gearwrench roto ratchet problems

[muck0nator]

today i purchased a set of gear wrench roto ratchets part# 81223, comes with the 3/8 and 1/4, i put a 3' extension on the 1/4 ratchet and went to take off a battery cable and the extension and socket fell off the ratchet ( detent ball is gone !?!? ) wont hold anything and i cant locate the ball

my question is, is there any quick fix for this? did a quick google search and couldnt find anything, i dont really want to have to warranty the ratchet because i bought it through work ( work at napa ) through an outside supplier... overall my experiences with gear wrench products have been great no compains before now. thanks for any advise! mike

 

[jjjrmx5]

today i purchased a set of gear wrench roto ratchets part# 81223, comes with the 3/8 and 1/4, i put a 3' extension on the 1/4 ratchet and went to take off a battery cable and the extension and socket fell off the ratchet ( detent ball is gone !?!? ) wont hold anything and i cant locate the ball

my question is, is there any quick fix for this? did a quick google search and couldnt find anything, i dont really want to have to warranty the ratchet because i bought it through work ( work at napa ) through an outside supplier... overall my experiences with gear wrench products have been great no compains before now. thanks for any advise! mike

Ha.

i had that happen to a 1/2" drive NAPA usa made breaker bar I purchsed a while back. Put a socket on it, used it, and when removing the socket the detent ball annd its spring went flying. Ball I faound but spring went AWOL.
I thought about fixing it myself but TOTALLY not worth my time.

I just warrantied it back thru NAPA and they ordered me a new one at the store and I came and picked it up when in.

There is a spring and then the ball is pressed in, so you'll need both if you wanna do a DIY fix.

I's say that its a good chance that the hole was machined wrong or somehow damaged and whatever detent ball and spring you put in there it's a gonna go flying again unless you move up a bearing size.

It's worth a try with some heavy duty duck bill pliers or a small vice to try and make a fix, but I'm not holding my breath.

You can get around all of that political/work BS by just contacting gear wrench directly and use your home address. Even if you use the receipt it's still just between you and GW.

You'll get a new ratchet by them just sending you one or you sending in the broken one for exchange. Work and 3rd party need not know. BTDT.

Good luck.

 

[muck0nator]

Ha.

i had that happen to a 1/2" drive NAPA usa made breaker bar I purchsed a while back. Put a socket on it, used it, and when removing the socket the detent ball annd its spring went flying. Ball I faound but spring went AWOL.
I thought about fixing it myself but TOTALLY not worth my time.

I just warrantied it back thru NAPA and they ordered me a new one at the store and I came and picked it up when in.

There is a spring and then the ball is pressed in, so you'll need both if you wanna do a DIY fix.

I's say that its a good chance that the hole was machined wrong or somehow damaged and whatever detent ball and spring you put in there it's a gonna go flying again unless you move up a bearing size.

It's worth a try with some heavy duty duck bill pliers or a small vice to try and make a fix, but I'm not holding my breath.

You can get around all of that political/work BS by just contacting gear wrench directly and use your home address. Even if you use the receipt it's still just between you and GW.

You'll get a new ratchet by them just sending you one or you sending in the broken one for exchange. Work and 3rd party need not know. BTDT.

Good luck.

thanks for the input! will give that a shot ( rebuild ratchets from time to time at work for customers but the ratchet inserts are already assembled, never had to put a detent ball in, didnt know it was spring loaded ) hopefully gearwrench will warranty me a new ratchet without too much fuss....

hopefully the spotty breaker bar didnt give you a bad idea about napa tools

i buy a ton of ultrapro tools through work because i get a decent deal, and i havent had any issues, just thought id throw that out there

 

[jjjrmx5]

thanks for the input! will give that a shot ( rebuild ratchets from time to time at work for customers but the ratchet inserts are already assembled, never had to put a detent ball in, didnt know it was spring loaded ) hopefully gearwrench will warranty me a new ratchet without too much fuss....

hopefully the spotty breaker bar didnt give you a bad idea about napa tools

i buy a ton of ultrapro tools through work because i get a decent deal, and i havent had any issues, just thought id throw that out there

Hahaha.
Nope, no hate on my end for NAPA or even Evercraft tools depending upon which ones.

BTW, that detent ball needs something behind it to keep it pushed up against the socket to keep it held on...LOL. It's not magic. You can't and normally never have to or even want to see it. Hidden spring magic I guess.

Long ago I had that happen on an long 1/2" drive extension and found the ball and just pressed the detent ball alone back into the hole hoping to fix it. Ball fell to the bottom of the hole and I'll-be-damned every socket still kept falling off. Then the spring factor slapped me upside the head.

I also fuc&ed myself by doing that though because once pressed in without a spring that detent ball is NOT coming back out. Never. Ever. No pick or pry tool will ever work. Automatic waranty.

Live and learn. Hahahahaha.

 

[muck0nator]

Hahaha.
Nope, no hate on my end for NAPA or even Evercraft tools depending upon which ones.

BTW, that detent ball needs something behind it to keep it pushed up against the socket to keep it held on...LOL. It's not magic. You can't and normally never have to or even want to see it. Hidden spring magic I guess.

Long ago I had that happen on an long 1/2" drive extension and found the ball and just pressed the detent ball alone back into the hole hoping to fix it. Ball fell to the bottom of the hole and I'll-be-damned every socket still kept falling off. Then the spring factor slapped me upside the head.

I also fuc&ed myself by doing that though because once pressed in without a spring that detent ball is NOT coming back out. Never. Ever. No pick or pry tool will ever work. Automatic waranty.

Live and learn. Hahahahaha.

i have some evercraft stuff as well ( my latest purchase was a 4 piece pry bar set ) and im pretty impressed with the quality.

yeah i suppose thats true about the spring behind the ball, never really thought too much about it ive never had one fall out ever before, some seem to be stuck in the out position though lol

nothing wrong with automatic warranty hahah, i like canadian tire for warranty, they dont ask stupid questions or demand a receipt ( in my experiences ) i bought their 3/8 telescoping ratchet a while ago and was breaking loose a caliper bolt, had the damn thing extended fully, both legs on the lower control arm, had the ratchet arching i had so much pressure on it, needless to say something gave way eventually, they replaced it right away, always keep me coming back

 

[CWP1616L]

There's no way to fix that. Take it back and get a replacement.

 

[nexum1919]

Hahaha.

I also fuc&ed myself by doing that though because once pressed in without a spring that detent ball is NOT coming back out. Never. Ever. No pick or pry tool will ever work. Automatic waranty.

Live and learn. Hahahahaha.

touch a 50W + soldering iron to the ball, expands the ball and air pocket behind it, it'll pop out