Ratchet maintenance / lubrication

[HanShotFirst]

I'm hoping to not start a holy war. Today I did my annual cleaning of my ratchets which went well.

Many years ago I would grease the internals before reassembly. But I noticed the grease seemed to cause more problems than it solved. Grease attracted and much worse HELD dirt and debris inside the head of the ratchet. This greatly accelerated wear or just plain trashed the ratchet. I trashed a few ratchets learning that lesson. Now I apply some oil and reassemble, but I understand the oil won't last too long. Even if ran completely dry, the wear (at least my observation) is much less than a ratchet that has been greased.

The exception seems to be my Snap On ratchet that has a rubber seal, that resists dirt and debris remarkably well, so it gets a very thin application of grease and she's as smooth as the day I got her just over 25 years ago. FWIW, I recall the care instructions that came with my SO years ago said lightly oil.

I think the best world would be a frequently oiled ratchet, but that doesn't work out well because oily ratchets lead to skinned knuckles.

I'm sure many will come in here and call me 12 kinds of an idiot for not greasing, or not using XYZ type of wonder lube. But my personal observation (and that's all I can personally speak to, and what means most to me) is that extremely light or no lube at all improves ratchet longevity and performance. In fact, since 1985 (when I stopped greasing ratchets) the only ratchets of mine that have had replaced parts or have been replaced are those that received grease.

Just my .02

If your direct experience is different the do what you know works. This has worked well for me. Ratchets last longer, perform better, annual cleanings go MUCH better/easier, and I'm pretty sure chicks dig it more (I may have just made up that last part)

 

[Adam.C]

What ratchets specifically? Round heads? Sealed tear drops? The details matter here. BTW, I agree with you. And this has been discussed to death here, but it bears repeating. Over greasing a Snap-On type tear drop ratchet is a bad idea that accelerates wear, and reduces strength. But for reasons different from those you mentioned.

 

[HanShotFirst]

So what's the reason? Educate a bro-tha!

 

[Adam.C]

In a sealed head ratchet, dirt intrusion isn't a huge issue for most mechanics. Over greasing can cause wear, especially in modern fine tooth ratchets, by collecting in the roots of the gear teeth preventing full engagement of the pawl(s). People who grease their gears will report the ratchet is now "smoother" and "quieter". The latter is caused by the pawl hitting the grease instead of snapping all the way into position at the root of the tooth (pawl or gear). Wear is caused by the increased stress resulting from a given torque being reacted by less surface contact area.

Grease plays a role in proper ratchet assembly. It belongs under the gear, i.e. where it contacts the head. A film should be applied under the cover plate. The selector lever can be greased.

A light oil should be applied to all other components. Only trick is ensuring material compatibility. 3 in 1 and superlube is my preference.

My old snap on round heads are essentially unsealed and unsealable. I assembled them wet with 3 in 1 and oil when I use them (which is rare).

 

[Sanny81]

What is the best way to lubricant non sealed non fine tooth ratchets? When I first started to maintain my own ratchets I was guilty of globbing grease on any and every part but I've tried to cut down the amount of grease I use. And with my F80 I just do a dab under the gear and a dab on the plate as Adam said.

 

[Adam.C]

Same. If it is tear drop style, light film of oil, a couple drops of grease, if you blow brake dust into it somehow, or are using it to fix helicopters in Afghanistan (DAMHIKT), rebuild more frequently. In normal use, Dual 80's should go a year or more between rebuilds. If you use it all day everyday, I think you should do rebuild kits yearly.

If it's a round head like the SK style, light oil at rebuild then leave it alone until it too gets grit in it. I clean my RHs using WD-40, assemble with 3 in 1 and that's it.

 

[twertsy]

I'm hoping to not start a holy war. Today I did my annual cleaning of my ratchets which went well.

Many years ago I would grease the internals before reassembly. But I noticed the grease seemed to cause more problems than it solved. Grease attracted and much worse HELD dirt and debris inside the head of the ratchet. This greatly accelerated wear or just plain trashed the ratchet. I trashed a few ratchets learning that lesson. Now I apply some oil and reassemble, but I understand the oil won't last too long. Even if ran completely dry, the wear (at least my observation) is much less than a ratchet that has been greased.

The exception seems to be my Snap On ratchet that has a rubber seal, that resists dirt and debris remarkably well, so it gets a very thin application of grease and she's as smooth as the day I got her just over 25 years ago. FWIW, I recall the care instructions that came with my SO years ago said lightly oil.

I think the best world would be a frequently oiled ratchet, but that doesn't work out well because oily ratchets lead to skinned knuckles.

I'm sure many will come in here and call me 12 kinds of an idiot for not greasing, or not using XYZ type of wonder lube. But my personal observation (and that's all I can personally speak to, and what means most to me) is that extremely light or no lube at all improves ratchet longevity and performance. In fact, since 1985 (when I stopped greasing ratchets) the only ratchets of mine that have had replaced parts or have been replaced are those that received grease.

Just my .02

If your direct experience is different the do what you know works. This has worked well for me. Ratchets last longer, perform better, annual cleanings go MUCH better/easier, and I'm pretty sure chicks dig it more (I may have just made up that last part)

Perhaps it bears posting again, use this (I never use anything else):

 

[HanShotFirst]

In a sealed head ratchet, dirt intrusion isn't a huge issue for most mechanics. Over greasing can cause wear, especially in modern fine tooth ratchets, by collecting in the roots of the gear teeth preventing full engagement of the paw(s). People who fear their gears will report the ratchet is now "smoother" and "quieter". The latter is caused by the paw hitting grease instead of snapping all the way into position metal on metal. Wear is caused by the increased stress resulting from a given torque load being reacted by less surface contact.

Grease plays a role in proper ratchet assembly. It belongs under the gear, i.e. where it contacts the head. A film should be applied under the cover plate. The selector lever can be greased.

A light oil should be applied to all other components. Only trick is ensuring material compatibility. 3 in 1 and superlube is my preference.

My old snap on round heads are essentially unsealed and unsealable. I assembled them wet with 3 in 1 and oil when I use them (which is rare).

Oh yeah good point, thinks for bringing it up. That probably causes more problem than debris.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Same. If it is tear drop style, light film of oil, a couple drops of grease, if you blow brake dust into it somehow, or are using it to fix helicopters in Afghanistan (DAMHIKT), rebuild more frequently. In normal use, Dual 80's should go a year or more between rebuilds. If you use it all day everyday, I think you should do rebuild kits yearly.

If it's a round head like the SK style, light oil at rebuild then leave it alone until it too gets grit in it. I clean my RHs using WD-40, assemble with 3 in 1 and that's it.

THIS, that's exactly how I did things last night. I've seen a big difference when I stopped putting grease in my ratchets.

Yes most oil will work it's way out, but there will be a fine film left and that's generally sufficient to keep things from getting stiff. The lubrication needs of a ratchet are very minor. You can go completely dry if you like and if you clean them out periodically, you'll do no harm to them at all.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Perhaps it bears posting again, use this (I never use anything else):

There's the obligatory wonder lube post. Okay sorry, I'm just busting your balls...

I'm not likely to change what is working exceptionally well FOR ME. But if someone else is interested, can you expand on what is so great about that grease and how you apply it to your ratchets. And of course if you can paint a good before & after, that's always helpful.

I use oil rather than grease, and it's kinda more about preservation against corrosion than it is lubrication. I just don't think a ratchet places any high demands lubrication wise. The friction isn't very much, there's not temperature or galling problems...it's a simple tool.

I personally think the most important thing is just cracking them open and cleaning them out once a year...that alone will extend the life of your ratchet 10 fold.

 

[twertsy]

There's the obligatory wonder lube post. Okay sorry, I'm just busting your balls...

I'm not likely to change what is working exceptionally well FOR ME. But if someone else is interested, can you expand on what is so great about that grease and how you apply it to your ratchets. And of course if you can paint a good before & after, that's always helpful.

I use oil rather than grease, and it's kinda more about preservation against corrosion than it is lubrication. I just don't think a ratchet places any high demands lubrication wise. The friction isn't very much, there's not temperature or galling problems...it's a simple tool.

I personally think the most important thing is just cracking them open and cleaning them out once a year...that alone will extend the life of your ratchet 10 fold.

First, it's not grease. It's a paste, and I apply it with a cue tip to all parts that touch other metal and spread it until you can't see the blue anymore. According to their literature, it bonds with the steel and provides rust protection and lubrication and, it definitely works. Since its not grease or oil (I'm betting it's silicon based but I don't really know), you don't get the grime and "grease chunk" issues, nor the leaking oil issues.

Oh, and no problem on the ball busting, I ain't no bleeding heart............well, you know.

 

[1950mercury]

I used to use superlube now i use the liquid silicone stuff for traxxis remote control car gear boxes. Its like ky jelly for ratchets

 

[HanShotFirst]

First, it's not grease. It's a paste, and I apply it with a cue tip to all parts that touch other metal and spread it until you can't see the blue anymore. According to their literature, it bonds with the steel and provides rust protection and lubrication and, it definitely works. Since its not grease or oil (I'm betting it's silicon based but I don't really know), you don't get the grime and "grease chunk" issues, nor the leaking oil issues.

Oh, and no problem on the ball busting, I ain't no bleeding heart............well, you know.

Sounds like a wet sort of dry lube...interesting stuff. I may look for some. Not so much for my ratchets (not ruling it out), but it could be good stuff for other applications. If there's a good lubricant out there, I like to know about it (wow, did I open myself for some ball busting there or what?).

 

[twertsy]

It's great for drilling/cutting/milling steel as well. I dip my rotabroach in it before each spot weld cut. Same bit, 2 cars (frame off).

 

[woody 73]

I am not an Engineer and I do wish an Engineer would speak up but I was always under the impression that any moving metal to metal part needed some kind of lubricate to operate at peak performance.

Some GJ members use nothing at all and would never add anything which confuses me and others like myself have tried every product under the sun.

All I can tell you is that the super lube sold at HF stores has worked well for me, just my two cents.

 

[Adam.C]

I am not an Engineer and I do wish an Engineer would speak up but I was always under the impression that any moving metal to metal part needed some kind of lubricate to operate at peak performance.

Some GJ members use nothing at all and would never add anything which confuses me and others like myself have tried every product under the sun.

All I can tell you is that the super lube sold at HF stores has worked well for me, just my two cents.

I r an engineer and absolutely do this sort of thing for a living (among other things). The type of lubricant chosen depends on the type of motion. What most of us are worried about is galling, which I would define as the bonding of two parts chemically, or the exchange of atoms or molecules between two metallic parts in contact. Galling is a real concern in a ratchet since you can have big loads and possibly some movement (which seems to trigger galling, but not always). Some materials gall more readily...yada yada yada.

You're right. You don't need an engineering degree to know you should oil metal on metal interfaces. If, for no other reason (as Han points out) for corrosion prevention. Oil alone is probably fine in a good quality ratchet. And you probably don't need much. A sticky grease will stay where you put it a bit better. But you just don't want to use too much.

Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark fame) administered medicine to his men when they were sick. He felt if a little medicine was good, more was better. Except, ...he was treating them for syphilis with mercury. Most of his men died at 40. So more isn't always better. But interesting that most americans still think this way. Nice to know its in our DNA from 210 years ago!

 

[zx2slow]

For my 36T craftsman ratchets I use Slip2000 EWL50, its a 50w synthetic oil with some sort of additive like Lucas oil stabilizer that makes it cling. Ratchet is quiet and not jammed up with grease.

I use regular Slip2000 on my fine tooth ratchets because I have it on my bench for cleaning and lubing firearms anyway.

 

[HanShotFirst]

I am not an Engineer and I do wish an Engineer would speak up but I was always under the impression that any moving metal to metal part needed some kind of lubricate to operate at peak performance.

Some GJ members use nothing at all and would never add anything which confuses me and others like myself have tried every product under the sun.

All I can tell you is that the super lube sold at HF stores has worked well for me, just my two cents.

Yes lube is the general rule when metal meets metal. It's just in a ratchet you have to make a compromise due to the nature of the tool. And when you consider what we do with ratchets, the compromise works best on the side of less rather than more.

In a perfect world we'd like it to be like a lathe, add some oil every time you use it. One of the greatest things about oil is how it transports debris away from the friction areas while lubricating at the same time. But to do that, we'd be adding oil, that oil would work it's way out of the head, onto the handle where it would cause our grip to slip and play havoc on our fingers and knuckles.

So the light oil is where I personally err on the side of less rather than more. But if I had to choose between over lubrication and no lubrication at all, on a ratchet I'll take no lube over over-lube every time. The nature of what a ratchet does makes less/non lubrication forgivable. So light oil (like Adam's choice of 3 in 1), wipe off the excess and you're good. If you're really worried about it, then clean the insides of the ratchet more often rather than over-lubricate it.

Adam's analogy of Lewis & Clark is a very good one for this particular topic.

 

[ngk22r]

All my tools get protection from:
Ballistol

Great for tools in a box, or a holster.

 

[Evilelroy]

I have been using Lucas chain and sprocket lube in spray can. Goes on nice and light and adheres good.

 

[dkop1]

I've always used whatever is on hand and not horribly expensive. Started out using white lithium since my dad gave me a tub of the stuff and I had no use for it (apparently some buy one get one free deal). However after about a week of light use in my 1/2" wright round head ratchet it got all gummed up and weird. Since then I've been using oil, usually 3 in 1 or the random bottle of 30 weight synthetic motor oil we have at work (for reasons... I have yet to know, never seen it used for maintenance aside from me lubing tools with it)

 

[Wamsutta]

My new favorite:

 

[sberry]

I only hit them with a bit of spray we use, do not have an annual ratchet cleaning day and really don't have a problem. Have never taken one apart to lube.

 

[Fugio]

Well, this is the slickest stuff I've ever found. Parts literally feel as slick as ice YEARS after I oiled them.

And one quart should last several lifetimes if you're just oiling tools and small things.

http://www.polydyntx7.com/