Craftsman 3/8 ratchet and sockets.... 10pcs./10 bux

[2stix]

cool link thanks for posting it iwannacroak (weird screen name man). try not to over grease them though. too much grease and tend to be slower and not engage as smooth. that pic in the link seemed a bit too much IMHO. but whatever works. dont forget to oil the socket hold ball too. i put a little oil on them and push them in a few times.

 

[souske]

A small flathead will help hold the ball in its pocket while you slide the ratchet setup in.

I used black moly grease

 

[iwannadie]

A small flathead will help hold the ball in its pocket while you slide the ratchet setup in.

I used black moly grease

Even my smallest flat head was too big to fit between and hold the ball bearing in place. I ended up lining the ball with the slot and slid it in that way, took a few tries keeping everything lined up though.

 

[2stix]

i use to use a very small flat head screw driver. like you would use for sunglasses or ? . at first i used a pick tool, but because of the round to round surface, i kept flinging the ball bearing and spending a good 30 minutes looking for it. thats when i tried the small flat head and never had a problem. now i found a cool pick tool that has a small cup at the end that hold the bearing real good. i think they were designed for manicurists.

 

[bigalpha]

I don't have a pair of snap ring pliers to get the retaining clip off. Any ingenious solutions to that besides buying a pair of snap ring pliers?

 

[hubs97xj]

Granted, mine are 20 years old, but the snap rings only require a pair of pliers. A couple of dental picks might do it, but you'll probably need extra hands. You really should have some snap ring pliers. I know, I don't do "ingenious" well...

Also, dental picks work well to hold the ball in place while you drop the pawl into the wrench. That's how I put mine back together.

http://www.impalassforum.com/vBulletin/showpost.php?p=2559526&postcount=22

Mine are the same as the top/right ratchets in that post.

 

[bigalpha]

I couldn't get a grip on mine with just pliers. Until now, i haven't needed a pair of snap rings.

 

[hubs97xj]

http://www.amazon.com/OEM-25012-Four-Piece-Combination-Pliers/dp/B000CMFJKW

These are cheap, and arguably the worst kind, but I only use mine about once every five to ten years.

 

[souske]

I have heard of some folks having luck carefully grinding a pair of needlenose pliers to fit the snap ring. Never had any luck with it myself, except for large ones.

 

[2stix]

i have done the needle nose sharpening trick and it works well. but it takes a long time to file them. even the cheap needle nose plier tips seem to be stronger than most store bought snap ring plier tips.

 

[bigalpha]

Ironically, I found a long lost Sears gift card - so I bought a pair of real snap rings yesterday.Nothing fancy, but should be good enough to do the trick.