Craftsman Ratchet rebuild

[beerdog]

Does Craftsman sell parts to rebuild 1/2 ratchets? Got a nice older (not too old) craftsman extra-lentgth swivel head 1/2 ratchet. The ratchet mechanism is a bit sticky. I could probably just bring it in but it was my grandpa's and he took the time to nicely engrave his name on it. Penmanship was ery important to him. Anyways, can't give it up.

 

[billymade]

Post a pic or a part # and we can tell you if they still make the rebuild kit.

 

[Outlawmws]

Does Craftsman sell parts to rebuild 1/2 ratchets? Got a nice older (not too old) craftsman extra-lentgth swivel head 1/2 ratchet. The ratchet mechanism is a bit sticky. I could probably just bring it in but it was my grandpa's and he took the time to nicely engrave his name on it. Penmanship was ery important to him. Anyways, can't give it up.

Just take it apart, clean the old gunged grease out, give it a new thin coating of light grease and see if it even needs a rebuild kit...

 

[beerdog]

It is a model #44974. You can see the extent that he went to demonstrate his good penmanship.....even with the hand engraver.

 

[beerdog]

Never question an Outlaw. I will try your advice.

 

[billymade]

Rebuild kits are no longer made for that one; it maybe possible if you find a PMT who is nice, to piece together some parts from used parts, from other ratchets of the same era or the next generation with the newer style lever might have some parts that work (re-use your lever). The next generation after your ratchet; Sears has reproduced the kits for them, you might get lucky with them being compatible! Good luck!

 

[jrodc455]

He could use the gear and spring and ball bearing out of the new kits.

 

[beerdog]

PMT? That term is unfamiliar to me. Thanks for the advice.

The ratchet still works OK. Just used it today to tighten some tie rods on the toy.

 

[geologist]

It is a model #44974. You can see the extent that he went to demonstrate his good penmanship.....even with the hand engraver.

Vaguely familiar.... The "S" got a bit wonky due to blemish from use.

 

[beerdog]

Mine is at least 22 years old because that is when gramps passed on. This one has a little oil hole with a spring loaded check valve in the head. What oil would be best for this?

 

[geologist]

Mine is at least 202 years old because that is when gramps passed on. This one has a little oil hole with a spring loaded check valve in the head. What oil would be best for this?

Sewing machine oil or "3-in-1" oil. You really want a very light oil. Some guys use the Red Lube of Love (Permatex Red Engine Assembly Lube).

 

[beerdog]

Thanks. This is the first time I am taking apart a ratchet. There were some metal shavings clogging up the gear. Removed those and semsot move OK. Now to figure out how that little ball is supposed to be position.

 

[billymade]

A SEARS PMT (Preventative Maintenance Technician); usually is the person who rebuilds the ratchets for warranty exchange, they are in the back and generally do no deal with the public but you could ask for whoever rebuilds the ratchets, talk with them about your particular ratchet.

Ratchet rebuild instructions: while not exactly the same as yours; this should give you an idea of how things go together.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=213337

 

[beerdog]

I see. I have a Sears warranty and parts center by my house. I will stop by.

 

[beerdog]

Back together and working fine. Thanks for the advice. I will have t give a good complete cleaning and greasing later.

 

[Outlawmws]

 

[Even 11]

Score! I have a nearly identical ratchet that was my dads. I broke a couple teeth on the drive gear and damaged the pawl too. I ended up buying one off ebay, using its guts on dad's ratchet and then warrantying out the ebay rat with bad guts. RLL works great on this style too, Nice Ratchet!

-Dane

 

[MN Falcon]

Just take it apart, clean the old gunged grease out, give it a new thin coating of light grease and see if it even needs a rebuild kit...

Thin coating of light grease, oil like 3 in 1 oil? I read one of the other posts where the guy packed his with bearing grease. I have been going through my ratchets and my stepfathers and have been using a pretty thick coating of bearing grease. It seems to work fine, haven't tried to use any at -20F though yet. They seem to work really smoothly now. Is there any real downside to such a thick coating of such a thick grease?

 

[barcalo]

A SEARS PMT (Preventative Maintenance Technician); usually is the person who rebuilds the ratchets for warranty exchange, they are in the back and generally do no deal with the public but you could ask for whoever rebuilds the ratchets, talk with them about your particular ratchet.

Ratchet rebuild instructions: while not exactly the same as yours; this should give you an idea of how things go together.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=213337

This is interesting because when I asked these sorts of questions to the employees at the local Sears here they said all of their rebuilt ratchets come from Mexico and that nothing is done inhouse. Hey maybe they meant New Mexico?

 

[Outlawmws]

Thin coating of light grease, oil like 3 in 1 oil? I read one of the other posts where the guy packed his with bearing grease. I have been going through my ratchets and my stepfathers and have been using a pretty thick coating of bearing grease. It seems to work fine, haven't tried to use any at -20F though yet. They seem to work really smoothly now. Is there any real downside to such a thick coating of such a thick grease?

Packing a lot of extra grease can actually interfere with the proper functioning of the pawls to the ratchet gear. Especially for fine tooth ratchets. It doesn't take a lot of grease to keep it lubed, and grease is heavy enough if in there thick to prevent full engagement of the pawl to the gear, leading to slipping of the gears, even to stripping of the gears due to not being fully engaged.

 

[billymade]

AFAIK, ratchets have always been rebuilt in house on location (at least when I worked there); unless, Sears has changed the policy and "shipped out" that process too? Can any current Sears employees confirm this? I wouldn't be surprised if the employees are wrong; its very common to get wrong or conflicting information from your typical Sears employee, clueless wonders are the norm.

 

[MN Falcon]

Packing a lot of extra grease can actually interfere with the proper functioning of the pawls to the ratchet gear. Especially for fine tooth ratchets. It doesn't take a lot of grease to keep it lubed, and grease is heavy enough if in there thick to prevent full engagement of the pawl to the gear, leading to slipping of the gears, even to stripping of the gears due to not being fully engaged.

Thanks, I will clean them up and just use a light coating. I haven't yet used one of the ones I have cleaned up yet. I just tried it on an old -V- of mine from the early '80s and it seemed to stop the skipping. So I have done a couple more of mine since and a couple of my stepfather's. I was planning on getting to all of them soon, but I will get my stepfather's cleaned up again before I bring them back to him this weekend. As bad as the flex head was in the other post of mine I really thought it would need a kit, but the teeth all looked good and the pawl as well. Maybe I will stop and get some assembly lube tonight, I still like the idea of a grease over the oil.

AFAIK, ratchets have always been rebuilt in house on location (at least when I worked there); unless, Sears has changed the policy and "shipped out" that process too? Can any current Sears employees confirm this? I wouldn't be surprised if the employees are wrong; its very common to get wrong or conflicting information from your typical Sears employee, clueless wonders are the norm.

I can't give a official answer because I am not am employee, but I do have another 1/2" drive -V- series and have tried to find a kit to do the rebuild myself and looking in my stepfather's box I figured I would keep asking. I have 4 stores close enough to me that I can drive to them. They all have people that rebuild them. The store closest to me has a ratchet nazi do theirs, he supposedly is in the store when ever he feels like coming in and locks everything so that the other employees cannot even let someone know if he has the parts to do your ratchet. The only option in that store is to give them your ratchet, they will put a piece of tape on it and maybe rebuild yours and give it back to you. A buddy of mine dropped his off and they couldn't rebuild his at the time so they threw his away and gave him a rebuilt from the drawer -- I would prefer to have mine, the one that my mom and step, gave me when I graduated from high school

A couple other stores have actually looked for me. One store the kid said he does the rebuilds I only had the ratchet not the part number and he retrieved a kit for me, I looked at it, it was for a round head I told him that and left it at that, figured I would try to get in there again soon and see if they have the part number. The other place was just as great, they checked stock and didn't have the 1/2" drive, but they did have the 3/8" drive kits, so for now I know where to go to get those if I need them

So basically it looks like they have a guy that comes in to repair them, then depending on the store they let you repair your own or the employees can repair them for you.

 

[Kevin54]

9 times outta 10 you don't need a rebuild kit for a Crapsman ratchet. Dismantle it. Use a rag around it when you do so parts don't fly. Pull the spring and ball, clean the ratchet and ball and spring. Take two pliers and stretch spring slightly and reassemble using a good grease. I did this to all three of mine and they haven't failed me yet.

 

[SMKS]

Sears brought back the rebuild kits for these older ratchets last year. I've had at least one or two of this older style ratchet rebuilt since the kits were brought back.

The kits will not work in ratchets that don't have the quick release.

This should be the kit you need.
http://www.fastenal.com/web/products/detail.ex?sku=0231454&ucst=t

This thread has more info, including posts from someone who rebuilds ratchets at Sears.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87337

 

[Ponchoguy]

Actually, I am "Joe" that Lauver (Gary) refers to as the compiler of the Sears Craftsman ratchet kit list. I took Adam's list and made it "electronic" some years ago.

I actually have it updated in MS Excel if anyone wants a copy of it. It makes it easy to find your kit number. I did not add in the Asian made units, but I can if you'd like me to.

My local Sears does still stock repair kits, so I'm going to take a ride there in the near future to see what I can get.

What should I be asking for in terms of 1/4" QR #43175, 3/8" QR #43784 and 1/2" QR #44985? I just bought a 44985 on Ebay that needs some help, I haven't gotten it yet so I don't know if it just needs a cleaning or not.

True to what many have said, a quick disassembly and cleaning most times will renew an old friend into like new condition---I just cleaned and lubed 12 of mine today. Most didn't need it, but all work a bit smoother now being clean. Most didn't require more than removing and cleaning the bearing plate/gear assembly and a little oil around the whole unit to make it work.

I just bought some QR kits off Ebay, but I think that they are for a #43186 and won't work on my #43175. I lost the ball on that, but have all the original pieces. Anyone know what ball size I need for that?

Thanks.

 

[Ponchoguy]

Here's the list as a cut and paste:

Ratchet # Drive Size Description Kit # Status
44807 1/4" Teardrop Quick Release 43424
44812 1/4" Teardrop Quick Release, Fine Tooth 43424
43187 1/4" Round Head, Fine Tooth 43426
43174 1/4" Round Head 43425
43186 1/4" Teardrop Quick Release 43427 obsolete
43795 1/4” Tri-Wing Round Head 44795 obsolete
44994 1/4" Teardrop Quick Release Thin Profile 43432
49951 1/4” Teardrop Flex Head 29669
2548 3/8” Premium Grade 2886
44813 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Full Polish 43434
44833 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Full Polish, Long 43434
44808 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Long 43434
44811 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release 43434
44815 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Flex 43434
44834 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Stubby 43434
44835 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Offset 43434
44836 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Flex Ergo 43434
44837 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Black Oxide 43434
43781 3/8" Round Head, Fine Tooth 43436
42794 3/8" Round Head, Fine Tooth, Flex 43436
43175 3/8" Round Head 43435
43784 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release 43437 obsolete
43796 3/8” Tri-Wing Round Head 44796 obsolete
44593 3/8" Torque Wrench 44525
44594 3/8" Torque Wrench 44525
44596 3/8" Torque Wrench 44525
44995 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Thin Profile 43438
44593 3/8" Torque Wrench 44525
44594 3/8" Torque Wrench 44525
44596 3/8" Torque Wrench 44525
44995 3/8" Teardrop Quick Release, Thin Profile 43438
25482 1/2" Premium Grade 2887
43797 1/2" Tri-Wing Round Head 44797 obsolete
44814 1/2" Teardrop Quick Release, Full Polish 43444
44809 1/2" Teardrop Quick Release 43444
44816 1/2" Teardrop Quick Release, Flex 43444
44838 1/2" Teardrop Quick Release, Black Oxide 43444
44977 1/2" Round Head, Fine Tooth 43446
44983 1/2" Round Head, Fine Tooth, Flex 43446
43176 1/2" Round Head 43445
44985 1/2" Teardrop Quick Release 43447 obsolete
44595 1/2" Torque Wrench 43445
44597 1/2" Torque Wrench 43445
44996 1/2" Teardrop Quick Release, Thin Profile. 43439
44804 3/4" Teardrop Quick Release 43449
44973 1/2" Round Head, Flex 44639
44978 1/2" Round Head 44639

 

[Outlawmws]

Actually, I am "Joe" that Lauver (Gary) refers to SNIP.

I just bought some QR kits off Ebay, but I think that they are for a #43186 and won't work on my #43175. I lost the ball on that, but have all the original pieces. Anyone know what ball size I need for that?

Thanks.

Joe, are you talking about the detent ball for the socket, or something inside?

If the detent ball I would think most if not all other 1/4" ratchets would use the same ball, at least for the same MFG.

ps: thanks for the updated list!

 

[Ponchoguy]

Outlaw:

Yes, the little ball on top of the spring that some of us tend to lose . I tried one from another 1/4" Craftsman kit and it doesn't work. I even tried using the spring and ball as a "matched set" and it seems like it's too short and won't engage the reverse mechanism.

I thought I read somewhere that the ball for the 43175 is a little bigger, and some of the earlier kits covered the 43186 and the 43175, but now those same kits (with the same stock #) don't cover the 43175. Maybe someone working at Sears that rebuilds them can comment on that...

Sure, no problem on the list. If there is a need to add the Asian made units, I will do so on a separate tab of the spreadsheet.

 

[jakemac]

Bring the ratchet case to your local hardware store that has a good assortment of hardware bins. One of them should be a drawer full of loose ball bearings. Find the one that fits the hole.
Both Midwest Fastener and Hillman carry an assortment.

Buy extras.

A BB might be the right size as well.

 

[Ponchoguy]

I have a True Value by me that would have that stuff (yes, even in the NYC suburbs... ). If not, one of the guys I work with probably has them, so I will go that route...

 

[rick carpenter]

Here's the list as a cut and paste:

Ratchet # Drive Size Description Kit # Status
44807 1/4" Teardrop Quick Release 43424
...

Ponchoguy, do you know if any of the OEMs have rebuild kits for the ones Sears says are obsolete?

 

[Ponchoguy]

I'm not sure about that. I would think that a similar kit (from Easco or KD) would work as I can't see them making the designs that different....

Most of the obsolete ones turn up on Ebay now and then, but get a little pricey.....I was thinking of crafting a letter to Danaher and asking that question. I've found them to be not too responsive with regard to customer service....

 

[Ponchoguy]

For those that are wondering, the "modern" (it's actually obsolete) #43427 kit that fixes a #43186 (that's a later V series) 1/4" ratchet will also work (for the most part) on a #43175 V series. I had to "stretch" the spring a bit (I may have gone too far ), but it will work in the 43175.

I'm going to try to find the right ball bearing and put back the old parts and use the new QR in the kit. I thought I read somewhere that ATF is good for freeing up the gear assembly/QR button (currently stuck).

Comments welcome.

 

[Outlawmws]

A 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone has a great rep as a penetrating oil; unfortunately they don't like to stay mixed well, and the acetone will eat many plastics so mix small amount and use something that will allow a good shaking. (Think glass baby food jar, but keep it where you aren't likely to break it...)

Kroil is also very well thought of.

 

[Ponchoguy]

I'll give it a try......a friend should have all that stuff so I'll give it to him and see if he's got the right size ball bearing before I can head to the hardware store...

 

[Ponchoguy]

Bring the ratchet case to your local hardware store that has a good assortment of hardware bins. One of them should be a drawer full of loose ball bearings. Find the one that fits the hole.
Both Midwest Fastener and Hillman carry an assortment.

Buy extras.

A BB might be the right size as well.

Fits the hole or sits on top of the spring? It seems that the later 1/4" drive units (like the 44807) use a smaller ball and spring than the "V" series like the 43175. I actually got it with a lot of tools I bought on Ebay, so I was happy with that .

 

[jakemac]

Fits the hole or sits on top of the spring?

6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other.

If it just fits in the hole, then it should also sit on top of the spring. You don't want a ball that slips down the inside of the spring, it would serve no purpose.

 

[Ponchoguy]

The 43175 has a bigger ball than the 44807's which came later and I suspect different from the 43186 which came after the 43175 but before the 44807.

 

[MN Falcon]

I just picked up a Craftsman Industrial Round Head 1/2" ratchet from Sears #23809 I think they say its 45 tooth. Anyone know what the rebuild kit for this ratchet would be. I am actually really impressed by this ratchet. Nice sized round handle. The finish on the handle is really nice but the flat face on the drive side is a little pitted under the chrome (just not polished as well as some would like -- I could care less though) I have only had it a short time now and really like it more than my RP ratchets so I would like to know if there is a kit available to keep it going if I mess it up. After a little searching this industrial ratchet looks very similar to the Craftsman 43176. Any thoughts? Anyone know if the 43176 is a 45 tooth ratchet?

 

[mjoekingz28]

I just got this ratchet too, the 23809.

Would anybody be willing to help me put it together? I dismantled it in order to grease it but no matter which way i put it back together it wont function properly. TIA