gdocktor3
Well-known member
Super lube grease is the standard included in Snap On and SK rebuild kits. It's my opinion that oil should only be used in sealed head ratchets, since it will leak out of round heads.
Best lube for ratchets????
- Thread starter muddyjoe15
- Start date
Wamsutta
Well-known member
You got it backwards. You don't want oil for sealed ratchets because it'll take forever to seep out. Grease is better for sealed ratchets.
gdocktor3
Well-known member
I use grease regardless,, but why would you want the oil to seep out? That doesn't make sense to me. Also, some manufacturers like Mac, per their directions recommend oil for their sealed pear head ratchets.
mbshop
Well-known member
Boy, this surprised me. All the talk about grease and all for ratchets as if they are high speed tools. Looong ago I was told not to use grease but just a bit of light oil. Reason being that using grease didn't st times allow the pawl or teeth to mesh properly and this resulted in the teeth getting stripped. Again as a mac tool dealer we were told to tell customers to use light oil. Many ratchets that I got with stripped teeth had grease in them. So I finally stopped warranting ratchets with stripped teeth if they had grease in them.
your tools but my ratchets used plain old thin oil and they worked just fine with no stripped teeth. Again, they are simple tools, not high speed that need all that grease clogging things up. Best is to clean them regularly and assemble with a drop or two of light oil like 3 in 1 and off you go.
your tools but my ratchets used plain old thin oil and they worked just fine with no stripped teeth. Again, they are simple tools, not high speed that need all that grease clogging things up. Best is to clean them regularly and assemble with a drop or two of light oil like 3 in 1 and off you go.
mjoekingz28
Well-known member
Mbshop, I see where you are coming from but suspension components, door jambs, sttering alamites all need grease and they are not high speed.
I think it comes down to metallurgy and environment. Oil should be enough to keep it from rusting, but maybe not enough to keep chunks of the gears from breaking/cracking under pressure/load. And, of course, too much can be a bad thing- as to loading it up with a thick NLGI #2 grease.
I think it comes down to metallurgy and environment. Oil should be enough to keep it from rusting, but maybe not enough to keep chunks of the gears from breaking/cracking under pressure/load. And, of course, too much can be a bad thing- as to loading it up with a thick NLGI #2 grease.
For few years I've used the synthetic Redline CV-2 grease with my SO ratchets. Why? I use it with my cars, bikes, lawnmowers etc. and it seems to work fine with the ratchets too.
Some of the rebuild kits for sealed ones came with Superlube, so I used that in those cases. They all seem to work fine and feel just fine with both lubes.
Some of the rebuild kits for sealed ones came with Superlube, so I used that in those cases. They all seem to work fine and feel just fine with both lubes.
RIGHT ANSWER.
Snap On ships rebuild kits with superlube. But if you open a new SO ratchet you will find very little grease and little to none on the gear teeth. The grease goes under the gear against the housing.
popparoach
Banned
blood.and sweat. thats what red lube of love is made of.saw it on the internot.
WWheeler
Well-known member
Aaaaand that's why I open up brand new ratchets, clean them, and then give them a fairly liberal dose of superlube all around.
My brother saw me opening up a brand new dual 80 and started having a fit saying there's no reason ever to open up that ratchet for at least a couple years. So I stopped, and showed him exactly why.
I clamped a new bolt in the vise and started by hand a new nut on it (9/16 or 5/8 or thereabouts). I put a deep socket on the ratchet and and tried to tighten the nut down on the bolt holding only the ratchet. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible. There was no ratcheting going on. I was only moving the nut back and forth.
I then went back to disassembling and cleaning the guts of my new snap on ratchet in mineral spirits and then superlubed everything as I put it all back together. back to the same nut on same bolt, and this time I was easily able to turn that loose nut down and back up the bolt using the ratchet.
It's all about the back drag.
I keep all my ratchets like that all the time.
Teenager with old tools
Well-known member
I have used just normal grease made my ratchet much much smoother
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Capt Chrysler
Well-known member
Same thing SO told me years ago. I was hard on ratchets. So I really never had to worry about lube.
Capt. Chrysler
four.cycle
Well-known member
you mean like this?
I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations.
I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations.
FlushingDIYer
Well-known member
you mean like this?
I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations.
Has anyone done a run-down of what oils work best? When I purchased my SK ratchet new, I kind of expected it to come with a little piece of paper that read, "SK recommends _____ oil in their ratchets..." I'm a big fan of factory specs...
four.cycle
Well-known member
I use Marvel Mystery Oil.
On some of the older coarse-tooth designs (20-tooth Walden-Worcester #3150, old Penens 1/2" drive 1661, Walden-Worcester 1150) I put a tiny dab of white lithium grease on the gear teeth.
I think you'll find (if you read enough of these "What ratchet lube?" threads) that the guys using the "Super Lube" are more often than not using the newer "super fine tooth" designed ratchets. (Finest action I own is the 52-tooth Indestro RHFT models.)
YMMV.
On some of the older coarse-tooth designs (20-tooth Walden-Worcester #3150, old Penens 1/2" drive 1661, Walden-Worcester 1150) I put a tiny dab of white lithium grease on the gear teeth.
I think you'll find (if you read enough of these "What ratchet lube?" threads) that the guys using the "Super Lube" are more often than not using the newer "super fine tooth" designed ratchets. (Finest action I own is the 52-tooth Indestro RHFT models.)
YMMV.
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FlushingDIYer
Well-known member
Sounds like a good oil to use if you ask me. Thanks for the heads up. Do you think a few drops of high end full synthetic motor oil would work, too?
four.cycle
Well-known member
I think it's just mineral oil with red dye.... not sure.
Can't speculate on any synthetic oils... sold a lot of it, but never used any.
another S-K for your collection. not bad if you can beat him down:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-Drive-R...066564?hash=item360dc239c4:g:fhwAAOSwdIFXyx-E
After reflecting on it.... a while back somebody posted a photo here somewhere of a ratchet repair kit they had just received from the factory - can't recall if it was an S-K kit or not - and it contained a small plastic squeeze-pouch of what was determined to be that "Super Lube" product. Anybody remember that who might be able to dig it up? Was months ago... all I can recall now.
Can't speculate on any synthetic oils... sold a lot of it, but never used any.
another S-K for your collection. not bad if you can beat him down:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2-Drive-R...066564?hash=item360dc239c4:g:fhwAAOSwdIFXyx-E
After reflecting on it.... a while back somebody posted a photo here somewhere of a ratchet repair kit they had just received from the factory - can't recall if it was an S-K kit or not - and it contained a small plastic squeeze-pouch of what was determined to be that "Super Lube" product. Anybody remember that who might be able to dig it up? Was months ago... all I can recall now.
FlushingDIYer
Well-known member
72 teeth? Too many if you ask me!
Looks like the rebuild kits do come with some sort of lube... I think we need someone with a microscope to get to the bottom of this!
My new ratchets all functioned nicely. My ratcheting screw drivers needed some work, but mainly at the dreaded washer.
BUT YOU ARE DEAD ON. Back drag is super important. Sticky grease under the gear as I've said above absolutely can increase back drag. I think you want some grease there. But not some sticky stuff.
As for oils, sometimes I think too much is made of this subject. There are a couple different weights of mineral oil out there. Pick one. I use 3 in 1. I bought a gallon of clear mineral oil from my local pharmacy. I use that mostly. It's the same as 3 in 1. Some of the light weight oils creep out of their own cans. That's probably too fine.
There are synthetic oils out there that work great. But for our purposes, 3 in 1 is fine. As WW said, clean all parts in mineral spirits, be sure gears are spotless, no grit, oil all parts using 3 in 1, then apply a thin film of grease like super lube to the inside of the body, under the cover plate and reassemble. A good ratchet should make a metal on metal clicking sound. If it is quiet or dull sounding, you've over greased it.
you mean like this?
I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations.
see pictures
Attachments
toolaholic
Well-known member
I disobeyed and put super lube in. But it's a big 24 inch long 45 tooth 3/4 drive. I think I'll be fine.
I was thinking it was just for their duel pawl ratchets. (you can tell there is a lot going on in the ratchet head when your using it)
The 1/4 drive isn't stamped...
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DSLTRK
Well-known member
The best lube depends on the tool design and working conditions of the shop.
Light oil is best used on 'wedge' pawl ratchets such as the Matco 88, Mac Axis, Facom round head and Gearwrench 120XP.
It is also better suited for cold working conditions in all ratchet designs.
'Floating' pawl designs, like Proto and many Taiwan ratchets, also work well with oil. NO GREASE in these, they will strip.
Grease like Super Lube and RLL can be used on typical ratchet designs with the central pivoting pawl, like the Snap-On 830,936 series, Craftsman pears, and older Macs.
The Dual 80 also seems to do OK with Super Lube, even though it's a wedge pawl design.
And SK, Craftsman RHFT and even Wright roundheads seem to do ok with light grease (room temp).
The thing many people do, and the reason why many ratchets don't work and/or strip out, is they just put too much damn grease in the head.
Grease fills up the gear teeth and doesn't allow the spring to properly mesh the pawl with the gear, torque applied, then boom, the teeth shear off.
The issue is compounded in cold weather situations.
On wedge pawl designs, it 'grabs' the pawl, and tries to reverse direction. Matco and Gearwrench are especially prone to this.
What I do on my ratchets(Dual 80, SK, Craftsman, Matco, Duralast) is mix Super Lube with air tool oil, for a consistency that is much like ketchup. I've found my tools perform smoother and have a much more positive engagement. I've used my ratchets in 20* ambient temps and they had no issues.
Light oil is best used on 'wedge' pawl ratchets such as the Matco 88, Mac Axis, Facom round head and Gearwrench 120XP.
It is also better suited for cold working conditions in all ratchet designs.
'Floating' pawl designs, like Proto and many Taiwan ratchets, also work well with oil. NO GREASE in these, they will strip.
Grease like Super Lube and RLL can be used on typical ratchet designs with the central pivoting pawl, like the Snap-On 830,936 series, Craftsman pears, and older Macs.
The Dual 80 also seems to do OK with Super Lube, even though it's a wedge pawl design.
And SK, Craftsman RHFT and even Wright roundheads seem to do ok with light grease (room temp).
The thing many people do, and the reason why many ratchets don't work and/or strip out, is they just put too much damn grease in the head.
Grease fills up the gear teeth and doesn't allow the spring to properly mesh the pawl with the gear, torque applied, then boom, the teeth shear off.
The issue is compounded in cold weather situations.
On wedge pawl designs, it 'grabs' the pawl, and tries to reverse direction. Matco and Gearwrench are especially prone to this.
What I do on my ratchets(Dual 80, SK, Craftsman, Matco, Duralast) is mix Super Lube with air tool oil, for a consistency that is much like ketchup. I've found my tools perform smoother and have a much more positive engagement. I've used my ratchets in 20* ambient temps and they had no issues.
toolaholic
Well-known member
it says right on my big ole wright 3/4 oil only.
LoveLubricants
New member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2025
- Messages
- 1
Permatex is pretty good but the best is a small amount of Ky Jelly before each use. Try it and let me know what you think
Qualitytools
Well-known member
Super lube is what you need to use, you won’t regret it.