ptgarcia
Well-known member
Man, what a disappointment. I really wanted these but don't want to mess with shims and stuff. I'll pick up a Matco instead.
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Thinking about purchasing Gearwrench 90T Locking Flex?
- Thread starter ElusiveKandyDC
- Start date
Mr Ratchet
Well-known member
The 1/4" drive one I have at work has been holding up well so far. Just used it about an ago and still no slop at all.
I never have tried the 90T ones. I have tried one 1/2 84T and have the 4 piece set of the 120xp flex. I don't use them very often any more because I couldn't get over the slight slop in the joint and I hate detents. What is odd to me is people's experience with back drag. My XP's had low back drag.
So much hate towards the inexpensive Gearwrench locking flex-head because is not as good as a tool truck brand that costs 3X-4X more.
A 11.5" locking flex-head 90T GW 3/8" ratchet can be bought at Zoro for $60. A similar Matco 12" 80-tooth locking flex head ratchet costs $174, 3 times more than the GW. An extra $114 buys you a ratchet that has tighter machining tolerances.
A 11.5" locking flex-head 90T GW 3/8" ratchet can be bought at Zoro for $60. A similar Matco 12" 80-tooth locking flex head ratchet costs $174, 3 times more than the GW. An extra $114 buys you a ratchet that has tighter machining tolerances.
Ton ton
Well-known member
There's a complete set of locking gear wrench ratchets listed in the garage journal classifieds if you are interested.So much hate towards the inexpensive Gearwrench locking flex-head because is not as good as a tool truck brand that costs 3X-4X more.
A 11.5" locking flex-head 90T GW 3/8" ratchet can be bought at Zoro for $60. A similar Matco 12" 80-tooth locking flex head ratchet costs $174, 3 times more than the GW. An extra $114 buys you a ratchet that has tighter machining tolerances.
bubinga
Well-known member
I have this one, 24" flex it's 84 tooth though. I'm happy with it. (I paid $57.** at the time)So much hate towards the inexpensive Gearwrench locking flex-head because is not as good as a tool truck brand that costs 3X-4X more.
A 11.5" locking flex-head 90T GW 3/8" ratchet can be bought at Zoro for $60. A similar Matco 12" 80-tooth locking flex head ratchet costs $174, 3 times more than the GW. An extra $114 buys you a ratchet that has tighter machining tolerances.
Plus I have the spark plug socket ratchet set, it seems pretty nice. Not sure where it's made.
I got it about 6 years ago or longer.
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^
84T and older manufactured seems be key to being a nice ratchet, I got some older 84T ratchets and they great for the cost and in sets and sales they silly cheap.
GW sockets much the same, old ones far better than what kicking out now and prices was stupid cheap as kept doing half price & BOGO deals all the time
With these locking flex ratchets if you can afford it or want a proper effort tool then the Matco way to go .
84T and older manufactured seems be key to being a nice ratchet, I got some older 84T ratchets and they great for the cost and in sets and sales they silly cheap.
GW sockets much the same, old ones far better than what kicking out now and prices was stupid cheap as kept doing half price & BOGO deals all the time
With these locking flex ratchets if you can afford it or want a proper effort tool then the Matco way to go .
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jsmeece
Well-known member
I too have both Carlyle and Gearwrench 84 tooth locking flex heads. I like the Carlyle more than the GW, but the only reason I have the GW is they can be used unlocked while the Carlyle cannot.
Nice to see there's a DIY fix for those would have already purchased these ratchets.
I almost splurged on a set of these when they were initially released and thankfully decided to wait for some real world reviews before buying.
I ended up with a couple of the Proto flexes instead and decided if I "had" to have a locking flex I'd pony up the money for a Matco.
I almost splurged on a set of these when they were initially released and thankfully decided to wait for some real world reviews before buying.
I ended up with a couple of the Proto flexes instead and decided if I "had" to have a locking flex I'd pony up the money for a Matco.
I recently received a $29 1/4" drive 84T locking flex head ratchet from Amazon, and it has the same degree of looseness at the flex pivot as my 90T 3/8" drive. The pivot bore in the tongue is machined with too large a tolerance.^
...84T and older manufactured seems be key to being a nice ratchet, I got some older 84T ratchets and they great for the cost and in sets and sales they silly cheap...
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
The 90T's have too much slop in the bore *and* in the fork. The spring detent is far to stiff. Remarkable that all the dimensions could be that messed up.
You can tighten the screw a little to get the slop out. Not the best way, but the most expeditious. My $130-150-ish 90T set is relegated to the go-bag for the junkyard. Much better ways to spend that kind of money.
-Ryan
You can tighten the screw a little to get the slop out. Not the best way, but the most expeditious. My $130-150-ish 90T set is relegated to the go-bag for the junkyard. Much better ways to spend that kind of money.
-Ryan
rick carpenter
Well-known member
I guess I'm "Mr Shim"! I just put in another about 2-3 thousands circular brass shim in my 3/8" locking flex underneath the anvil. Seems to have taken out some of the anvil slop. Will have to see how it does before going on to the others.
I bought one of the 24" 84 tooth locking flex head ratchets during Amazon's Black Friday sale since they were marked down to $50. I wanted to see if there was a cost effective alternative to my more expensive Snap-On and Matco ratchets of that length.
My initial impressions are the Gearwrench is not a good substitute. As others have experienced, there is a noticeable amount of slop in the pivot and the fork to head fit isn't good. I also do not understand why they made the handle so skinny (about 14mm). There have been times where my thicker handle Shlf80a (about 16mm) had more deflection than I liked. Why make it thinner? The handle on my older 17" 84t 1/2 flex head is thicker than the new 24" version. Just seems like an odd decision to put such a skinny handle on the one ratchet that's likely to see a lot of force put on it.
About 4-5 years ago I purchased a number of the 84t ratchets for stuff like the service truck and I have been pretty happy with the quality and performance for no more than they cost. I was hoping this one would be similar, but it isn't. It's a shame since if Gearwrench had stuck with the overal design and dimensions of their 17" 1/2 flex head (81306f) and just made it 24", they could have had a winner. Instead, I'd rather just stick to buying used Matco ratchets of this style since they have a thicker handle, better lock, and better build quality that I think justifies the higher price.
My initial impressions are the Gearwrench is not a good substitute. As others have experienced, there is a noticeable amount of slop in the pivot and the fork to head fit isn't good. I also do not understand why they made the handle so skinny (about 14mm). There have been times where my thicker handle Shlf80a (about 16mm) had more deflection than I liked. Why make it thinner? The handle on my older 17" 84t 1/2 flex head is thicker than the new 24" version. Just seems like an odd decision to put such a skinny handle on the one ratchet that's likely to see a lot of force put on it.
About 4-5 years ago I purchased a number of the 84t ratchets for stuff like the service truck and I have been pretty happy with the quality and performance for no more than they cost. I was hoping this one would be similar, but it isn't. It's a shame since if Gearwrench had stuck with the overal design and dimensions of their 17" 1/2 flex head (81306f) and just made it 24", they could have had a winner. Instead, I'd rather just stick to buying used Matco ratchets of this style since they have a thicker handle, better lock, and better build quality that I think justifies the higher price.
bubinga
Well-known member
I paid $57.42 + tax for mine, back in October 2021, I don't think it's too bad.I bought one of the 24" 84 tooth locking flex head ratchets during Amazon's Black Friday sale since they were marked down to $50. I wanted to see if there was a cost effective alternative to my more expensive Snap-On and Matco ratchets of that length.
My initial impressions are the Gearwrench is not a good substitute. As others have experienced, there is a noticeable amount of slop in the pivot and the fork to head fit isn't good. I also do not understand why they made the handle so skinny (about 14mm). There have been times where my thicker handle Shlf80a (about 16mm) had more deflection than I liked. Why make it thinner? The handle on my older 17" 84t 1/2 flex head is thicker than the new 24" version. Just seems like an odd decision to put such a skinny handle on the one ratchet that's likely to see a lot of force put on it.
About 4-5 years ago I purchased a number of the 84t ratchets for stuff like the service truck and I have been pretty happy with the quality and performance for no more than they cost. I was hoping this one would be similar, but it isn't. It's a shame since if Gearwrench had stuck with the overal design and dimensions of their 17" 1/2 flex head (81306f) and just made it 24", they could have had a winner. Instead, I'd rather just stick to buying used Matco ratchets of this style since they have a thicker handle, better lock, and better build quality that I think justifies the higher price.
For what it costs I'm probably being a bit harsh after getting used to my Matco ratchets. At under $60 I don't think it's a terrible ratchet. So long as a person needs it for reach and moderate leverage, it should do the trick. Most of my disappointment comes from the fact that my experience with earlier 84t ratchets was that Gearwrench was able to make a series of ratchets that offered a good variety of styles combined with a decent mechanism that was much cheaper than tool truck ratchets. I just do not think the 24" model pulled it off like it could have. For now this one is going to go live in a tractor tool set. Maybe it will surprise me and do better than I think.I paid $57.42 + tax for mine, back in October 2021, I don't think it's too bad.
bubinga
Well-known member
I really don't have much to compare it to though.I paid $57.42 + tax for mine, back in October 2021, I don't think it's too bad.