Disassembling Gearwrenches

[TheToolMan]

Has anyone ever disassembles a Gearwrench or any wratcheting wrench for that matter. Im curious how they go together. I really want to clean a few of my wrenches out and put in some Permatex lube. Anybody have a breakdown of disassembly

 

[nissan_crawler]

Nope, I just spray them out with degreaser when they get dirty, and leave them alone. I think permatex would be a disaster in them.

 

[autoace]

I just put them to the side, spray Kroil on the mechanism, clean the other tools, and then work them a bit, and wipe them off, seems to work fine.

 

[Fedwrench]

I'm not sure you can even disassemble a Gearwrench. This might be one of those cases where if it isn't broke, don't try to fix it. I also think that red permatex **** works better on 30 tooth actions and thin oil is better for the fine tooth actions but, that's just me.
There is a brass screw head sealed with clear rtv on some SK and Matco ratcheting wrenches. If you have those type perhaps you could try to remove it and insert your lube that way.

 

[The Ratchet Man]

Old thread I know...it proves I searched though.

Has anyone opened up a couple of Gearwrenches to see what the difference of the internals is between the Taiwan vs China. There is a definite difference in ratcheting action and feel on my sets and I'm curious to see what it is. My SAE are Taiwan and the metric are China.

I'm under the impression that these can't be technically disassembled. Has anybody opened these things up with a Dremel and took pictures? Or maybe there are some already posted that I didn't find?

I feel like Jarrod on Storage Wars when he comes across a locked safe. I must know what's inside even if it means total destruction...and I have a Dremel.

 

[bonneyman]

I, too, would like to know what the innards look like on a GW.
I've decided - when one of mine goes bad - I'll dremel it apart and take a look-see. Problem is, I've had the set for over 15 years now, and there's no sign of failure yet.

 

[Monte]

not GW but Gedore....

 

[The Ratchet Man]

not GW but Gedore....

That's like finding a safe with the combination written on the outside. That's no fun!

J/K. I wish GW were made like that so they could at least be cleaned out. They can be lubed from the outside but dirt that goes in doesn't come back out. The picture is of a reversible, correct?

I appreciate the picture. I'm still going to have to sacrifice a couple of GWs to find out the differences though.

 

[devilsnight]

I had a 'gear wrench' come apart once. I'll say this, after you see the tiny little pawl and spring in there you'll be amazed that these things even work! I dip the end in a bucket of oil and work em back and forth, clean em off, whenever they seem off. Has worked for me just fine. I don't see anyway you could actually take it apart.

 

[Monte]

yes, it´s a reversible one

 

[MikeF2316]

I, too, would like to know what the innards look like on a GW.
I've decided - when one of mine goes bad - I'll dremel it apart and take a look-see. Problem is, I've had the set for over 15 years now, and there's no sign of failure yet.

I have no problem at all disassembling one of my Gearwrenches. It's a Craftsman brand (on one side) and Gearwrench (on the other side). My 7/16 comes apart on its own if I use it quickly. I can't 100% say I got all the parts that fell out the first time, but when I reassemble it with the parts in the first picture it works fine.

 

[TwoInch]

I have no problem at all disassembling one of my Gearwrenches. It's a Craftsman brand (on one side) and Gearwrench (on the other side).

what do you mean by that? its double branded?

it looks like the reversible gearwrench design might be where the idea for the matco, armstrong, GW, CM premium ratchet mechanism came from. VERY similar design.

 

[91bronc300]

I don't know if this is China or Taiwan. I bought these new around 2006. I didn't disassemble this wrench either, it disassembled itself.

 

[The Ratchet Man]

I have no problem at all disassembling one of my Gearwrenches. It's a Craftsman brand (on one side) and Gearwrench (on the other side). My 7/16 comes apart on its own if I use it quickly. I can't 100% say I got all the parts that fell out the first time, but when I reassemble it with the parts in the first picture it works fine.

I don't know if this is China or Taiwan. I bought these new around 2006. I didn't disassemble this wrench either, it disassembled itself.

So the ring appears to hold everything together?

 

[fomocoforrester]

I don't know if this is China or Taiwan. I bought these new around 2006. I didn't disassemble this wrench either, it disassembled itself.

No - they're not designed to come apart - although a combination af unfavorable manufacturing tolerances and some unfair, odd angle loading, might allow the sprung circlip to start to work it's way out of its groove.

I imagine that an expert lock picker might have a tool to insert in the gap and achieve the same effect.

 

[PCO6]

I don't know if this is China or Taiwan. I bought these new around 2006. I didn't disassemble this wrench either, it disassembled itself.

Funny that you posted this when you did. I had the same wrench disassemble itself at about the same time that you posted this yesterday.

I was under the hood of my Jeep and the centre "jaw" ring and the spring clip landed on gravel. It took me longer to find the parts than it took to put them back together. It works fine now but I made a note to replace that set which is branded "Goodyear".

 

[MikeF2316]

So the ring appears to hold everything together?

Yes, there's a groove in the "socket" part and also in the box end body. That ring will fit entirely in the "socket" and as you assemble it expands so half is in the box end body and half still in the "socket" so everything stays together. Although I see the self disassembly has happened to a few others too.

 

[MikeF2316]

what do you mean by that? its double branded?

This is the same wrench, reassembled.

 

[The Ratchet Man]

Yes, there's a groove in the "socket" part and also in the box end body. That ring will fit entirely in the "socket" and as you assemble it expands so half is in the box end body and half still in the "socket" so everything stays together. Although I see the self disassembly has happened to a few others too.

Now that I know what holds it together I'll work on disassembly instead of destruction. I'm still interested to find out why the Taiwan feel different than the China. I have a known set of each to experiment with. Thanks for the input and pictures Mike, Bronc and Monte.

 

[bahcoswed]

Doesnt need to be any big difference! My bahco 7750 ratchet with dual 80 internals doesnt feel like my real SO dual 80! I have check several times and compare the internals on a f80,flf80 and it looks exactly same as the real thing! But my f80,flf80 feels alot better than bahco D80! Wtf

 

[cosmik binturong]

Doesnt need to be any big difference! My bahco 7750 ratchet with dual 80 internals doesnt feel like my real SO dual 80! I have check several times and compare the internals on a f80,flf80 and it looks exactly same as the real thing! But my f80,flf80 feels alot better than bahco D80! Wtf

could that be due to the infamous Snap-On Kool-Aid effect?

 

[TwoInch]

This is the same wrench, reassembled.

what was the wrench supposed to be? im assuming it was a craftsman set.

never saw that flaw before. but i have seen gearwrench non ratcheting wrenches that made it out of the factory without being broached on the box end. just a solid open box, no points.

 

[MikeF2316]

what was the wrench supposed to be? im assuming it was a craftsman set.

never saw that flaw before. but i have seen gearwrench non ratcheting wrenches that made it out of the factory without being broached on the box end. just a solid open box, no points.

Good assumption. I never thought that dual branding was anything special, I thought all the Craftsman ones were marked that way. Certainly all mine are, both SAE and metric. Maybe only Canadian ones?