Craftsman Fine Tooth round head assembly trick

[66HertzClone]

I decided it was time to take part my 3/8 drive craftsman fine tooth ratchet and clean it and relube it. I was pretty dirty inside and deserved the cleaning, I have a tube of the Permatex red assembly lube and used it. I am having trouble, as I'm sure other have had getting it back together, the snap ring just refuses to play nice. So, any tips on what tool I should be using when trying to get it back together again?

 

[Zexx]

When I used to rebuild these I would place the forward/reverse just in the middle to pull the pawls in. I would then use a small pair of needle nose pliers to compress the snap ring. Holding the assembly by the pliers I would then place it in the handle, pressing with my other hand to get it fully seated. You will need to have the handle propped up or in a vice to allow clearance.
Obviously, make sure the snap ring groove is clean, and the snap ring is in the correct place, it can easily shift out of its groove in the ratchet assembly.

 

[ganymede]

.... You will need to have the handle propped up or in a vice to allow clearance.
Obviously, make sure the snap ring groove is clean, and the snap ring is in the correct place, it can easily shift out of its groove in the ratchet assembly.

All true. A vise is very helpful.
I grip the drive plug assembly with three fingers as its lowered into the ratchet head.
Thumb is on the drive plug, middle finger is on the direction switch to keep it in correct position and my pointer finger holds the stupid snap ring in its groove.

 

[crackit]

There's a lot of good advice here already. I recently lubed a 1/4" RHFT and found that a pair of mini bent needle nose pliers worked best for me.

 

[bonneyman]

Yep, know all about the snap ring on the RHFT. The one bad thing about the design.

Putting the snap ring behind the front knurled spinner makes it a pain to get to easily. As Zexx has said, cleanliness is essential. I've had some ratchets where there was so mud crud build up you couldn't compress the ring to disassemble the tool. (long soak in solvent and then manipulation, repeat, repeat). One rat I got had one of the tangs of the snap ring broken off. That was a real fight to get out.

 

[66HertzClone]

Thank you gentlemen, the three finger method worked, all back together and working smoothly. I have decided to leave the 1/4 drive one alone.