Bahco Dual 80s jamming

[rice rocket]

I thought it'd be a cheap way to get into Dual80s, but turns out something is not made to the same tolerance as the Snap-On ratchets.

Whenever I put a fair amount of torque through the ratchets, they all jam. This includes two 3/8" ratchets and the 72-tooth 1/4" (but still Dual80 design) iirc. They seize and stop ratcheting in either direction, and I need to spend a minute fiddling w/ the switch and twisting the socket on it to unjam it.

Back when I bought these, I believe people figured out it was the Snap-On guts in a Spanish(?) made ratchet head?

Either way, has anyone discovered a fix? There's nothing more frustrating when you're wrenching.

 

[measuredtwice]

Never had any problems with mine. Did you try disassembling, cleaning/flushing, and lube? That would be the first thing to try. If that doesn't work, take the guts out of a Snap-On and put them in the Bahco. If that resolves the problem, then get a rebuild kit when the white van stops.

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

Maybe it’s just a defected product it happens.. And yes Bacho is a snap on owned company they might share parts like they do Williams..

 

[mikebaker1129]

I would order a repair kit from SO ,for the most used Bahco and try it out and see if this fixes the issue.

 

[Fedwrench]

never had an issue with by Bahco versions. Are you using thin oil as lube like three in one? is the gear cover loose or too tight?
Good Luck

 

[Lucid Moments]

I only have a single 1/4" Bahco driver and have never had any problems with it either.

 

[65k10]

I think mine were kind of rough and grabby out of the box since I don't think they received much if any lubrication from the factory. Once I added some super lube, they smoothed out quite a bit.

That said, I don't think the Bahco ratchets are machined quite as well as their Snap-On counterparts. Between the two 1/2 drives Bahco ratchets I have, one has noticeably more play in the drive gear when I wiggle the anvil.

 

[Tools4Me]

There is an issue with the Bahco's in my opinion. I was one of the first to buy the Bahco dual 80 ratchets when they first came out. I originally purchased them to try and have Snap-on ratchets on the cheap as well.

The 1/2" never worked correctly, but if I took out the guts and put them into one of the Snap-on dual 80 ratchets I purchased afterwards, everything worked fine. I think the Bahco's head machining tolerances are too loose.

The 3/8 Bahco worked okay for me but there was quite a bit more square drive play/wobble than my 3/8 Snap-on dual 80 ratchets had (also purchased later on). In general, I also didn't like how short and fat the Bahco handles were.

The Bahco 1/4" drive version worked fine, but in general I am not a fan of Snap-on's 1/4" drive ratchet mechanism. It has way too much back drag, even if I snip springs internally and modify them for reduced backdrag. There is only so much that can be done to improve them before they start skipping or acting up during use. I can modify other ratchets I have down so low on backdrag that I can still ratchet them instead of turning the nut with my fingers if I want to. I have grown to love that. That's why I now own zero Snap-on ratchets in the 1/4" drive size.

I ended up taking the guts out of all 3 of my Bahco ratchets and tossing the handles. I kept the guts as rebuild kits for the Snap-on dual 80 ratchets I do own. The only difference is that the Bahco 1/2" internals are the old style Snap-on head with the cover screws that screw into the ratchet body. My 1/2" Snap-on ratchets are all the newer "S80A" style with the screws that pass through the head itself and thread into the cover plate. As a result I will need to reuse the original cover plate and coverplate screws when I rebuild one of my 1/2" ratchets with the Bahco internals.

 

[TheToolEnthusiast]

I have a great 1/4” and a fairly wiggly albeit working nicely 3/8”. Haven’t noticed them jam up. If anybody ever wants to part with with an 8150-1/2 please ping me.

 

[rice rocket]

Just an update since I started the thread.

The 1/4" was jamming the most, and was fully dry, no lube whatsoever. I reassembled it with oil and has pretty low backdrag, but a little sloppy. Maybe it sustained some gear damage from being dry?

The 3/8" had a light oil, and I wiped it down and reoiled it. It's improved for sure, but still has a fair bit more backdrag compared to my "real" Dual 80.