Craftsman Selector Swithes (again)

[Virgil Cain]

So, I'm sure this question has been asked before but I searched and couldn't find it.

This Christmas I received a Craftsman 255 piece tool set. I think my wife must have heard me make a comment about buying a few more Craftsman tools while U.S. made stock was still available.

So the ratchets in this set are U.S. made, and look like the Chinese made variant currently selling as singles on Sears shelves (as has been reviewed previously in this forum). The Chinese ratchets are a little less well finished (but the U.S. version isn't anything to write home about, nothing like what you could get in the 60's and 70's) and a little bulkier. Of course, the other glaring difference is that the Chinese variant as a metal selector switch while the U.S. version is plastic.

So, the question naturally occurs, can I get a rebuild kit for the Chinese version with a metal selector switch and put it in my U.S. ratchet? If so, does anyone know the part number of the proper rebuild kit? My 3/8" ratchet is marked U.S.A. K1AB 44808. I can get the 1/4" and 1/2" ratchet part numbers if needed.

Apologies if this has been answered already.

 

[BMcC]

There was another thread about the difference between the two. If I remember right, the two ratchet mechanisms are different, so I don't think that you can interchange the parts.

 

[Virgil Cain]

There was another thread about the difference between the two. If I remember right, the two ratchet mechanisms are different, so I don't think that you can interchange the parts.

This write up says that the mechanisms are interchangeable

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126875&highlight=chinese+craftsman+ratchet

Quote from that thread

Mechanism
The mechanism appears to be identical, but the USA ratchet had far more lube. The parts are interchangeable. I swapped gears between the two ratchets and the Chinese pawl worked fine with the American gear and vice versa. One obvious difference is that the Chinese quick release is slightly different. When you push the button the retainer ball retracts, but a small shaft also pops out of the end of the gear to help push off the attachment. Both mechanisms seem to work about the same. The USA ratchet is slightly quieter, but I believe that is because it has a thicker lube than the Chinese ratchet. The Chinese ratchet has a metal selector switch. The selector on the USA ratchet is plastic.

However, while the originator of that thread says he swapped the gear and the pawl, it doesn't say he swapped the selector, though at least superficially they look the same.

So, anyone know if I can get a rebuild kit for the Chinese version and use it in my U.S. built ratchet?

 

[byoungblood]

Do yourself a favor and buy better ratchets and don't worry about swapping internals, because you will still have a so-so tool at the end of the day. Craftsman should have given that design the heave-ho as soon as the thin profile ratchets showed up, but I guess they needed to keep a dirt cheap model on hand.

You don't have to run off and buy truck brand ratchets, but the Craftsman thin profile, Wright, Williams, S-K, etc., are all superior to those RP ratchets.

 

[shoturtle]

+1 get a better ratchet set, the rp ratchet is not worth the effort. And if you a really better ratchet with Asian innerspring. Just get the low profile kolbalt or craftsman thin profile. They are very smooth ratchet, and they get better lube properly.

 

[Virgil Cain]

Do yourself a favor and buy better ratchets and don't worry about swapping internals, because you will still have a so-so tool at the end of the day. Craftsman should have given that design the heave-ho as soon as the thin profile ratchets showed up, but I guess they needed to keep a dirt cheap model on hand.

You don't have to run off and buy truck brand ratchets, but the Craftsman thin profile, Wright, Williams, S-K, etc., are all superior to those RP ratchets.

The Craftsman raised panel ratchets are ok if you don't want or need a fine tooth ratchet. I've used ratchets of this type quite a bit and have rarely broken one. That said, I don't like the plastic selector switch. My local Sears will give me rebuild kits for free, so if I can swap the selector out, I don't see a reason not to given that it will take five minutes of my time.

In fact I have better ratchets than these, but these ratchets have their uses.

 

[kythri]

44808 USA-made has repair kit 43434
44808 Asia-made has repair kit 32764

The fact that there are different repair kits makes me question the long-term viability of an Asian-kit in a USA body and vice versa, but, at least you have the information to try.

Past that, there's really nothing wrong with the plastic selector. For all the gnashing of teeth about Craftsman raised-panel ratchets, they're good, functional tools that work, and you've got to be putting some serious stress on that selector (or directly hitting it with a hammer) to get the thing to break.

 

[Virgil Cain]

44808 USA-made has repair kit 43434
44808 Asia-made has repair kit 32764

The fact that there are different repair kits makes me question the long-term viability of an Asian-kit in a USA body and vice versa, but, at least you have the information to try.

Past that, there's really nothing wrong with the plastic selector. For all the gnashing of teeth about Craftsman raised-panel ratchets, they're good, functional tools that work, and you've got to be putting some serious stress on that selector (or directly hitting it with a hammer) to get the thing to break.

Thanks for answering my question.

 

[jrodc455]

The parts aren't interchangeable, other than the gear.

 

[Unearthed]

I would replace them with better ratchets. My son got a Craftsman 150 or 180 or somesuch piece tool set whem he was 11 years old. I took the ratchets out and gave them away to the needy. He has Proto Big Dawgs in the place of the Craftsmans.

 

[BMcC]

This write up says that the mechanisms are interchangeable

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126875&highlight=chinese+craftsman+ratchet

Quote from that thread


However, while the originator of that thread says he swapped the gear and the pawl, it doesn't say he swapped the selector, though at least superficially they look the same.

QUOTE]

That's not the same thread I was thinking of. The one I remember, (and it might have been on the Craftsman community forum), showed the internal Sears memo on how to repair the ratchets from both with each requiring the proper rebuild kit.

Either way, if Stephen from the other thread was able to swap the mechanism, it must be possible...