Re-building air ratchets

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1930

1930

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I have some snap-on 3/8 drive that are not working properly, one has very low mileage and so no idea at this point what could have gone wrong, 2 otherhave high mileage, assuming the heads are worn.

Looking for a you-tube video but nothing the least bit comprehensive, net search as well and I get the feeling that its a mystery to many folks.

Anyone here have any hands on experience?
 
Just take one apart. There's really nuthin to it. I wish I had a wore out one and a rebuild kit. That would be a good how to to add to the tech section.
 
What brand are they or may be snap a picture. There are 3 or 4 different head designs. I might be able to help. tmm
 
I rebuilt an air ratchet back in the late 1970s. I bought a rebuild kit from the Snap On rep who visited our shop. It was simple then. I don't know if the technology has changed over the years.

I found out from the Snap On rep that too much oil is not good for the ratchet just as not enough oil is bad.
 
Id like to start with the latest one I bought new several years back, it is the one furthest left, it has seen VERY little use, sat in my box for the most part waiting for the high paying jobs before it saw some use.

I gave it air today and it runs constantly, the button/trigger pushes itself out when air is introduced but depressing the button makes little to no difference in its speed.

Very expensive ratchet when new, was VERY powerful as well.

Cant be a wear issue cause again very little use, must be some sort of faulty/malfunctioning/poorly manufactured part that has given way. Any ideas?
 

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RustyRatRod said:
Just take one apart. There's really nuthin to it. I wish I had a wore out one and a rebuild kit. That would be a good how to to add to the tech section.
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Rusty,
I have a wore out, non-working old snap on 1/4 air rachet, if you can find a rebuild kit I will ship it to you to add to the tech section.
I will pay shipping both ways and you for your time to rebuild it.
PM me.
 
DFX 340 Duster said:
I rebuilt an air ratchet back in the late 1970s. I bought a rebuild kit from the Snap On rep who visited our shop. It was simple then. I don't know if the technology has changed over the years.R

The split yoke ratchets haven't changed much. The Snappy heads are a bit different than the common CP or IR heads. The Snappy head kits are Snap On specific.

I found out from the Snap On rep that too much oil is not good for the ratchet just as not enough oil is bad.
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Too much oil in the air motor isn't good or necessary. A few drops in the air inlet before and after use is a good idea. Oil in the ratchet heads is good. There are a lot of action going on in the heads and lubrication is needed. A squirt in the head is good maintenance.

1930 said:
Id like to start with the latest one I bought new several years back, it is the one furthest left, it has seen VERY little use, sat in my box for the most part waiting for the high paying jobs before it saw some use.

I gave it air today and it runs constantly, the button/trigger pushes itself out when air is introduced but depressing the button.

Very expensive ratchet when new, was VERY powerful as well.

Cant be a wear issue cause again very little use, must be some sort of faulty/malfunctioning/poorly manufactured part that has given way. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Sounds like you need a o ring in the air valve. some are o rings and some are plastic valves. You will need the model number and a Snap on dealer to get the parts to fix it. You may have to remove the rubber handle cover to get to the valve. Hot water or carefully warming the boot with a heat gun or a hair dryer will soften the plastic.

sireland67 said:
Rusty,
I have a wore out, non-working old snap on 1/4 air rachet, if you can find a rebuild kit I will ship it to you to add to the tech section.
I will pay shipping both ways and you for your time to rebuild it.
PM me.
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That 1/4" ratchet will need Snap On parts also. When you say non working does the air motor run but the head slipps? If so you may only need a head kit. tmm
 
I had a few back in NZ we i had my shop that stopped working stripped down as best a possible cleaned then re oiled them assembled worked fine old oil had just dried and gummed them all up.
 
toolmanmike said:
Too much oil in the air motor isn't good or necessary. A few drops in the air inlet before and after use is a good idea. Oil in the ratchet heads is good. There are a lot of action going on in the heads and lubrication is needed. A squirt in the head is good maintenance.



Sounds like you need a o ring in the air valve. some are o rings and some are plastic valves. You will need the model number and a Snap on dealer to get the parts to fix it. You may have to remove the rubber handle cover to get to the valve. Hot water or carefully warming the boot with a heat gun or a hair dryer will soften the plastic.



That 1/4" ratchet will need Snap On parts also. When you say non working does the air motor run but the head slipps? If so you may only need a head kit. tmm
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If I provide the model # will you give me a better idea of whats needed? Assuming your a tool guy and go thru them often.

I have access to a snap-on dealer and the parts are also evidently available on-line.

Just do not know what to expect with taking it apart and do not want to screw things up worse.

Model # at the shop where the tool is, will get it today. Thanks
 
Other than what you can find on the internet, I don't have access to any more info on the Snappy air tools. They have their own designs and parts that don't interchange with the rest of the world. You might be better off contacting a Snap On dealer. You may take your air ratchets apart and find nothing broken but they still don't work. Rebuild kits or head repair kits may or may not take care of the problem.
 
toolmanmike said:
Other than what you can find on the internet, I don't have access to any more info on the Snappy air tools. They have their own designs and parts that don't interchange with the rest of the world. You might be better off contacting a Snap On dealer. You may take your air ratchets apart and find nothing broken but they still don't work. Rebuild kits or head repair kits may or may not take care of the problem.
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Ok, thanks anyway than. Ill talk to the rep. that comes in tomm.
 
Your Snap on rep can send them out and have them serviced to like new for you. I used to do mine every couple years to keep them running at full steam. When you are running them all day everyday the power drops off and they wear out especially the 1/4 drive ones.
 
Tech857 said:
Your Snap on rep can send them out and have them serviced to like new for you. I used to do mine every couple years to keep them running at full steam. When you are running them all day everyday the power drops off and they wear out especially the 1/4 drive ones.
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Thanks but I am not interested at this point in paying someone to do a job that I know I can do myself once I gather enough info.
 
Usually they get sticky and gummed up from sitting. You can take them apart, clean , oil and reassemble and they will work. Look for worn out O-rings, I think the trigger may have an o-ring, if it does not seal, it may run constantly. Just look for worn parts and go from there. It is like rebuilding anything else, usually the rebuild kit doesn't have what you need, so I take things apart, clean inspect, then make a list and order parts, then reassemble.
 
Ryan Ward said:
Usually they get sticky and gummed up from sitting. You can take them apart, clean , oil and reassemble and they will work. Look for worn out O-rings, I think the trigger may have an o-ring, if it does not seal, it may run constantly. Just look for worn parts and go from there. It is like rebuilding anything else, usually the rebuild kit doesn't have what you need, so I take things apart, clean inspect, then make a list and order parts, then reassemble.
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Im going to do this, talked with the Snap-On dealer today and now that you reminded me he also said trigger O-ring, I can remember when I could hop aboard the tool truck with my broken tools and hop off the tool truck 30 minutes later with a repaired tool.

I was told today that they no longer ( and havent for some time ) repair air tools on the truck, its all sent out to who knows where.

Im going to tear into it, maybe tomm since I am expecting some down time.

Thanks
 
Yep. You got it. A $50 kit, a half an hour to repair and no guarantee and it's better to send it in and have the experts at the repair department handle it. Mac Repair not only fixes what is broken but rebuilds it to factory specs and power ratings and guarantees it. They usually charge half price of new or less. That 1/2 hour I spend trying to fix the air ratchet could be better used selling a tool box and making myself $1000 which would pay my sales tax for the month or my truck payment. Just sayin'
 
1930 said:
Thanks but I am not interested at this point in paying someone to do a job that I know I can do myself once I gather enough info.
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At the factory repair center they do a flat fee repair and anything that is worn is replaced. I have sent them out and had them come back with a new housing and whole head assembly. You get a lot more than a 50.00 rebuild kit when you send it out.
 
I do not need a re-build kit for this ratchet, it has little use, I need a bad O-ring or some minor part I believe at this point. Cant justify sending it out to be factory reconditioned since its not worn out.
 
Did not have to take much apart to get at what I believe is needed and that is called a valve seat part # IM5100-22A 4.65.

This piece was broken into various sized pieces within the tool, looks like a plastic O-ring of sorts, 90% sure that this will fix the problem.

As luck would have it the part carries the same part # as what is also broken within my 300 plus dollar piece of junk Snap-On air chisel that has about 3 hrs use.

I will be ordering these fairly inexpensive parts and will update.
 
That is so strange at least its a simple fix. I have 3050 air chisel and it is one of the best tools I own.
 
Tech857 said:
That is so strange at least its a simple fix. I have 3050 air chisel and it is one of the best tools I own.
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I cannot figure out the luck either, I do take care of my tools, it is a PH2050 and it lasted less time than the FAR720 Ratchet. I do hope this inexpensive part fixes the issue within the air hammer.

Not sure why I opted for the 2050, I thought at the time it was the biggest they had....maybe the 3050 is a bit of a later version?

A bit ashamed to admit that at about the time this one let out ( 14 years ago, give or take ) I bought a Cambell Hausfield from Wal-Mart and in one form or another I have used it nearly Bi-daily and it has NEVER given me a lick of problem.

14.00 BTW
 
I have had the FAR720 since it came out back 10 years ago. It has been rebuilt 3 times I think. I broke the 3/8 square drive right off repeatedly until they changed the design. Snap on has had a few duds in their air tool line. The impact guns are not as powerful as the Ingersol Rand ones. But I really like the rachets and the PH3050 has the barrel mounted in a poly isolator so that it hammers the work but not your hand.
 
I said I would up-date and so here goes, the part that I mentioned in previous post was as mentioned ordered, I ordered 4 of them cause as mentioned it was the same part that I felt I needed for my air hammer.

Received the parts and installed the O-ring in the air hammer, worked like a charm, after all these years of sitting in my box un-used and seeing it now ready to use is pretty satisfying.

Also attempted to install same part in my FAR720 ratchet, O-ring would not fit down into the chamber properly, I attempted alot of different avenues but it simply would not go to the bottom of the sleeve where it needed to be, I in the end forced it as best as I could, re-assembled and the ratchet ran full blast continuous.

I re-contacted snap-on, they said there was a possibility that these rings were incorrect, I said I doubted it cause they carried the same part # as what was needed for hammer and they fixed that issue. They sent me 4 new ones anyway.

Attempted to install one this A.M, no way, it was just too large in diam. Difficult to see but got a light down the chamber and noticed a ridge, very slight but there, after feeling down inside with delicate instruments and taking some careful measurements with my inside Mics I was able to determine that the machining process inside of the tool was never completed.

I mounted a small DA within my vice and turned down the O-ring just enough to get over that ridge and drop down where it needed to be, Reassembled.

Tool once again works like new.

Once again I say Snap-on air tools are no better that any of my Ingersoll Rands.

I contacted Snap-on to let them know what I had found, they are very polite and seemingly anxious to do what is right, they suggested they would like to do something to compensate me for all my troubles, I suggested they warranty the 40 dollar trim piece on my tool box that had the clear anodized coating coming off as a gesture of good faith, they told me sorry but trim is not covered and Id have to just by the new part.

11,500 tool box and they wont warranty the trim.

At least my one air ratchet is fixed and I am happy to have it back again.

Thanks for the suggestions.
 
sireland67 said:
Rusty,
I have a wore out, non-working old snap on 1/4 air rachet, if you can find a rebuild kit I will ship it to you to add to the tech section.
I will pay shipping both ways and you for your time to rebuild it.
PM me.
Click to expand...

I just now saw this. PM sent.
 
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