whats the point?

[fordbroncodave]

what is the point of rebuilding a ratchet yourself if its not really broken? just take the cover off and spray some lube in there and keep using it. if you broke the pawl hand it to your snap on dealer or sears and have them exchange it. buying a rebuild kit is pointless if the tool you are trying to fix has a lifetime warranty and exchange program.
i guess i am not seeing the reason why you need to buy your own kit to rebuild it if it has a lifetime warranty that someone else will rebuild for you

 

[Brutl67]

If it's an older ratchet that you like the design of and the company doesn't make anymore, they will likely send you the new design for the warranty, and maybe people don't want that.

 

[bmwpower]

Maybe they don't trust their dealer or Sears. They could take your nice ratchet you've had for years and claim it's not fixable and chuck it. Instead you get a new ratchet that might have been made in god knows where. I know this has happened to more than one person.

It's an **** tool guy thing.

 

[Fedwrench]

Could be one of several reasons, An older ratchet not stocked in the store anymore. An SK ratchet that you don't want to pay the $5 warranty processing fee plus postage on. You're trying to increase the performance of your ratchet through the application of the RLL or other high performance lube. You bought it covered in rust for 50 cents and want to see if you can bring it back to life,etc.

 

[t100]

reason # 1. sentimental value. I still have the first Cman ratchet I bought. quality isn't there compare to the other premium brands, but I don't care. I won't give up the one grandpa gave me, either.


reason #2. some tools are superior yet no longer in production, you'll lose it if you turn it in.

reason #3. shaddy dealers won't do anything for free. if it takes 3 month to get a free repair kit, I'd pay for the 10 bucks from Snap On, so I can get it fixed in a week.

 

[jabberwoki]

Im suprised by the amount of people that vote this thread pointless and stupid? are we supposed to be having fun with this forum?

 

[Fedwrench]

Im suprised by the amount of people that vote this thread pointless and stupid? are we supposed to be having fun with this forum?

For me part of that fun is taking ratchets apart for periodic maintenance.

 

[fordbroncodave]

if all you want to do to the ratchet is clean it up and lube it, it should be called a tear down, not a rebuild project. you don't tear a car engine down to lube the bearings then put it back together. meaningless.

 

[ngk22r]

most of the time its to just re-lube the internals of the ratchet.

I will never give my TM70 ratchet to be replaced with a T72.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Shouldn't just lube without inspecting to see if it needs cleaned.

 

[dankicksass]

I won't give up my RHFT Craftsman ratchets, so I'd rebuild those myself if Sears won't, but for any other tool it's exchange for me. I just love those things.

 

[krusty the clown]

it states right on the ratchet "clean and oil periodically" 'nuff said........anymore questions?

 

[wafrederick]

Some are a real pain to do,it is the little ball that can be a real pain to get in.I have lost one snap ring holding the plate on,it was on a Matco AR5T ratchet and it needed a kit anyway.Ratchets can get worn in the housing and the only option is to replace the whole ratchet.Had this done with one Snap On,dealer handed back a new ratchet because the housing was worn out after trying to rebuild it

 

[MattT]

My answer is Other. I rebuild SO and Mac ratchets myself for convenience. Haven't had truck dealers in 10 years and it's not worth my time to hunt one down to rebuild a ratchet.

Agree with the other folks who've stated tearing down a ratchet to clean and lube it is not a rebuild.

 

[gatewaysysop]

I won't give up my RHFT Craftsman ratchets, so I'd rebuild those myself if Sears won't, but for any other tool it's exchange for me. I just love those things.

Same thing here. Those are my favorite ratchets, by far, even compared to the F80 that I have. Have them in every configuration (some doubles even!) and have spare gut kits in each size. Why? Because I really like these ratchets.

I have rebuild kits for all my favorites squirreled away, though I'll probably never need them. Cheap insurance in case I do. I'm not gonna hold my breath on the Sears or SK or Proto warranty to be there years down the road, much less the actual parts I need.

Besides, peace of mind was cheap on eBay and Amazon where I got the kits.

 

[Bruce Lancaster]

Except for some pre-damaged ones like Plombs with the shift lever broken off and a Snap-on with a broken tooth (vintage but still readily available part) when I bought them, I don't think I have ever needed to replace anything.
My main one was a 1962 Craftsman 1/2", HEAVILY abused with extra leverage and hammer because I simply had no other way as an penniless teenager. 100% good to go, has been cleaned and lubed a number of times but never shown any sign of trouble.
I've cleaned and lubed MANY 1940's Plombs and Snap-ons, again nothing found broken or worn out.
Ones I have had for a long time have gotten smoother and required less torque on the back swing from some combo of polishing-in and spring relaxing, but none has ever reached a point of spring tension of pawl wear that has caused a pawl to not track properly or to allow skipping. Many of these things are WWII vets that had long careers after the war.
This stuff is durable as all get out in those brands and time periods...I hardly own anything newer than the 60's. Main purpose of service has been to get out lube that was beginning to accumulate crud.
On any ratchet I like, I would BUY a kit just to have spare springs and pawls.
On the little-ball fighting types of ratchet...the Snap-on tool publicized on here has been a help, BUT if the pawl mechanism is working well, it can be cleaned and lubed without disassembly.
Soak it well enough to flush out the hole, and make sure you get some oil down that hole to prevent the spring from rusting. Also hold back the little ball on the drive square with vise grips and get some oil into THAT hole. Those springs will all out live you if you can prevent rust.

 

[Gary S]

I agree with the above posts. I would rebuild a ratchet only if one of my old ones failed me. So far, my old Craftsman ratchets from 1971 all still work flawlessly. They have never been lubed, taken apart, or had any work done to them. I did take one of my newer Craftsman ratchets back to Sears a few years ago. It failed almost out of the box. I took it back and was lucky enough that they exchanged the new one for an old rebuilt one that works flawlessly just like my other old ones.

 

[klswvu]

Like others have said: sentimental value or a discontinued design.

 

[arkangel06]

I have my grandfathers 1/4'' drive snap on ratchet I want to use the original pawl original reverse lever ect... but it neess a new gear in order to work. I also want to keep the original gear as a keep sake. So I will be buying a new rebuild kit.

 

[dr_clyde]

Its worth having the guts for your most used ratchets, especially if you're a field mechanic. That way, when you blow up the pawl and you've got a piece of equipment that's not making money, you can fix it NOW. You can't always wait around for the snap on truck.

 

[caper]

My Mac dealer used to give me 2-3 extra kits to keep in my box so I could fix my own when they broke instead of waitng on him to show up on thursday.And yes that Mac ratchet was such a POS it needed monthly,weekly sometimes,rebuilds.