Matco BA12FT ratchet rebuilt kit

[blackhawk-tech]

Hello friends of the forum,
I got at a local flea market for 20$ a Matco 3/8 drive swivel ratchet the other day; aside from some cosmetic issues and wear, I noticed the mechanics is a little wobble. I decided that I wanted to clean it up, replace the internal mechanism with a rebuilt kit and use it.
The part number on the ratchet is BA12FT USA, when I searched for a rebuild kit or even the ratchet itself no results appear. Can somebody send me to the right direction as rebuilt kit or is it a discontinued item?
Thank you!

 

[Fedwrench]

I'm not familiar with that part number. Is it a round head ratchet or is it a pear head ratchet with the thin metal gear cover resembling a figure eight secured by a snap ring?

Without a picture, i'm purely guessing.

If it's a round head ratchet, replacement parts dried up for those years ago.

If it's a pear head ratchet with a gear cover shaped like a figure eight, secured with a snap ring, it might be their old 36 tooth ratchet. The action on those were never great, They were kind of like Craftsman 36 tooth ratchets without the quick release. I honestly don't know if Matco still supports them as they switched to 60 teeth around 2002 and then to 88 teeth around 2007.

You could always call Matco to see what they say. You could possibly mail it into Matco for replacement with the current model if they don't have parts but, i would call first to see what their replacement procedure is so you don't mail away your ratchet.

 

[MattT]

The part number on the ratchet is BA12FT USA

Take a closer look at that part #. It's probably an R not an A. That'd make it the older 36T pear head style Fedwrench mentioned.

 

[blackhawk-tech]

Thank you, after taking a closer look and trying to find on google the ratchet it did work; it is an actual (R) not an (A)! I be honest tho, it is the worst stamped R that I have ever seeing in my life, you would never ever think that it is an R !!!!
Btw story short, even checking with the right part number on the Matco website they do not carry the rebuild kits anymore...so let see if someone has a spare kit here for sale or I can try my luck with the Matco rep of my area and see what heppens!

 

[mikebaker1129]

Matco does still support the older 36 tooth ratchets.
I had my dealer install a repair in a 36 tooth model a couple weeks ago.
I did notice the repair kit part # did have a letter at the end designating a revision. It could be that Matco has contracted with AJ manufacturing to make these kits as well as the current ratchets.

 

[plinker]

The ratchet head can likely be "upgraded" to an 88 tooth, locking flex or not.
https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/BFR12TKHB/BLACK-RATCHET-REPLACEMENT-HEAD/

Older KD/Allen/Napa kits or a torque wrench kit from Armstrong should drop in fine, but they are scarce.