I have a ton of craftsman ratchets and sockets, and some of them are getting kinda gross, yes they still work, but its kind of a pain when they slip out of your had bc of grease. What do yall use to clean them, and how do you do it? also my ratchets seem to be getting stickier and i know i can bring them back, but id rather clean and oil them myself then go to the store for an exchange. How do you go about doing this? im kinda afraid to take them apart without prior knowledge of what im doing but maybe yall can help me out with that.

i wipe mine off with a rag before i put them away each time. if they won't come clean after that, just throw any degreaser on there.

as for sticking ratchets, nothing is more annoying. i pull mine apart and lube them once in a while, its really pretty straight forward. each socket manufacturer uses slightly different parts inside, but they are all similar.

just be careful not to loose the little spring and steel ball inside, they are a little tricky to get back in. if you're not rebuilding the ratchet, just lubing it, you can usually just pull the cover with snapring pliers, lube it up, and re-assemble the cover without digging into the parts.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff18/billymade/ratchetrebuild.jpg?t=1250011506

toss them in the dishwasher to clean them, then pop the cover on the ratchet and drop some lube in. like said above becareful of the little ball and spring.

I wipe everything off with a rag, and that's it. When ratchets start getting sticky I just drop them in my oil catch pan during an oil change. Some times it's on purpose, sometimes not. Either way they come out working much better :flipoff2:

any lub/oil will do? or is there anything specific i should look for?

Everything gets wiped off unless it's really bad, then it goes in the parts washer.

I use WD40 to cut through the nasty shit on my tools.... you just have to get off all of the WD or they will be kinda slick.

I have heard, but not yet tried, that Permatex makes some red lube (maybe assembly lube?) that works wonders for ratchets. I also heard you will have some oozing out for the first couple of uses. The guys on the garage journal forum swear by it.

dishwashing machine!
:grinpimp:

I have always wiped my ratchets and wrenches down with a light amount of lacquer thinner on a rag....I hate greasy tools.....I've done this for 35 years and never had any issues.

Obviously, you dont' want to rub plastic handles of screwdrivers with the lacquer.

I also have all my tools in a heated garage, so I dont' have to worry about moisture.

Don't feel to bad about having to clean them yourself. Atleast in my case with my half inch ratchet all Sears did was give me a repair kit for it. Didn't 1 for 1 exchange it. Easy to disassemble with the right snap ring pliers!

good old diesel

clean and Lubaction

Sounds like your way beyond the basic wipe clean. Get a gallon paint can and gallon of paint thinner and put a bunch of tools in the can and fill it up with thinner and just let it sit over night. Next day shake the can a bit and then open the lid. Use an old t-shirt to wipe them off. Any sockets that still have junk inside them will need a small brush to clean them out. Or leave them in the can for a week:flipoff2:

I just wipe them with a shop rag to remove any heavy grease. I don't even bother cleaning oil off of them, its rust proofing! The Snap On guy recommended silicon spray lubricant because of how light it is. The thicker the lubricant the harder the ratchet will be to turn. I wouldn't go putting tools in the dishwasher BTW.

I just wipe them with a shop rag to remove any heavy grease. I don't even bother cleaning oil off of them, its rust proofing! The Snap On guy recommended silicon spray lubricant because of how light it is. The thicker the lubricant the harder the ratchet will be to turn. I wouldn't go putting tools in the dishwasher BTW.


other then the better half getting ticked, why not? most dish detergent has degreasers in them and are pretty mild detergent. only ill effect i have run into was loseing all the lube in the ratchets. for that matter i have also put small interior parts in the dishwasher with good results, getting the mud and junk out of the little crevasses of my dash vents and stuff

Thanks for all of the responses, i think im gonna try the paint thinner method cuz i have a bunch lying around already and if that doesnt work right ill try some of these others. I can see the dishwasher working, but i would rather avoid that argument

good old diesel

clean and Lubaction

I never thought of that.......that's southern style, I'll have to give it a shot :D

I pretty much wipe my stuff after each use and use kroil with silicone to lube the ratchets without taking them apart.

i am surprised you people don`t have a dish washer in the shop they are great for cleaning parts . only down side is if you don`t have water.

If you used my tools and left them like that you'd get a boot in the ass.....i hate picking up greasy tools!:mad3:

other then the better half getting ticked, why not? most dish detergent has degreasers in them and are pretty mild detergent. only ill effect i have run into was loseing all the lube in the ratchets. for that matter i have also put small interior parts in the dishwasher with good results, getting the mud and junk out of the little crevasses of my dash vents and stuff

For some reason it just doesn't seem like a good idea to be submerging tools in water. Personally I don't see the big deal with dirty tools, but I use mine every day, and I'm not going to sit there and degrease my tools after every use.

Ask over a garage journal. There are some guys over there that only clean their tools, they never seem to use them.

I usually use a clean rag with a little brake cleaner sprayed on it. As long as you don't leave them dirty they can be wiped off after each project.

dirty tools means a lousy mechanic
a shop rag with a shot of brake clean doesnt take too long

dirty tools means a lousy mechanic
a shop rag with a shot of brake clean doesnt take too long


I though dirty tools meant a busy mechanic.

I agree with you, a quick wipe down with a rag after the job keeps my stuff clean. Apparently, I'm a slacker when it comes to lubing my ratchets though. I can't remember the last time I did that.

dirty tools means a lousy mechanic
a shop rag with a shot of brake clean doesnt take too long

Do you not think that it is a bit of a waste of time to clean your tools after every job if you are a professional mechanic? Its not like labor times include time for polishing your tools. Just a thought, but I would guess that brake clean would have some adverse effect on your tools finish, which is something you would probably be worried about since you are polishing your tools in the first place:flipoff2:.

I use those "Scrubs in a Bucket" hand wipes after every use. Works awesome if they aren't covered in grease.

Do you not think that it is a bit of a waste of time to clean your tools after every job if you are a professional mechanic? Its not like labor times include time for polishing your tools. Just a thought, but I would guess that brake clean would have some adverse effect on your tools finish, which is something you would probably be worried about since you are polishing your tools in the first place:flipoff2:.

end of job all tools are cleaned and placed in their proper storage location, then paper work written up.

ensures all the tools are accounted for and ready for the next task.

I certainly wouldnt be paying top dollar for someone that cant even be bothered to wipe crud off his tools.
if he cannot look after his own things how can you expect him to look after your things.

end of job all tools are cleaned and placed in their proper storage location, then paper work written up.

ensures all the tools are accounted for and ready for the next task.

I certainly wouldnt be paying top dollar for someone that cant even be bothered to wipe crud off his tools.
if he cannot look after his own things how can you expect him to look after your things.

I just think that is being a bit OCD. I wipe grease and oil off my tools, but I'm not going to sit there with a can of brake clean and a rag cleaning my tools after every job. That doesn't mean that I don't take care of my things.

Accounting for all your tools is a little OCB? You must not do much intake work or work under dashes then. I've learned to account for all of them and give the dirty ones a quick wipe. I use a shop of brake clean on a rag to clean them real good once in a while. If brake clean has an adverse effect on the finish of my tools my Snap-On guy and I are going to have words. I've never intentionally lubed my ratchets for what it's worth. It says right on the back plate not to do so. They do, on occasion, land in an oil catch can or puddle of gear lube.

I wasn't very clear, I was referring to cleaning them with brake clean after every job. Losing tools is a whole other story...