Will Craftsman Warranty These Old Hex Sockets?

[hailwood1965]

Over the years the circlips fell out, then the hex, and now I am left with a drawer of these. I'd heard they will still warranty if you send the item in?

 

[Fedwrench]

I don't think so but, the last time I warrantied a Craftsman tools, I took it to an actual Sears

You could always take one to Lowes or Ace hardware to see what happens. I seem to remember a missing pieces clause where they wouldn't warranty anything that was missing pieces. The warranty evolves so, check the Craftsman website for the latest & greatest.

 

[hailwood1965]

Not looking good. Oh well.

I bought these tools in 1991!

 

[ForrestT]

Can’t speak to craftsman warranty on those nowadays, but here’s what I did if needed as I had same issue. I bought replacements from advance auto and autozone so I had easy of warranty. When the smaller torx wear down, I take them in for the exchange. I didn’t see paying more for higher quality brands. They seem to wear or strip about the same. Can’t speak for snap on of proto etc because I wasn’t going to put the money into them and not a pro mechanic with truck service. Just your average diy’er.

 

[mikebaker1129]

Cut some spring the size of the clip .
Install some replacement bits.

 

[Steve_P]

What's the warranty claim? That you lost the bits in something you bought 30+ years ago?

 

[srs2000]

They might if you contacted them directly. Lowes/ace? Doubt it. Hard to get them to honor the warranty when you have the complete item.

I'd point out that the retaining mechanism failing is what led to the missing pieces.

I'd just upgrade to v-series hex sockets if I were you though. I think metric was going for under 20 bucks on ebay last I saw. They work with rounded fasteners.

 

[hailwood1965]

What's the warranty claim? That you lost the bits in something you bought 30+ years ago?

No. That they have fallen out, with the circlip, over the years. So the tool has failed.

See, when I bought these, THIRTY YEARS AGO they had a lifetime warranty. I had other ones I could use, but put these in a drawer for a mass return some day.

I threw them away this afternoon. "made in America" on every one.

 

[d.mcfarland]

All you need is a picture and fill out the form online.

 

[cody1325]

All you need is a picture and fill out the form online.

This is the way. Not only will you get new ones, they'll let you keep the old ones, which you can fix in the meantime.

Swapped a spare (but stripped) USA 1/4" ratchet I had, and the replacement was pretty mediocre compared to the old one. Had I done it online, I could've made good use of the rebuild kit I forgot I had.

 

[darkzero]

THIRTY YEARS AGO they had a lifetime warranty.

For your lifetime or their lifetime, unfortunately it's the latter.

I personally would just try to fix them myself (if it's just missing clips) if possible if it's for an older Sears Craftsman tool & especially if it was made in the USA. I'm not a fan lf SB&D Craftsman (Craftsman is dead to me) and I rather keep an old USA Craftsman tool than to have it replaced with China or Taiwan.

 

[rust in the eye]

You'd be better served by repairing them(glue or make a clip) yourself and having a decent tool rather than the current replacement which I'd suspect will be inferior.

 

[AEAdam]

I had the same sockets. These were among the tools that drove me to Snap On. These are really BAD sockets.

Note how they cheaped out and made only a few sockets, then machined the Allen bits to fit. Never buy bit sockets like these.

Also pay particular attention to the 3/8”(?) bit that necks DOWN into the chrome. Pretty sure I sheared that one. The bits were soft and ill-fitting, as I recall.

I found SOME craftsman tools acceptable. These and the raised panel wrenches were among the worst. 1/4” drive sockets I found to be particularly vague.

 

[chevy.stroker]

Strange..I got these same bits in the late 70's. The 3/8 was not necked down, and I used it on a ton of GM front caliber bolts on a 3/8 air ratchet. I still use it as needed.

The others that fit I still use in my hand impact tool. The big Phillips is particularly handy on those rotors with a screw.

Interesting how different people have such opposite experiences.

 

[Old Donn]

Sadly, the "Lifetime Warranty" pretty much went away when Sears did. Even before that, several items were no longer covered, thanks in large part to Hurricane Katrina. According to my late son-in-law who worked at a Sears tool department in Mississippi, contractors descended on the Gulf Coast and would have arm loads of tools to warranty pretty much every day, so much so, there'd be little or nothing left on the shelves for paying customers. These days, trying Lowes or Ace is a **** shoot. Around here, they won't warranty a hand tool unless you bought it there and have a receipt. Otherwise, call the 800 number.

 

[chevy.stroker]

I remember in the 80's seeing oil well drillers coming back from overseas with boxes of broken Craftsman tools.

 

[unslow1]

I had a few like that and just put bits in them with Loctite to hold it.

 

[hailwood1965]

You'd be better served by repairing them(glue or make a clip) yourself and having a decent tool rather than the current replacement which I'd suspect will be inferior.

No the Tekton ones are very nice and solid.