back in?

Thanks

MrMark · Nov 26, 2010

You don't walk it back in. I'm assuming that is how you got it out by walking the spiral clip out with a pick.

You need to capture one end of the clip, just like you did to get it started when removing, and compress the clip with a pick and at the same time push the clip down to get it in the slot.

spartyon8 · Nov 26, 2010

Thanks. I don't know if I should admit this but once I put the pawl/gear in the right side the clip when it without much effort. OOOOOPS!

stonesfan68 · Jun 2, 2012

I followed the advice here on this thread and took my Kobalt version apart. There wasn't an ounce of lubricant in the assembly.

Thanks for the help!

FiendFX · Oct 1, 2013

seriously.. i cannot remove it. any help?

G_P · Oct 1, 2013

Hmmm...I have a NAPA roto. I'm going to go see what this circlip is all about.

Sent via carrier pigeon.

jeremy v · Oct 1, 2013

I thought I would add this note just in case anyone else is experiencing this same issue with their ratchets. When I first received one of my Gearwrench roto ratchets, I noticed that it would drag pretty heavily and the drag force would increase and decrease as the ratchet rotated. That told me that there was a too-tight tolerance issue somewhere. I took the ratchet apart, added lube, and looked for issues, but found none.

After putting it all back together the lube helped some, but it did not solve the issue to my satisfaction. I took the ratchet apart again and after looking it over even more closely I realized that the spiral ring that you remove to take the ratchet head apart had very slight burrs at both ends of the spiral. Those burrs kept the spiral from laying flat against itself when installed. This made the effective thickness of the spiral clip increase beyond what it should have been. This tight tolerance caused the dragging I was experiencing. A quick smoothing of the sprial clip ends with a fine needle file was all it needed, and everything has been perfect since.

Anyone that is taking their ratchet apart anyways might want to check for burrs while you have the spiral ring off. My ratchet spins like butter now, whereas before smoothing the small burrs it felt like a cheap junky ratchet by comparison even with lube inside.

wrenchr · Oct 1, 2013

Just dunk it.

G_P · Oct 1, 2013

Just did 3 circlip ratchets. Not too bad. 2 had notches in the end of the clip those were easy!

My 3/8" Fleet was full of what seemed like tar. Now its cleaned and lubed and SMOOTH!

Sent via carrier pigeon.

03protege · Oct 1, 2013

I can't believe it hasn't been suggested, get a small cup with ATF and drop the ratchets in and let them soak overnight.

dudutzu905 · Oct 1, 2013

so is there anyway to clip the spring on these to make them smoother like people do the older 36t ratchets? in other words can you take the mechanism apart?

PelicanPines · May 16, 2017

Third hand was suggested... I needed FIVE. The top edge of the clip... I made it easier to deal with in the future by grinding the tip to a point. Now the pick slides right in and pulls it up and out. Much easier than before.

How do you open Gearwrench roto ratchets to lube it?

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