ratchet locks when torque applied

[Jure]

i have bought brand new Unior 3/8 ratchet,used it for the first time ever,and locked on the first bolt,it works fine till i put some pressure/torque for a final tightening,then it locks and i cant move it to the left or right,i disassembled it,relubed and had the same issue...inside the ratchet it all looks fine,zero broken or worn out teeth,pawl and selector are good as well. like i said its brand new,and to make it work again after it locks you have to disassemble it and shake the gear...its 72 tooth ratchet,and inside it looks like this cman ratchet.

edit,no cheater bar on it.

 

[Dirty Diesels]

What lube are you using, if it's grease ? switch to say ATF or gear oil & see if that makes a change, if not warranty it.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

yup, try use oil based.

when I use grease (Super Lube® Synthetic Greases) on Matco ratchet, it locks up.

 

[Jure]

its not a grease,i know grease can lock up the fine tooth ratchet,i was using 10W40 motul i had at home. and cant warranty it because i have no bill of sale..

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

does it still lock up with no lube?

 

[Jure]

does it still lock up with no lube?

yes,it has no factory lube at all when it locked the first time,locks even when washed with wd40 and zero lube...if there any way i put too much force on it? i mean i have never ever had this type of issue even with a small 1/4 ratchet.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

that's strange.

try with plate screws loose, maybe plate is being too tight.

 

[country83]

Any wear/roughness on the inside of the housing? I've seen teeth wear into the housing and cause that. Also where the pawl goes against the housing may be worn.

 

[Jure]

Any wear/roughness on the inside of the housing? I've seen teeth wear into the housing and cause that. Also where the pawl goes against the housing may be worn.

i was not paying attention on the housing,ill check it

 

[Greasymofo]

Yeah thats why ill stick by my 24 tooth proto. The teeth are just huge. Never ever going to get damaged. Those little tiny teeth on that 72. Crazy to think they can hold all that pressure. But im not sure why it would be locking up. Sounds like when you put torque on it, the other bottom teeth are going upwards and catching the gear. Somehow or another

 

[twertsy]

Maybe try putting a fastener in a vise and leaving the cover off such that you can see what is happening? I'd wager it's not properly seated and driving the gear against something it's not supposed to engage with.

 

[Swan]

Just had a similar (and common) issue with a brand new Gearwrench 3/8" 84 tooth ratchet. Cleaned and relubed it with light oil, still had problems. A forum member recommended running the ratchet with an extension bar in a drill to "break it in". This did not work for me but it has worked for others. I exchanged mine for another and the new one is great. New tools should work straight out of the box.

 

[Hiball]

Welcome to the World of Apex.. Your not alone.

 

[Zrexxer]

Sounds as if it's just out of spec. One of those unfortunate cases where a defective product makes it through to the consumer. The defect rate might be 1/10000 of 1%, but all that's moot when you're the one that gets the bad ratchet.

 

[Loscaldazar]

Is this actually an Apex ratchet? Certainly looks like it.

The pawl also says 84 on it, and I wonder if you have a mismatched pawl/gear. Apex is know for that already....

 

[Syntax_Error]

Is this actually an Apex ratchet? Certainly looks like it.

The pawl also says 84 on it, and I wonder if you have a mismatched pawl/gear. Apex is know for that already....

Wow good eye I would be interested to know if this is the actual cause of the problem. Does somebody have one of these ratchets on hand they can look at the pawl?

 

[Scimmia]

Wait a minute, does it or does it not say 84 - 1/2

 

[CatSplat]

Is this actually an Apex ratchet? Certainly looks like it.

The pawl also says 84 on it, and I wonder if you have a mismatched pawl/gear. Apex is know for that already....

Wow good eye I would be interested to know if this is the actual cause of the problem. Does somebody have one of these ratchets on hand they can look at the pawl?

Wait a minute, does it or does it not say 84 - 1/2

The OP mentions in his last sentence that the innards of his ratchet just look like the innards of the wrench pictured, which is a Craftsman - the image came from this page. That's not an actual picture of his ratchet.

 

[ajchien]

Is this actually an Apex ratchet? Certainly looks like it.

The pawl also says 84 on it, and I wonder if you have a mismatched pawl/gear. Apex is know for that already....

Agreed. Are you sure its supposed to be 72 tooth or 84? It is possible you have mismtached parts.

 

[Jure]

The OP mentions in his last sentence that the innards of his ratchet just look like the innards of the wrench pictured, which is a Craftsman - the image came from this page. That's not an actual picture of his ratchet.

+1 this is ratchet i'm talking about

 

[otis66]

Grip the ratchet at the drive end, I usually put an extension on the drive in. And then spin the ratchet around for a min or two going in each direction. This is what I did...Problem gone.