Snap-on S831 Ratchet Restoration Help

[Gebirgekind]

I was stoked to find a Snap-on S831 hiding in a bucket of "assorted tools" that came with an old Beach tool box I picked up. I took it apart, cleaned, and lubed it but when I tightened down the faceplate screws after reassembly the ratchet locked up. If I loosened them just a little the pawls would barely catch and the gears skipped two or three teeth. I pushed the plate out just a smidge and found that only if I used extra loctite and baaaarely snugged up the screws the ratchet would work.

Is this normal for this vintage, to have such a finicky friction fit? Doubtful. For reference I have a set of 80-tooth Snap-ons, SKs, and others and haven't seen this before when maintaining them. I used Super Lube but not a new service kit from Snap-on. Maybe the old seals are just swollen, or something else is amiss? Inspection didn't reveal any other foreign objects or issues. Anyway I seek the wisdom of those who have more experience with this ratchet era, thanks for your insights!

 

[johninct]

Without seeing it I am guessing a wrong rebuild kit was installed.

 

[Speed-Racer]

This thread needs pics. the ratchet should be smooth. That vintage only had a single pawl.

 

[Gebirgekind]

Thanks for the confirmation all, and that picture helped @Speed-Racer. There was an extra o-ring in there when I first opened it up, and I went back today and found that the pawl had some damage on the pivoting surface so maybe someone earlier used a wrong kit.

You can see the little burr on the pawl where it hits the faceplate - I filed that down smooth, relubed, and reassembled, now it works great! Thanks!

 

[Gebirgekind]

And for fun, here’s how it turned out - a little surface rust polished right off plus two 24” extensions that were also in the bucket, one from Snap-on Canada!