Ratchet assembly

[AV tinker er]

So I just wanted to rant for a second about my little 1/4 SK ratchet number 40970. It was an older ratchet I bought used. Worked great, but recently I was using it and it seemed to lack some lube so I decided to disassemble the ratchet oil it up and put it back together again. What seemed like a quick job turned into a nightmare.

rant over

 

[jakemac]

Let me guess .........

You spent several hours crawling on the floor trying to find a teeny tiny ball bearing.


BTDT

 

[Adohrn]

Ok so I have a 42470. Did disassemble it completely. Happened while washing the mechanism in the degreaser. The small pin fell out allowing the internal shifter lever and drive shaft to fall out. The paw mechanism then fell out as well. Other than the extra spring I found at the bottom from another project that puzzled me for a bit it appeared to go back together without much trouble. So what am I missing and how lucky am I?

 

[Tool Pants]

I took a 1/2" regular length handle apart after I bought it at a flea market. No reason not to since the pawl was worn out. Not hard to do.

I then contacted S-K and they sent me a rebuild kit. I ended up putting the rebuild kit in a long handle rather than the regular handle, and the core from the long handle which was in good shape went into the regular handle.

 

[Adohrn]

Ok so not so good seeing a spring in your tear down. where did it come from? I'am thinking from under the pin? Never found one that small so thinking it was not there or never came out during the disassembly. Rachet appears to working fine so maybe never came out. The one I found at the bottom of the tub was much bigger than that. It definitely came from my craftsman v series 3/8 tear drop.

 

[Tool Pants]

S-K uses a spring loaded pin for the pawl, unlike a Craftsman tear drop which uses a spring loaded ball bearing. So you are correct. The spring is under the pin. If the ratchet works then it never came out.

 

[Adohrn]

We are working 2 threads simultaneously. You have it together so your help is much appreciated.

 

[ilovevocs]

If I don't feel like disassembling a ratchet and it's dirty or lacking lubrication I soak it in a cup of marvel mystery oil for a minute, pull it out and spin it, soak for another minute, and it's good to go. Let it sit on a paper towel overnight so it doesn't leak onto your mat in your box.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pumpman1968]

Marvel Mystery Oil! Now THAT brings back memories!

 

[AV tinker er]

or couldn't get it back into place.

It is an old rat. and probably the original internals, so the Circlip was a PITA to get back in. I had to bend one end to get a better clip. I only have these for circlip plier and the clip did fly off... more than once. I love the feel of that ratchet but a better design would be nice, but hey, its an old one that still works and I can pass it down to my kids.

 

[AV tinker er]

Call me crazy, but I've always felt that SK ratchets (any size) were among the easiest ratchets to break down the individual componests (springs, pawls, pins, etc) and reassemble. It takes a little practice, but once you've got done it it's a piece of cake. Very easy to take apart and replace a damaged component if need be.

I could agree a larger ratchet is easier,bigger parts are not as tedious, but maybe it is just me. I watched a video on YouTube of someone from Sk rebuilding one, his mechanism dropped right into place. It seemed like there was a small area, a sweet spot, that my mechanism would drop into place in the ratchet head. I would rotate the assembly around while pushing in until it finally dropped into place.

 

[Steevo]

Marvel Mystery Oil! Now THAT brings back memories!

And smells good, too!

 

[PowderKeg]

I could agree a larger ratchet is easier,bigger parts are not as tedious, but maybe it is just me. I watched a video on YouTube of someone from Sk rebuilding one, his mechanism dropped right into place. It seemed like there was a small area, a sweet spot, that my mechanism would drop into place in the ratchet head. I would rotate the assembly around while pushing in until it finally dropped into place.

$*!&#!)##!! S-K ratchets... Of all the ratchets in the obsess..., er, collection, S-K's are among my least favorite because of that !@#*!&))! clip. That thing is umpteen times stiffer than any other ratchet that uses 'em (Craftsman/MDF RHFT, Indestro round heads). I've let S-K sourced ratchets sit for a month or more fighting periodically to get 'em back together before the stars (and cap and pawl and clip) all magically align to fall back together. More than once I've come close to sending the whole !@(#*!@! mess flying across the room after the clip.

I saw that video too - sure looks simple enough 'till you realize he's doing it with a nice shiny new ratchet and guts - cake umpteen years of wear and grime and grit and dried grease inside and it doesn't go so smoothly. I will admit I don't have a bent nose set of pliers - will have to grab a pair sometime at the flea market and give 'em a try.

$*!&#!)##!! S-K ratchets...

 

[SMKS]

I've always found SK ratchets one of the easier ones to dissasemble and reassemble.

First, clean any gunk out of the groove in the mechanism with a pick. Do this by putting the pick in the groove and spinning the mechanism. Gunk in the groove can prevent the spring from compressing.

Use a small pair of bent-nose pliers to pinch the circlip and pull out the mechanism. I have a really cheap pair I bought new for only a few bucks.

To reinstall:
Put the selector lever in the neutral center position.

Put the ratchet handle in a vise if you're having trouble holding it.

I put my finger through the hole in the back of the ratchet head to hold the selector cap in place, since nothing attaches it to the mechanism. Then pinch the clip and the mechanism should fall back into place.

Easy as pie.

 

[B17E1943]

Great info, guys!

 

[sselander]

Post 14 on this thread has the S-K maintenance/repair guide sheet

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218899

 

[Hpozzuoli]

Not to dig up an old thread, but the assembly comes out in one piece. One retaining ring and out it comes. Unless you are taking the mechanism apart you just drop the kit in. I broke mine today and was looking to see if anyone had one for sale and this thread came up. Sorry.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

So I get the rebuild kit today and it won't go in. Made sure it was the right one etc. I put both next to each other and see the problem. That wall that goes 3/4 the way around the selector is not on the old one. The old one uses 2 stops much closer inside. This wall prevents the new head from sitting in the ratchet. I just took the pawl out of the new one and used the old head. My old pawl had the teeth ripped off. I expect better from sk. The only thing I can think of is this kit got put in the wrong bag.

If you look at my post above you will see the wall isn't on the old one. Enlarge both to see better.