Broke my ratchet greasing it ..........

[SMKS]

Is this the 60 tooth model? I can't seem to find this model on the Matco website.

You may be right about it being broken. I may have to eat crow, because it looks like there may be a chipped tooth on the pawl. I pointed it out in these pics. It was probably already broken when you bought it, hence why it didn't work properly. I don't see how you opening it would chip a tooth on the pawl.

If this is a 60 tooth, then it should be the same as the 60 tooth Armstrong I have. My pawl has 11 teeth. Your pawl has 10 and a gap in the middle where it looks like one is missing. Unless the pawls are somehow different, it looks like it might be missing a tooth.

My 60 tooth Armstrong ratchet. 11 teeth on the pawl.

Your ratchet. 10 teeth on the pawl and note the gap where a tooth appears to be missing.

 

[willhollin]

Well spotted!

 

[thesilverone]

Screw superlube, RLL that ratchet.

 

[marnav1]

Good eye Steve I'll check that out.

 

[marnav1]

I checked that pawl, no missing teeth lol. I think I'm gonna just send it to Matco.

 

[TwoInch]

did you flip the pawl over and put it back together?

i do believe the side with the two circles goes out, which is backwards from the way it is assembled in the pictures. i think i remember assembling one of mine wrong when i took them apart.

 

[marnav1]

The pawl has a deep cut and a shallow cut, the deep cut has to face out or it wont go back together. I tried. This is some crazy stuff, gettin my *** beat by a ratchet .......
Some mechanic I turned out to be.

 

[Bill R.]

I had always used mobil one synthetic grease in mine, a very small amount. When i got the 88 tooth matco gear kit it came with a small packet of marvel mystery oil and the instructions said to use it instead of grease. Worked much better and reduced the friction or resistance to ratchet greatly. I went through and redid all my others with marvel mystery oil now.

 

[Gary S]

Over 50 years ago, my Grandpa told me,
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

 

[marnav1]

Over 50 years ago, my Grandpa told me,
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Too late now Gary lol!

 

[nine4gmc]

Over 50 years ago, my Grandpa told me,
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

Sometimes a man just needs to work on something...

 

[OEXL16B]

Is there a hole drilled into the body for a plunger spring to go into? Have you tried pulling the selector out to see what's going on? On that ratchet, it looks like there would need to be something pushing on the selector for the selector to hold tension against the pawl.

 

[Jeeper]

So while I was waiting for my zero turn mower's battery to charge, I checked several of my matco/armstrong/gearwrench innards. I have both 88 tooth and 60 tooth. All of the 1/4" 60 tooth had that missing tooth in the middle. The 3/8 & 1/2" did not have the missing teeth in the 60 tooth. The 88 tooth did not have a missing tooth.

 

[marnav1]

Is there a hole drilled into the body for a plunger spring to go into? Have you tried pulling the selector out to see what's going on? On that ratchet, it looks like there would need to be something pushing on the selector for the selector to hold tension against the pawl.

How does the selector come out? I dont see any screws.

 

[chris6278]

Isnt there supposed to be a spring that goes into the selector switch that the paw sits on top of? Im not seeing that in the pics. That could be the problem the spring is missing

 

[chris6278]

How does the selector come out? I dont see any screws.

Once the paw and gear is removed just push it out with your finger or flip the ratchet over and pull it out

 

[magova1104]

Honestly, I never greased or oiled a ratchet. I have seen many members like to do it to improve them or make them worse. I think when you have several ratchets and make normal use of them, you don't need to grease or lubricate them. Unless of course, just for fun!

 

[John316]

Is there a hole drilled into the body for a plunger spring to go into? Have you tried pulling the selector out to see what's going on? On that ratchet, it looks like there would need to be something pushing on the selector for the selector to hold tension against the pawl.

Many danaher ratchets use this basic design as we all know. I have several Gearwrench 60 tooth ratchets that have no spring under the selector and no hole for it, but only a single spring under the pawl. My Armstrong flex 60 and nonflex 88 are the same. I do however have a Napa branded ratchet that is basically a gearwrench clone which does have a spring under the selector as well as under the pawl. otherwise they appear to be the same. I guess they decided the second spring was not necessary at some point.

 

[OEXL16B]

How does the selector come out? I dont see any screws.

I'm guessing it just pushes out from the topside of the ratchet body; that's the way you do it on a Snap-on 936. You're probably either missing the plunger spring, or it's not seated in there correctly.

 

[chris6278]

I'm guessing it just pushes out from the topside of the ratchet body; that's the way you do it on a Snap-on 936. You're probably either missing the plunger spring, or it's not seated in there correctly.

Yea i think hes missing the spring cause im not seeing it in his pics

 

[Slingshot Engage]

Binet Scale of Human Intelligence
IQ Score

Over 140 Genius or Near-Genius
120 - 139 Very Superior
110 - 119 Superior
90 - 109 Average or Normal
80 - 89 Dull
70 - 79 Borderline Deficiency
50 - 69 *****
20 - 49 Imbecile
Below 20 Idiot

 

[OEXL16B]

Yea i think hes missing the spring cause im not seeing it in his pics

That's because he hasn't pulled the selector out yet.

 

[TwoInch]

The pawl has a deep cut and a shallow cut, the deep cut has to face out or it wont go back together. I tried. This is some crazy stuff, gettin my *** beat by a ratchet .......
Some mechanic I turned out to be.

been quite a while since ive had one apart. i must be remembering incorrectly.

 

[TwoInch]

That's because he hasn't pulled the selector out yet.

the is between the selector and pawl. you do not need to take the selector out to see the spring.

 

[marnav1]

The little pin sticking out of the selector is spring loaded and its working ok.

 

[TwoInch]

okay, so i have a unused 3/8s 60t model that i dug out to help this guy out.

it has a spring inbetween the selector and pawl with a plastic point on the end, and a plain spring under the selector. the selector just pushes out of the top of the ratchet, the side without the square drive. very simple. just watch for the second spring to jump out at you.

 

[TwoInch]

The little pin sticking out of the selector is spring loaded and its working ok.

that is the spring. it should recess all the way into the selector. push it in and make sure it does.

 

[marnav1]

ok i'll give a go in the am. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[OEXL16B]

okay, so i have a unused 3/8s 60t model that i dug out to help this guy out.

it has a spring inbetween the selector and pawl with a plastic point on the end, and a plain spring under the selector. the selector just pushes out of the top of the ratchet, the side without the square drive. very simple. just watch for the second spring to jump out at you.

So you're saying his ratchet has TWO springs in it?

 

[TwoInch]

im saying my ratchet, which is the same design, has two springs in it. i cant say for sure if his does or not. i would guess yes.

 

[chris6278]

From the pics that he posted there is no spring. It goes between the selector and paw like twoinch said. Theres a little hole where it goes on the selector. If theres no spring then thats the problem. It may have feel out and he didnt notice it.

 

[TwoInch]

From the pics that he posted there is no spring. It goes between the selector and paw like twoinch said. Theres a little hole where it goes on the selector. If theres no spring then thats the problem. It may have feel out and he didnt notice it.

he has the spring from between the pawl and selector, you can see it in the pictures. the one im curious about is the one under the selector, but he hasn't gotten the selector out yet...

whether his has the second spring is yet to be determined. some say theirs have only one spring. mine all have 2 springs. but if it did have the second spring, i think it would be obvious, it pops the selector halfway out of the ratchet when you take the gear and pawl out. maybe the 1/4" drives are different.

im having a hard time with what could be the problem here. its such a straight forward design.... if that spring is recessing fully into the pawl, it should work. the gear and pawl seem in good shape.

i dont think the ratchet is broken, i thing its operator error. but i have been wrong on more than one occasion... so take it for what it is.

 

[OEXL16B]

im saying my ratchet, which is the same design, has two springs in it. i cant say for sure if his does or not. i would guess yes.

Is there anything on the end of the springs like a steel ball or something?

 

[Mr Ratchet]

I have a similar Matco 1/4" ratchet (AR8T), a GearWrench and two Armstrong ratchets that are the same design. None of them have a spring under the selector. I use Napa Sil-Glyde in my ratchets. If you get to much on the pawl and the spring and plunger the result is the same as yours.

Clean ALL of the internal parts put it back together with NO lube and see how it works. If it works fine, take it a part and try to lightly lube it. Pay attention to the paw and plunger to not over load it with lube.

 

[marnav1]

Here are the parts: Its hard to believe that spring works the selector, it's TINY. I can see now how grease could cause issues. I will reassemble today dry and see. A couple drops of oil for this type ratchet .............

 

[marnav1]

See where the pawl fits under the lip of the selector slightly? The pawl has a deep cut on one side, a shallow on the other. When I put the shallow side up I couldn't get the pawl to fit under the lip. But I will try again, hopefully it will work. Good pics btw, I can't seem to get the real close up stuff.

 

[marnav1]

Well I just assembled it dry and it still does not work. The selector just does not have enough tension to stay engaged on the left. When you spin the ratchet the selector moves toward the center and locks the ratchet. If you spin it slowly sometimes it will stay.
When I flip it right it's fine. Guess I'll send it in to Matco, IDK what else to try. Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it really.
I might try a rebuild kit but if it doesn't have the selector parts I don't think it will work out. Are rebuild kits availible (no tool truck) somewhere?

 

[Outlawmws]

Does the button that goes over the spring freely slide in the pawl? If there is a burr, that might mass things up. if there is a burr, use a sharpening stone to stone it off and smooth.

Also, if all else fails, stretch the spring a tiny bit to increase its tension.

 

[John316]

Well I just assembled it dry and it still does not work. The selector just does not have enough tension to stay engaged on the left. When you spin the ratchet the selector moves toward the center and locks the ratchet. If you spin it slowly sometimes it will stay.
When I flip it right it's fine. Guess I'll send it in to Matco, IDK what else to try. Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it really.
I might try a rebuild kit but if it doesn't have the selector parts I don't think it will work out. Are rebuild kits availible (no tool truck) somewhere?

When you reassemble is the spring positioned in the center of the pawl or off to one side?

 

[TwoInch]

Is there anything on the end of the springs like a steel ball or something?

in mine, the two spring are both the same, with the little sleeve on the end.

so it seems the 1/4" does not have the second spring then?