Gearwrench Locking flex head ratchet quality concerns.

[cparman]

Hello All: I recently bought the set (P/N 81298T) which consists of a (1/2” - 81371T, 3/8 - 81267T and 1/4” - 81016T) ratchets. I analyzed all ratchets and found excessive drive gear side-to-side per the 3/8” drive ratchet in the set. the 1/4” drive ratchet has excessive drive gear side-to-side as well, surprisingly enough the 1/2” drive ratchet has very little drive gear side-to-side. I also noticed excessive side-to-side play at the flex joint. In order to eliminate the excessive side-to-side play at the joint I added some Blue lock tight to the threads and put the Torx head bolt back and tightened to the point where the side-to-side play was virtually eliminated. Has anyone bought any Grearwrench locking flex head ratchet or ratchets and experienced the same issues I encountered with Grearwrench locking flex head ratchets? I have attached two short videos showing the excessive drive gear side-to-side play.

Video #1:

Video #2:

 

[VolvoRyan]

You are not alone. Lots of us got these 90T's and found them to be..... "unsatisfactory". I'd prefer to use the term "junk".

When the calipers came out to figure out why these were so sloppy, I found that the pin through the joint was undersized, and the "fork" was too wide. So everything that could go wrong, is wrong.

Apparently, GearWrench has fixed the issue, but there have to be tons of the **** versions out there. Seems you got a **** set. If you can return them, I'd do that.

The problem is so widespread, that there's even a "fix" for it, involving some shims.

-Ryan

 

[cparman]

You are not alone. Lots of us got these 90T's and found them to be..... "unsatisfactory". I'd prefer to use the term "junk".

When the calipers came out to figure out why these were so sloppy, I found that the pin through the joint was undersized, and the "fork" was too wide. So everything that could go wrong, is wrong.

Apparently, GearWrench has fixed the issue, but there have to be tons of the **** versions out there. Seems you got a **** set. If you can return them, I'd do that.

The problem is so widespread, that there's even a "fix" for it, involving some shims.

-Ryan

I appreciate your response. Yesterday I visited a Matco dealer locally at a Auto repair shop and looked at the Matco locking flex head ratchets and found those Matco locking flex head ratchets of higher quality. I am particularly interested in the 1/4" - 13" length and 3/8" - 18" Matco locking flex head ratchets. Unfortunately the Matco dealer didn't have any. The Matco dealer is going to check his warehouse to see if he has any in stock and get back to me.

 

[VolvoRyan]

I appreciate your response. Yesterday I visited a Matco dealer locally at a Auto repair shop and looked at the Matco locking flex head ratchets and found those Matco locking flex head ratchets of higher quality. I am particularly interested in the 1/4" - 13" length and 3/8" - 18" Matco locking flex head ratchets. Unfortunately the Matco dealer didn't have any. The Matco dealer is going to check his warehouse to see if he has any in stock and get back to me.

The Matcos are wonderful. My 3/8" stuff is Matco. They are like a Swiss watch compared to the GearWrench. You do pay for them, though. What I paid for the three GearWrench ratchets could have bought me the 1/4" Matco.... but the GW purchase was a total waste of money. Lesson learned.

I think the GW ratchets live in my to-go bag for the salvage yard. I think. I was really upset with that purchase. It still kinda stings.

-Ryan

 

[VolvoRyan]

Wow. Only now did I just see your video! That's a new and different problem with those ratchets. Totally unacceptable.

Good luck!

-Ryan

 

[cparman]

Wow. Only now did I just see your video! That's a new and different problem with those ratchets. Totally unacceptable.

Good luck!

-Ryan

I know. I was very surprised to observe and feel the excessive side-to-side play in the drive gear. Even my early Craftsman ratchets do not have even close to that side-to-side play even after I bought head kits for my craftsman ratchets and put them in. On a side not, I have contacted a person at the Apex Tool Group (with respect to the Gearwrench line of hand tools named Bob Fohl) and raised a huge fuss about this. He responded, but kinda half hearted in making an attempt to investigate this issue and somewhat "****-ish" in his responses to me via Email.

 

[908Jim]

I just got a GearWrench 81218T 3/8 90 tooth quick release in the mail this afternoon and this thing feels like junk. I was shocked because of how highly regarded gear wrench ratchets are. I came on GJ to see if anybody else was complaining about the slop on the gears and came upon your post. It feels like it's going to just skip if you apply force wrong. Are the non-quick release versions this bad?

If anybody is checking, chrome finish is great but the gear mechanism is garbage. I'm talking worse than 2000s raised panel Craftsman.

Gun metal Chrome Craftsman 120 quick release ratchets are orders of magnitude better.

 

[Steve_P]

Hello All: I recently bought the set (P/N 81298T) which consists of a (1/2” - 81371T, 3/8 - 81267T and 1/4” - 81016T) ratchets. I analyzed all ratchets and found excessive drive gear side-to-side per the 3/8” drive ratchet in the set. the 1/4” drive ratchet has excessive drive gear side-to-side as well, surprisingly enough the 1/2” drive ratchet has very little drive gear side-to-side.

What is excessive? Does the ratchet function properly? Yes, the anvil/gear moves around- by design. Because the only thing that locates it is the OD of the gear, the machined recess portion in the ratchet head, and the clearance hole in the cover plate. Cost savings. I have 10+ GW 90T ratchets and they all somehow function perfectly fine despite this horrific flaw that a normal person doesn't notice during use.

Capri 90T and Tekton 90T locate the gear on the backside to the ratchet head; neither GW 90T or Matco 88T do this. Capri and Tekton have even less movement than my Snap On 72T 1/4 drive ratchets.

If your main priority is anvil movement, then Capri or Tekton is for you- with a limited selection in comparison to GW. The GW does have some machining cost savings but that is reflected in the price.

 

[VolvoRyan]

What is excessive?

How is this not excessive? You can see the whole plate and snap ring moving. There's like a mm gap there. The *only* way you can get this is with guts that are mismatched in size to the housing. If there's cost savings, it's from marrying parts from different revisions to the tools.

I should track down my 90T's. While I think they're terrible, they aren't terrible in this way. This is a new and different form of terrible.

-Ryan

 

[Wamsutta]

Did the OP buy the GearWrench first or did he buy the Snap-on first? I'm assuming he bought the GearWrench first.

 

[Steve_P]

How is this not excessive? You can see the whole plate and snap ring moving. There's like a mm gap there. The *only* way you can get this is with guts that are mismatched in size to the housing. If there's cost savings, it's from marrying parts from different revisions to the tools.

I should track down my 90T's. While I think they're terrible, they aren't terrible in this way. This is a new and different form of terrible.

-Ryan

Dunno, I watched most of his first video and the entire ratchet was moving around since it was just sitting unconstrained; I was getting seasick watching it; and I don't get seasick on a boat. If OP cannot clamp the ratchet in the vise to make a video that actually shows what he's trying to show, then I'm out.

The only difference between the Matco 88 and GW 90T mechanism design is Matco sits the cover plate on a machined step. Otherwise, they are the same; I have both and have swapped gears and pawls in 1/4 and 3/8 and they work fine. I have both and don't think either is better, and I'm not going to clamp them in a vise and get out an indicator to measure anvil movement, because that is irrelevant to me as long as the ratchet properly functions; and both do.

Now, maybe his GWs are junk, fine. The option is to buy a Matco at 3X the cost, or a Capri or Tekton if his main concern is gear movement. Or Snap On....

The answer is for OP to send the GW back for a refund and spend 3X as much.

 

[cparman]

Did the OP buy the GearWrench first or did he buy the Snap-on first? I'm assuming he bought the GearWrench first.

I ordered the Gearwrench first from Acme Tools online, they were on back order for 3 weeks. In the meantime I bought a Snap-On locking flex head ratchet from a local dealer that gave me a 25% discount. You assumed sorta wrong and I don't understand your point and it doesn't matter what I bought first.

 

[cparman]

Dunno, I watched most of his first video and the entire ratchet was moving around since it was just sitting unconstrained; I was getting seasick watching it; and I don't get seasick on a boat. If OP cannot clamp the ratchet in the vise to make a video that actually shows what he's trying to show, then I'm out.

The only difference between the Matco 88 and GW 90T mechanism design is Matco sits the cover plate on a machined step. Otherwise, they are the same; I have both and have swapped gears and pawls in 1/4 and 3/8 and they work fine. I have both and don't think either is better, and I'm not going to clamp them in a vise and get out an indicator to measure anvil movement, because that is irrelevant to me as long as the ratchet properly functions; and both do.

Now, maybe his GWs are junk, fine. The option is to buy a Matco at 3X the cost, or a Capri or Tekton if his main concern is gear movement. Or Snap On....

The answer is for OP to send the GW back for a refund and spend 3X as much.

Steve_P and Wamsutta: I even had a Matco dealer look over my Gearwrench locking flex head ratchets (the 1/4" and 3/8") and he was even surprised of the amount of side-to-side play with the anvil (drive gear). So stop the hatin'

 

[cparman]

What is excessive? Does the ratchet function properly? Yes, the anvil/gear moves around- by design. Because the only thing that locates it is the OD of the gear, the machined recess portion in the ratchet head, and the clearance hole in the cover plate. Cost savings. I have 10+ GW 90T ratchets and they all somehow function perfectly fine despite this horrific flaw that a normal person doesn't notice during use.

Capri 90T and Tekton 90T locate the gear on the backside to the ratchet head; neither GW 90T or Matco 88T do this. Capri and Tekton have even less movement than my Snap On 72T 1/4 drive ratchets.

If your main priority is anvil movement, then Capri or Tekton is for you- with a limited selection in comparison to GW. The GW does have some machining cost savings but that is reflected in the price.

I have two Tekton ratchets and they have little side-to-side anvil play.

 

[cparman]

I just got a GearWrench 81218T 3/8 90 tooth quick release in the mail this afternoon and this thing feels like junk. I was shocked because of how highly regarded gear wrench ratchets are. I came on GJ to see if anybody else was complaining about the slop on the gears and came upon your post. It feels like it's going to just skip if you apply force wrong. Are the non-quick release versions this bad?

If anybody is checking, chrome finish is great but the gear mechanism is garbage. I'm talking worse than 2000s raised panel Craftsman.

Gun metal Chrome Craftsman 120 quick release ratchets are orders of magnitude better.

I'm glad someone else (and Ryan) agrees on the Gearwrench ratchet quality is sub par. I too believed the Hype on Gearwrench ratchets on Youtube reviews. So I will not be buying Gearwrench tools and anymore.

 

[cparman]

What is excessive? Does the ratchet function properly? Yes, the anvil/gear moves around- by design. Because the only thing that locates it is the OD of the gear, the machined recess portion in the ratchet head, and the clearance hole in the cover plate. Cost savings. I have 10+ GW 90T ratchets and they all somehow function perfectly fine despite this horrific flaw that a normal person doesn't notice during use.

Capri 90T and Tekton 90T locate the gear on the backside to the ratchet head; neither GW 90T or Matco 88T do this. Capri and Tekton have even less movement than my Snap On 72T 1/4 drive ratchets.

If your main priority is anvil movement, then Capri or Tekton is for you- with a limited selection in comparison to GW. The GW does have some machining cost savings but that is reflected in the price.

I highly doubt that it would cost more for Apex Tool Group to engineer precise machining specifications per the ratchet in the first place. Your argument that engineering a tool precise as opposed to "just good enough" would cost more, doesn't hold wadda (New York accent)

 

[908Jim]

I'm glad someone else (and Ryan) agrees on the Gearwrench ratchet quality is sub par. I too believed the Hype on YouTube Gearwrench reviews. So I will not be buying Gearwrench tools and anymore.

I'm tempted to return it for a non-QR version to see if it's any better.

 

[Wamsutta]

I ordered the Gearwrench first from Acme Tools online, they were on back order for 3 weeks. In the meantime I bought a Snap-On locking flex head ratchet from a local dealer that gave me a 25% discount. You assumed sorta wrong and I don't understand your point and it doesn't matter what I bought first.

Oh nevermind me. I'm a self admitted Snap-on fan boy. In my world, it puzzles me why people don't buy Snap-on in the first place.

 

[cparman]

Oh nevermind me. I'm a self admitted Snap-on fan boy. In my world, it puzzles me why people don't buy Snap-on in the first place.

I'm a Snap-On fan as well. I even have a KMP1163 in Midnight Blue (46" tall, 29" deep and 73" Long) in mint condition and got for a $4000 I could not that pass that deal up. I will learn from this experience with respect to Gearwrench.

 

[908Jim]

Dunno, I watched most of his first video and the entire ratchet was moving around since it was just sitting unconstrained; I was getting seasick watching it; and I don't get seasick on a boat. If OP cannot clamp the ratchet in the vise to make a video that actually shows what he's trying to show, then I'm out.

The only difference between the Matco 88 and GW 90T mechanism design is Matco sits the cover plate on a machined step. Otherwise, they are the same; I have both and have swapped gears and pawls in 1/4 and 3/8 and they work fine. I have both and don't think either is better, and I'm not going to clamp them in a vise and get out an indicator to measure anvil movement, because that is irrelevant to me as long as the ratchet properly functions; and both do.

Now, maybe his GWs are junk, fine. The option is to buy a Matco at 3X the cost, or a Capri or Tekton if his main concern is gear movement. Or Snap On....

The answer is for OP to send the GW back for a refund and spend 3X as much.

I was going to make a video of my own but I promise it's very sloppy in there. I suspect it is due to the lack of support on the backside of the main gear to accommodate the QR button. I'm thinking about returning mine for the non-quick release to see if it's better.

 

[cparman]

I was going to make a video of my own but I promise it's very sloppy in there. I suspect it is due to the lack of support on the backside of the main gear to accommodate the QR button. I'm thinking about returning mine for the non-quick release to see if it's better.

My Gearwrench ratchets are the non-quick release type, so I doubt it will that much better in quality....Just sayin'

 

[VolvoRyan]

GearWrench is a sticky wicket. They're very inconsistent with their tools. One batch is good, one is bad. Etc. I swear the same thing happened with the 120XP ratchets. I had a set that was fine. Many here did not.

Same thing seems to be happening with the 90T's.

-Ryan

 

[cparman]

GearWrench is a sticky wicket. They're very inconsistent with their tools. One batch is good, one is bad. Etc. I swear the same thing happened with the 120XP ratchets. I had a set that was fine. Many here did not.

Same thing seems to be happening with the 90T's.

-Ryan

Ryan, Steve_P said to send the ratchets back to where I bought the from. Well I technically because 1. I have already opened the set package. 2. Being that the anvil has excessive side-to-side play will probably not be considered a "Defect" per Acme Tool distributors return policy. So I am stuck with low quality Gearwrench ratchets that I will use as backups. Gearwrench (Apex Tool Group) has lost me as a customer, but they could care less because they make Trillions on billions of other unsuspecting customers and loosing me as a customer doesn't mean ****.

 

[Ton ton]

This is why you buy gear wrench ratchets from a brick and mortar store. If it has excess slop, leave it on the shelf @ the store.

 

[Outahere]

I own 3 GW flex head ratchets, all purchased within the last 4 years : 90T 1/2" drive, 90T 3/8" drive, 84T 1/4" drive. None of them have a loose, sloppy anvil. But they all have a flex joint that is a bit sloppy. The joint is definitely not precision machined.

 

[VolvoRyan]

I own 3 GW flex head ratchets, all purchased within the last 4 years : 90T 1/2" drive, 90T 3/8" drive, 84T 1/4" drive. None of them have a loose, sloppy anvil. But they all have a flex joint that is a bit sloppy. The joint is definitely not precision machined.

Apparently, GearWrench fixed the sloppy joint. Project Farm had nothing bad to say when he tested them recently-ish. We usually question his methods here, but he's at least (seemingly) honest. Some other folks here on GJ have said their newer 90T's have a solid flex joint.

Inconsistency, to me, is worse than just making a bad product. That's what really turned me off of GearWrench. I thought the 120XP flex heads were fine. I was surprised that the 90T's were so sloppy. Then GearWrench seemed to fix this.... so we could all argue on this forum... now it seems there's more question up in the air.

-Ryan

 

[lardy1]

I know my own experience and won't be buying any more of their ratchets. The hit and miss seems accurate to me. The issues I've had were had by some others but not all so it seems a matter of consistency to me.

 

[Fedwrench]

Very Interesting!!!
I just checked a couple of Gearwrench ratchets at home and they seem to have excessive play (at least to me) side to side, top to bottom, and in and out. I never noticed the play when using them. The uber long push button locking 3/8 drive new style 120xp ratchet still has play but, it's less than the 90 tooth model. perhaps the stacked pawls coupled with a thicker screw retained gear cover reduces the play
In comparison, I checked a couple of SATA ratchets and a Quinn comfort grip 1/4 drive ratchet because, they probably rolled out of the same APEX plant. All square drive wiggle quite a bit in all directions.
I've always liked Gearwrench ratchets from the first 60 tooth models, to the 84 tooth models that would auto reverse under load, to the current 90 tooth versions. I'm not a fan of the locking flex heads with a lever like the Armstrong design but, that's a different thread.
Could be different plants. Some Gearwrench ratchets are made in Vietnam with finishing in China. Feels like sloppy tolerances in the ratchet body head. I'm sure the more curious amongst us will whip out dial indicators and other measuring devices to see what's what. I'm not that surprised that Gearwrench QC issues have spread to their ratchets, just disappointed.

 

[Etchase]

The play in the anvil doesn’t seem to affect performance at all in my experience. A little flex is useful in many situations. I’ve never found it detrimental, but I guess some do. I had a snap-on so stiff, people were telling me to spin it with a drill to loosen it up. No thanks. That’s a bad fit.

 

[darkzero]

I've always liked Gearwrench ratchets from the first 60 tooth models, to the 84 tooth models that would auto reverse under load...

Interesting, I had no idea, but then again I don't pay much attention to GW stuff or anything Apex.

I have the 60T Matco Danaher/Armstrong ratchets. Years ago I stuck a GW 84T kit in my 3/8. The damn thing would auto reverse & drove me nuts. I tried messing with different springs then eventually tried putting the original selector switch back in with the GW anvil & pawl, that solved the problem for me.

Just last weekend I finally got me some Matco 88T rebuild kits & put em in my 1/4 & 3/8 ratchets. No idea who currently makes the Matco USA ratchets (read it here somewhere but forgot) but no suprise that they fit my older gen ratchets. So far so good on not auto reversing but I'm not expecting them to.

 

[Beerhippie]

II have a lot of different brand ratchet drives--from cheap **** to pretty-near top-of-the-line. I'd never even thought of checking them for this kind of play, so I did....

My T&E Infinitity 3/8--certainly not a cheap wrench--was the worst! My 1/4 drives were right behind it--Snap-on (probably 40 years old) and New Britain (older yet) were the worst of those. Best two are my -V- Craftsman 1/2 and my SK 3/8 90-tooth that I bought back in the '70s. The rest fell somewhere in between.

Y'know what? I'm just going to forget I ever did this test and keep on using them all! The T&E is my reach-for ratchet (without a ratchet) drive and still will be. None of my ratchets slip or stick and most have very little back resistance. That's all I ask for.

 

[dnschmidt]

II have a lot of different brand ratchet drives--from cheap **** to pretty-near top-of-the-line. I'd never even thought of checking them for this kind of play, so I did....

My T&E Infinitity 3/8--certainly not a cheap wrench--was the worst! My 1/4 drives were right behind it--Snap-on (probably 40 years old) and New Britain (older yet) were the worst of those. Best two are my -V- Craftsman 1/2 and my SK 3/8 90-tooth that I bought back in the '70s. The rest fell somewhere in between.

Y'know what? I'm just going to forget I ever did this test and keep on using them all! The T&E is my reach-for ratchet (without a ratchet) drive and still will be. None of my ratchets slip or stick and most have very little back resistance. That's all I ask for.

You will be BANNED for having common sense. How dare you!!! You're probably one of THOSE PEOPLE that prefer a digital Timex synchronized with the NIST over a Rolex.

 

[Beerhippie]

You will be BANNED for having common sense. How dare you!!! You're probably one of THOSE PEOPLE that prefer a digital Timex synchronized with the NIST over a Rolex.

I haven't carried or worn a wrist-watch in so long I don't even recall when I last did! When I worked in the woods with a crew, I became fairly well known for being able to tell the time within five minutes without a watch or other timepiece. Now, mostly, I just don't care. Is the sun up or down? That's my clock.

I'm sure there's an old quartz Timex in a drawer somewhere around the cabin....

 

[VolvoRyan]

I stumbled over one of my 90T's today. I thought of this thread. No play in the ratchet mechanism.

I'd say GearWrench found a new way to mess these up.

-Ryan

 

[myusername]

Y'know what? I'm just going to forget I ever did this test and keep on using them all! The T&E is my reach-for ratchet (without a ratchet) drive and still will be. None of my ratchets slip or stick and most have very little back resistance. That's all I ask for.

It's likely this "test" doesn't mean anything; if the tolerance is "fit for purpose" anything over that is just expended machining costs for perceived quality

Comparing an expensive SnapOn to a cheap Gearwrench and slagging the Gearwrench over machining tolerances is nothing but punching down unless OP is actually having functional issues with the ratchet. "You get what you pay for"

TLDR: if the ratchet works and it doesn't effect function or cause the circlip to come loose, it simply doesn't matter

 

[VolvoRyan]

FWIW, I found my other 90T's. The ratchet mechanism in all three are nowhere near as sloppy as the OP's .

The flex joints on the other hand.....

-Ryan

 

[BM333]

My Gearwrench ratchets are the non-quick release type, so I doubt it will that much better in quality....Just sayin'

I appreciate you posting and sharing your experience with GW. I don't have any of their ratchets, but have been contemplating a locking flex and was considering them. My intuition goes off when I watch the PF videos, as something just feels suspect when I see GW ratchets taken down to their parts. I'll stick with SO. Thanks.

 

[BM333]

Apparently, GearWrench fixed the sloppy joint. Project Farm had nothing bad to say when he tested them recently-ish. We usually question his methods here, but he's at least (seemingly) honest. Some other folks here on GJ have said their newer 90T's have a solid flex joint.

Inconsistency, to me, is worse than just making a bad product. That's what really turned me off of GearWrench. I thought the 120XP flex heads were fine. I was surprised that the 90T's were so sloppy. Then GearWrench seemed to fix this.... so we could all argue on this forum... now it seems there's more question up in the air.

-Ryan

Sounds like it's not worth the headache to even bother with their ratchets. Hit or miss if you order online. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[lardy1]

I don't spend tool truck money on ratchets but if I did I think I'd look into the Matco. Capri is much lower priced and now offers locking flex. I haven't heard much feedback on them that I recall offhand though.

 

[BM333]

I don't spend tool truck money on ratchets but if I did I think I'd look into the Matco. Capri is much lower priced and now offers locking flex. I haven't heard much feedback on them that I recall offhand though.

I won't go the Matco route, despite them having a good locking flex head design. I go SO because it's much easier for me to warranty, and in my opinion, the materials are superior. Further, I am not a fan of snap ring ratchet face plate retaining designs. But I'm wondering if buying a dual 80 SO's is worth it with the 100T Cynergy design rolling out. I like all my dual 80s, but if SO comes out with a locking flex head cynergy model, is there a point in buying dual 80s now?