ratchet "break in"

[bayoutoolguy]

was wondering if any of yall find that your rathcets work better once theyre "broken in" and have a little use on them. my 36 tooth Duralast 3/8, was rough and clunky brand new, but now that ive put a good bit of use on it over the past month, its pretty smooth. my 3/8 F80 snap on, as all the snap ons ive owned, is smooth from the get go. just swapped a long handled Matco 88 3/8 for a short handled one wit the dealer, no money involved, which i thought was a excellent deal, but as with the long handled one, the short one is very rough. (traded the long one as i had no use for it). seems like all the matcos ive bought have been rough. although i was looking at a 1/4 Matco while on the truck and unlike the 3/8 it was very smooth. any opinions are welcome.

 

[crankshaftdan II]

Might want to open it up and check out whether it has any lube in it. No t a uncommon thing to find that the mfgr. shipped it dry!! I use moly based engine assy lube on the large gear versions and lightweight turbine oil on the fine tooth models-after thorough cleaning of course. Just my two cents worth!.....Cranky

 

[HandyManny]

Those Duralast ratchets are all stiff when new. They loosen up nicely after some use. To speed it up you can take a 7/16ths nutdriver socket (I believe 7/16th 6pt or 12pt will fit the square of a 3/8th drive) and put it in an electric drill and turn the square drive of your new ratchet for about a minute at low speed, that may help. I wouldn't bother though, just use your ratchet, those Duralasts are pretty good quality ratchets though.

 

[bayoutoolguy]

crankshaft, yeah the long handled matco was dry, the dealer lubed it but it still wasnt smooth, plus i didnt like how all the fluid seeped out by the selector switch. might have to lube this new one. just found it funny cause the 1/4 drive i looked at on the truck was smooth as butter.

handy, yupthey sure are stiff when new, and i even did the spring clip mod to one i have but i rather the one i got now, its not clipped and it loosened up a good bit with use. definitely good quality.

 

[billymade]

One of the tool truck dealers on here; has said to hook up your new ratchet on a impact and let it run awhile; breaks things in faster... worth a try! You might try a different lubricant or more/less lube as well...

 

[Flatintoone]

Thanks for the tip. I had my first chance to really use my Duralast 3/8" ratchet this weekend and was disappointed. It seemed stiff, as mentioned above, and the selector switch was prone to hanging up in neutral. I'll keep using it, though, and hopefully it will improve, as you've described.

 

[powertrip]

Might want to try the spring clip mod. Sorry dont have a link

 

[twincam00]

Might want to try the spring clip mod. Sorry dont have a link

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87874

heres the link, makes a HUGE difference