Recently had my old 1/4 Snap on ratchet loose some teeth after a few decades and I called into Snap On for a replacement. Without any issue or problems they offered to send me a rebuild kit free of charge, if I thought I could handle it - otherwise they would just send me an entire brand new ratchet. Thinking back it is pretty funny, what mechanic is going to say, "No I can't handle rebuilding a socket wrench yet I work on cars". LOL They also warrantied out an 18 mm that I had which was cracked! All of this over the phone!
Two days later my ratchet kit arrived. I have to admit I was a little intimidated having not ever rebuilt one before but it was fun and I even got to break out that expensive jewelers torx bit kit I bought to fix iPhones! LOL, I was used to the Snap on guy ferrying away these tools and rebuilding them in his truck returning them all nice and fresh, then I remembered I am just a mom and pops, and I don't have a Snap-On dude, LOL
Anyway it wasn't too bad, plus I got to deeply bond with a ratchet I use every day! I was worried that this would be like a Mercedes fuel distributor where you opened it up and a million springs came flying out, but it was relatively easy without any instructions which is a good thing because it did not include any! LOL
But again I must say that Snap-On has a Stellar return policy and they make it right!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
You may have been better-off with a whole new ratchet .... But see how the rebuild kit goes for now...
The inside casting does open-up & wear a little too, meaning the life of the new teeth you now have may not last as long as the original ones did.
I know they say to oil them, but I've found that a good dose of grease inside works the best, as it pushed itself out as you use it, meaning that no dirt gets to enter.
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
You are probably right that a new ratchet would have been better, but they did give me that option. I honestly feel like I could call them tomorrow and tell them I was not satisfied with the rebuild and they would send me a brand new ratchet too! But that is not how it played out, I am very happy with the rebuild and there was next to no damage inside the old unit. Once I got it cleaned out from all that dried up grease it was in very good shape. The new parts fit great and the ratchet feels excellent! I myself have a personal attachment to this old ratchet and a new one would not give that same feeling but it is even nicer to know I can rebuild this ratchet for many more decades to come!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
That's great news ! I felt the same way with my 3/8"-ratchet when they gave me the rebuild kit, & it works just fine too, but didn't quite feel like a new one, that's all. I figured that a 1/4"-ratchet may have worn a little more in the casing than mine did, that's all.
If you're happy, I'm happy for you lol !
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
Sure a new ratchet would be new. There is no denying that!
But this ratchet seemed to suffer from dried up lubrication. As you can see in the photos its a mess in there but once cleaned up there really wasnt any loss of material or significant wear at all! Id also be willing to bet that its just as smooth in operation as a new one! No doubt mine has some wear marks, scratches and battle wounds but I put them there so they dont bother me so much.
The important part here is that if I wanted a new ratchet, I feel they would actually send me one. Id rather save them some money and just use the kit because I want them to be around forever! I am even going to place an order tonight to replace a lost 8mm 6 point deep well 1/4 inch socket. $23 every time me or the kid loses one of them little pricks! But what are you going to do? I buy a fair amount of hand tools from SnapOn.com because often times their brand new tools are less expensive than some of the used ones you see online!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Don't be too concerned about saving them $$$...In all honesty ( at least here in Oz ) they're at least 4-5-times more pricey than say Stahl-Wille, so I like to think that you've already paid for your repair kit & /or/ 2nd-ratchet on the initial purchase price LOL !
The Snap-On man with his truck will be more than happy to pay you a visit SELLC...But he'd also want you buying stuff every visit to make it worth his while, so better to buy when you need to IMO lol !
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
Got my 8mm, $23 1/4 inch socket in the mail today... Apparently the Blue Point double flare tool is on backorder so I will have to keep using the inexpensive kit I have.
The ratchet is working great, smoother than ever! Although from the looks of the internals from before (crusty and rusty) it is a wonder it even worked!
Very happy with the replacement gear set kit, the ratchet literally works like NEW now!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
You may have been better-off with a whole new ratchet .... But see how the rebuild kit goes for now...
The inside casting does open-up & wear a little too, meaning the life of the new teeth you now have may not last as long as the original ones did.
I know they say to oil them, but I've found that a good dose of grease inside works the best, as it pushed itself out as you use it, meaning that no dirt gets to enter.
You were right... the ratchet was skipping a beat due to the housing being worn! It is essentially the alignment bearing of the entire mechanism.
I even had a broken 13mm Deepwell Chrome 3/8 drive socket too! They did send me a UPS label to send them back, but I'm still somewhat peeved this has turned into a hassle! Before they would just send the stuff right out! Now it's more like having to haggle with them! I can understand them wanting the old ones back but why not just ship the stuff with a return label to send the old stuff back? That way it's not extra steps that keep your tools in limbo! Feel like they are getting a little cheap over there at SnapOn! Anymore it's common to have a chrome SnapOn 3/8 drive split taking off regular intake or timing cover bolts! Back in the old days this wasn't so much of a problem! Heck, I have a 20 year old Craftsman backup that is USA made and has lasted longer than THREE SnapOns! Maybe they need to look into it, or at the least quit jerking me around every time one of their tools craps the bed.
So I reached out to Snap On for a replacement and was told I would have to send it in for warranty! I was sort of shocked! I figured they would have another one to me the next day, espeically since I even gave it an honest try to fix it for them in the past! But, nope! They want it back before they replace it! You would think they would just send me another one with what they charge for these things, plus what I have spent with them!
Just spent over $500 getting some new stuff that I was missing out of my sets the day before too!!! and most of the items are on back-order! To add insult to injury, I even purchased another ratchet from them! I sure hope SnapOn gets better about their warranty... I mean it's one thing if it's just "in the mail", but I don't know...
Used to be I'd pay the extra for the SnapOn name and reputation for quick no fuss warranty... but I don't know anymore! I'm a little bit upset they are dragging their feet! Acting like I ain't paying top dollar for crap service!
Who knows, the replacement socket and ratchet could be on my doorstep tomorrow... If that were the case then I'd update the thread... three days isn't bad... but if this rolls into next week I'm going to have to really question spending the extra on SnapOn in the future!
And trust me, I was checking out their new Zeus Scanner at $10,000... I dunno... they want to be penny wise and pound foolish...
Anyway, finally got my socket sets back into 100% full and double order... meaning one nice SnapOn set, along with one old Craftsman or worse brand set to back up the SnapOn... Even got that 21mm they were backordered on last time.
I sure hope I don't have to get all worked up... I mean this thread pretty much backs up everything I have been saying... I did try to save the ratchet! But you seen it, outside of sentemental value, the case was just worn out.
I guess perhaps, in light of the pandemic and overall craziness of current times I was just being too optimistic... while in the past I have been getting items warrantied with no fuss, most of them times it was for one or two small sockets... Plus when you're spending money with Snap-On there is the sticker shock, added in with having two failed tools and maybe I got a little overboard...
I say that because Snap-On is still the best in the business and just like promised they warrantied out the entire 1/4 ratchet.
I've missed my Snap-On ratchets... something about that chrome.
So I guess all is well that ends well... my butthole still hurts a 'lil... but I can't keep from gazing at them brand new chrome Snap-On's waiting to bust a few nuts.
