Chickadee and I made a T-shirt. It's both sage and funny. teespring.com/... Comparing the old 3/8" Milwaukee ratchet to a new fuel ratchet. The head on the M12 Fuel is HUGE and consequently, reasonably skookum.
Love the story about the hole saw. I did a similar thing. In the 70's I was a pro mechanic on Triumph sports cars. The Spit fire came from the factory with loose bolts on the clutch pressure plate. Rather than take the interior out ( the trans came out through the floor), I used a 1 inch hole saw to cut through the bell housing to tighten the 8 loose bolts then sealed up the hoke with the cut-out and silver silicone. 10 hour (book) job done in 30 minutes. Bob's yer Auntie!
I had a ‘73 Mercury Marquis - to replace cabin fan required cutting a 4”x4” hole in the passenger wheel well, sealed back up with a stamped plate and 8 screws. Fortunately, previous owner had the fan motor replaced once already and all I had to do was read the TSB then find the access plate. This was at a time when most American cars needed only 10 minutes to replace a fan motor mounted at the top of the cowl.
I read that the welsh plugs that corrode and leak are the ones hard up against the firewall meaning the engine has to come out. The 30 minute solution is to lift up the rubber mat, cut a hole in the firewall, replace the welsh plug then replace the rubber mat, that is don’t bother patching up the hole. When I had to have the engine out on my ‘71 Holden because of a $5 leaking rear oil seal, I had all of the welsh plugs replaced at that time. I had not thought about welsh plugs, my friend mentioned them in an offhand BTW comment.
@@for2utube: I've hole-sawed a few holes into wheel wells to access nearly inaccessible rear spark plugs. I think 70's Corvette, V8 Vega and/or Maverick? Not sure; so long ago. But big time saver.
i just did something similar today, old Mercedes A class crankshaft bolt, they where nice enough to put a hole there for your socket but the head of the screw wont fit through it.
Your little holesaw story hit home there, AvE. I'm a mechanic, the '98 Lincoln Mk. VIII has a 12" long bolt that holds the upper control arm on, the strut tower is welded to the subframe, inorder to change the A-arm, you gotta remove the brake booster and holesaw through the firewall and pull the bolt out through, under the dash... I swear, the way they engineer those cars is draw a chalk outline of the car on the floor and dump a 5 gallon bucket of various metric bolts in it, and that's where the bolts go in the design...
It seems he tends to do that when he likes the tool or anticipates liking the tool. I’ve noticed tamed openings on the Milwaukee Fuel Hackzall and Fuel and non-Fuel ratchets.
18-years experience R/C truck racer here, batteries are my jam. Last I was aware most lithium batteries ship with an 80% charge, which is about as much charge as you'd want to keep in a lithium for any extended period of time (weeks or more). As you said in the start of the vidjayo, lithium batteries don't like to be left sitting fully charged or fully dead, they prefer to be somewhere in-betwixt. In fact many competition chargers for R/C batteries come with a special "storage charge" mode that'll either charge or discharge the battery to a safe level for extended storage. Leaving lithium batteries fully charged is bad, but draining them to absolute zero is much worse. I'm noticing on some of the lithium drills & drivers we've got at the machine shop I work at, these tools seem to be equipped with a lithium battery cutoff because when the battery dies, the tool goes straight from full chooch to lights out. Lithium cells drop off quickly when they reach full discharge but not lightswitch fast. We've had integrated lithium battery cutoffs in R/C car electronics for several years that will detect when the battery is approaching full discharge and put the car/truck into a "limp mode" (so you can get off the track and out of the way of fellow racers) before shutting itself down completely. I have to assume toolmakers are seeing that allowing lithium batteries to fully de-chooch to a dangerous level (unsafe to recharge) is asking for a major liability lawsuit, so they're incorporating battery cutoffs as well. So if your lithium power tool suddenly conks out on ya from outta nowhere and no amount of trigger squeezing or reinserting the battery will get it goin' again, it's probably hit the cutoff. Nothin' t'worry 'bout, just plug her into the charger and take a coffee break.
ON and OFF is really NOT quite the same. In cordless-powered battery devices. Lap tops and cell phones are the same.. OH CRAP! It's not easy to pull the power supply from some of these devices.! My Chinese digital calipers are also being discharged at a constant rate as well. We all have a SHIT-ton of battery-powered tools,if we are here.
Diesel mechanic here. I have been pretty much using the the 3/8" brushed ratchet daily for 2 years now, no failures aside from the battery's plastic case falling off (Easily fixed with super glue). Oh and also, a couple days ago out of pure anger as a result of the directional control switch getting stuck, I began violently smashing the head of the ratchet against the step of a Freightliner. This resulted in the steel ratchet housing cracking. Thing still fuckin works though! I'm now wondering if all the coolant, oil, water, salt, dirt, ATF, and blood I have gotten inside of it has somehow strengthened the internals. Update: The switch is clogged with shmoo. Can only get half throttle out of the thing. Will attempt disassembly soon.
I'm not a pro but been using the 3/8" brushed for all kinda shit all summer and it's been beefy as needed. Been a great tool and does what a 3/8" ratchet should do. Any meatnugget who busts one of these by cranking on a tough bolt like it's a breaker bar deserves a trip to Home Depot to think about his sins.
I've been using the same one at work for something like two years now and it's been great. I did try to unscrew the giant caliper bolts from a 911 Turbo once and snapped the spinny bit that runs the ratchet thing but $8 on eBay got me a new one. If this ever dies I'll have to try the brushless model.
Just like replacing the passenger-side blend door actuator in a GMT800 truck... gotta cut the air duct in two and pull that out and then tape it up when you reinstall it
@@tommypetraglia4688 One of the best tools i ever bought was a horrid fright pneumatic saw. Chevy blazer, bad fuel pump, don't drop the tank. Cut an access hole. Can't get to the O2 sensor cut hole in wheel well. Ah yes mercury window lift as of high i remember.
Your story about using a holesaw on the inner wing, we used to do it all the time on Classic mini's so you could get an impact gun on the flywheel puller!
Happens with John Deere combine harvesters as well, have to cut and modify a bunch of stuff to work on it. The parts department is part of their business model, but the machines aren't designed to be repaired.
Similar story... I was a Ford tech in the '70's. Full size Galaxy's had the heater blower motor hidden behind the right side wheel well. To remove it you had to take apart half the dashboard inside. So what guys were doing to beat the book time was cut a hole in the wheel well. Easy access. Problem was they left it open. Not good in NY winters with snow and water splashing up there, killing the new blower shortly. Ford finally got smart and started to dimple a template in the wheel well and supply a cover plate with the new blower motor. You cut out the hole, replace the motor, put some dum dum (strip caulk) around the cover plate and screw it into place. Job done.
@ Martin Reynolds I was just thinking along similar lines - it's how I changed my first Mini cam. Just pull the radiator and cut through a couple of the braces across the exit holes in the inner fender...and pull the cam through. Sure beats pulling the engine and trans. :-)
At jeep we used a strategically placed 2.5" hole behind and under the passenger headlamp to access the rad fan control module on the older Grand Cherokees. Beats the heck out of removing the whole front fascia and all the one time use plasti-rivets!
In addition modern microcontrollers only draw a few nanoamperes in deep sleep mode. And battery management chips often come with a "shipping mode" which disconnects the battery until the user first turns on the device or plugs in a charger.
I have a jacket that killed the battery but since I use my tools and my 12v tools are cameras and lights they got me. I won’t warenty it because guilt from breaking so many Fuel tools. I’m extremely hard on them and honestly want to keep my team red going so not hate but Hilti is definitely better but I need spares so big red is my go to, (I can have three for one so I’ll take three inferior to one skookum).
Switch used is actually German: Marquardt. The company is specialized on switches and is also active in automotive business. Saw some Mercedes keys with their small "m" logo on the key.
Marquardt also makes keys for Audi. You can find a picture of an Audi key on Marquardt's website us.marquardt.com/industries/automotive/drive-authorization-systems/ They are also a supplier for American companies like Stanley Black & Decker and Chrysler. The first products they developed when the company was founded in 1925 were built-in switches for electrical appliances etc. Marquardt Switches subdivision: www.marquardt-switches.com In 1991 Marquardt took over the competing tool switch manufacturer, Russenberger. Among many other things Marquardt also makes complete BMS (battery management systems) for EVs etc. They have more than 11,000 employees worldwide.
Snap on will rip apart his asshole with a 10 year mortgage just to buy a battery for one of their guns. They're absolute tosh and cost twice as much as milwaukee, I've converted all the guys at my workshop to milwaukee, literally everyone has got rid of (or is planning to upon it's failure) their strap on for a milwaukee
I have both the snap on 1/4” drive electric ratchet and the Milwaukee non fuel 1/4” electric ratchet. I use the Milwaukee at work and the snap-on at home; the snap on one is to big, I bet the Milwaukee fuel is built better than the Snap-On.
7:00 I actually just warrantied my non-fuel version. It’s as you said, something in the head broke. In particular it was the pin that the motor spins to drive the ratcheting mechanism.
@@ouikikazz Very true. Sometimes they are models with less features too. Just gotta be careful and smart when you shop. I have gotten a few hundred dollars worth of batteries for free or heavily discounted with already discounted tool prices so far. Holidays are def the best time to shop for deals. Besides sometimes last year's model is 90% of the tool for 50% of the price!
@@kartingpt It absolutely isn't. The batteries aren't disposable like in cartridges. They last years. If you use your tools daily, the time and hassle saved is massive. Mine have been well worth it.
several months back, I called Milwaukee to see if they recommended storing the tools with the battery attached and they said specifically to pull the batteries if the tool isn't going to be used for a while.
I only do it so if somehow the trigger is pressed, I don't have it running and damaging itself or another object. I keep mine in soft bags in a trunk so, eh. Do what works. Lithium ion aren't the dinosaurs we grew up with.
I’ve had my m12 kit for nine years and always store my batteries in the tools. Still using the original batteries. Storing them separate, to me seems like would only increases the risk of shmoo on the contacts
@Dave Micolichek This was more of a general rule for nicad/nimh batteries, lithium ion batteries don't really care, and do best between 20-80%, like ninja said.. They don't like to be fully charged, or discharged.
Heavy tools are durable and powerful but it is hard to overemphasize how much easier it is to use a lighter, smaller tool. These ratchets are for small assembly nuts, few would use them for lug nuts or high torque bolts. For chainsaws, cutoff saws, and hammers, heavier isn't always better....
Your definitely right my friend. When I first started mechanic’ing 😂 I had my first 3/8 brushed ratchet an used it for a brake job on my 07 Silverado. Now looking back, that was retarded as can be. But now… definitely I keep my replacement to it as a fender liner removal tool. Or anything equivalent to those fasteners. Funny how tools work so well for what they’re intended for 😂
This thing has a MOSFET and a diode to form a half-bridge PWM driver for the motor speed control. It's usually done with two synchronous MOSFETs to decrease the losses and increase the efficiency, but a diode for freewheeling is cheaper.
Technically it is not a half bridge, that would require two mosfets in tote-pole configuration. This is most likely a simple low-side driver with an N channel mosfet switching the ground side (NFETs are cheaper) and the diode would be across the motor winding in the reverse direction to the normal current flow to dump the energy stored in the motor winding when the mosfet turns off. Half bridges let you electronically reverse the motor direction, but require a split power supply (full bridges do the same thing without the requirement for a split supply).
@@deanafranks Hey, you are right. You have described the same thing that I did, but you have reversed the driving side from highside to lowside. N-MOSFET leverage is unquestionable, I stand corrected!
It is a DC and one way only turning motor, so a single Mosfet is all you need. The diode is for suppressing switching current spikes at PWM off an ons. They didn't cheap on or lost efficiently, it is done right for what it needs to do.
Lithium ion cells like to be stored at 3.5v which is exactly why you found the pack at 10.5v. There are also DOT regulations regarding the state of charge allowable for shipping, but I don't think a 3s 18650 battery meets the capacity requirement of those regulations. Source: Am a battery test engineer.
@@BlackEpyon that's dependent on the manufacturer and the application. The range you listed is good for cycle life but leaves capacity on the table. Full capacity for most cells is 2.5-2.8v lower cutoff to 4.1-4.2v upper cutoff. Using full capacity degrades cycle life.
The hole saw story was similar to how you changed heater motors on late 70's full size Fords and Mercs. The "kit" was a stainless patch panel that you used as a template to cut the hole in the inner fender, then used again to cover the hole after the motor was changed. It was a pretty good solution to an otherwise labour crazy job.
Really liked that story you told. Certainly something to keep in mind that sometimes a simple solution can be fairly unorthodox and that you shouldn't always be afraid to break past the prefab mold of the thing you're working on.
I don't have the fuel version, but I started out with the 1/4 years ago when they 1st hit. I use it for fender liners, bumpers, spark plug removal, intake manifold fasteners and the like. I bumped up to the 3/8 and it's pretty solid. I have yet to have an issue. I am a "260 pound gorilla" but I know how to proper use tools. I have an entire draw of just torque wrenches lol I love your channel, I've probably seen every episode. Keep it up!
Just remember those new to the game, if a component has two legs, it's not necessarily a diode, check if the tab is connected to the circuit, though not in this case as you can see its isolated and hence a diode as Ave said.
Crazy. I use the 3/8 and 1/4" flavors daily and abuse the crap out of them. The only thing I don't to is use the handle to reef excessively hard on a stuck fastener. I regularly will spin the tool at wide open throttle and drop the socket on said fastener. Impromptu impact! Works great. ~3 years of daily abuse and have zero failures to date.
@@firehawk6188 I do that too. My snap on guy loves warrantying my 10mm socket! nothing like spinnin it up and droppin it on pulley bolts, taking them out without even holding the pulley.
As an mechanic, i can confirm the need for 2 elbows, 6 knuckles, and vice grip fingers. Also not being a small guy, i hate some engineers, usually toyotas. Lol
@@monkeypainter808 you probably drive the good ones. I drive the shitty Corolla. Been good for the most part - had a seized caliper at one point but I didn't wash it for winters. She's a little old too.
I have a lot of m12 tools(even the rotary hammer) and its exactly as you say- light duty. If you use them appropriately they're fine,but you can't expect them to drill 16mm holes in concrete or 100mm holes in in wood and expect them to last. There good for times when weight is more important than power.
Home despot on Father's day sells a Milwaukee kit with a ratchet, hex driver, "hammer" drill, hacksall, flashlight and 2 batteries with a charger for $200
Reminds me of a story my Uncle told me. He worked as a mechanic for over 40 years. Had a job to replace the a frame. Suppose to pull the engine to do it. He said he just slightly jacked up the engine, attached a chain to a cross bar resting on padding on the fenders to hold the engine up. Then unbolted everything and snuck the a frame out the bottom. :D Did it faster than the book time.
What I reckon is happening with the motor driving circuit ( I actually am an electrical engineer XD) is that they are just using a simple chopper/buck converter to control the motor voltage, they don't need a full bridge since the motor is running in just one direction (the direction of the socket is switched mechanically in the gearbox at the head), and as such it would be an unecessary waste of resources/money/complexity to use a full bridge. I actually don't se anything wrong with the topology as long as the circuit and motor are designed correctly
Exactly! brushed DC motor and only needs to turn one way. Then you only need one mosfet to switch it on and off for PWM. Diode for suppressing inductance spikes during on and off transitions. That is all needed.
Quite a big fan of my Non-Fuel 3/8ths rachet....it is small enough to get into small spaces for work on my truck, SXS and other random projects. Couple weeks ago it sheared the crank shaft. Dropped it off at my local Milwaukee reapir shop and he said, yep we see these all the time getting warrantied.....they had the replacment crank shaft already in their shop as they fix so many. I might grab a Fuel version, but i was really turned on by the compact size.....I don't really care about the torque ratting, reef on it to break it and spin the nut off.....so well see how the second go around with this tool goes, first one lasted 2 years of decently hard daily use
Those MCUs have standby currents down into nanoamperes (a nano is a thousandth of a micro), if a good micro is used and they knew how to program it. And voltage regulators have a ridiculously low standby current too now. They might be shipped with the battery installed in order to circumvent some hazardous goods classification? Separate batteries = danger, installed = it's just a ratchet. Like with the airline hand luggage?
AvE, this is the first time I've ever commented on RU-vid but Your videos are freeking awesome. Makita just came out with a 12 Volt CXT RW01R1 and it has both 3/8" and 1/4" head adapters and the head build is completely different than anything I have ever seen. Looked at their break down pdf and I was hoping you could get a chance to look at this thing. Thanks again for all your awesome content.
One of the main reasons for watching AvE? His total absolute mastery of the use of a more colourful palette of the English language ...lol 👍 (Marketing wankerteers ...nice one lol)
Yes please compare the Mac, Snap On and the Milwaukee 3/8 brushless ratchets.. No one has made that comparison yet! I have the Mac 3/8 and I love it but have nothing to compare it to.
@@gsppuffer 35 ft lbs is plenty for a 3/8ths. Mainly use it for smaller stuff on semi trucks, then use the 3/8th m12 impact for anything else. Last resort is air.
@@gsppuffer you don't need a ton of power for a ratchet really. Its not like an impact, too many ft/lbs and that ratchet will smash your hands when it binds. I normally break the bolt loose using it manually and then just take it out the rest of the way by hitting the button. Plus it is nice to not have to worry about over tightening bolts when assembling. And regardless if the Brushless head is too big to fit it's extra power does you no good :) ....... doesn't mean I won't ever buy the brushless, I just find the brushed more useful.
Golf cart mechanic here. Recently made the jump from air tools to Milwaukee M12 series. They’ve been fantastic. For $199USD I picked up a three tool kit with charger and bag - M12 Fuel 1/4” hex impact driver w/ 4.0AH battery, M12 Fuel 1/2” hammer drill w/ 2.0AH and M12 brushed 3/8” ratchet. Indispensable in my profession. I try not to get too crazy with the ratchet, but there’s times when it will torque my arm around if I’m in an awkward spot. It’s got some guts with a full battery. The brushless impact is my main go-to and it’s small enough to get in most places. It’s rare that I need more torque than the ratchet can provide. The brushless impact is good enough to do lug nuts and large bolts on stuff. Once in a blue I’ll have to pull out a breaker bar or a Snap-On ratchet or something but it’s honestly quite rare. Very happy with my Milwaukee tools for the price.
I've kept basic replacement parts and bulbs in the glovebox for basically every car I've owned, even if I never changed them. It's like $3 to get a set of bulbs once, and potentially avoid a $40 ticket (they're pretty harsh where I live). That is... until I got a Peugeot 206+. Same deal. Blindly ordered and kept bulb set in glovebox. Front right blinker goes out. Can't figure how the hell you get to it. Take it to a guy. Gotta remove the entire ignition module and have a skinny 8 year old boy's arm to have a chance at reaching the damn thing...
My dad has an old Milwaukee Electric Hand Drill that must be 40 years old. It has so much torque if your not careful with it you can break your wrists while operating. It's amazing.
even if they did it would be to AvE he wont take tools to review or anything. he doesnt even make money from youtube vids and in a previous vid told everyone to have ad blocks on youtube so you dont get distracted. he simply doesnt have an allegiance to any company. even if best company in the word if something in there is shit he will say
"oh whoops, I was looking for alternating angry pixies - not those what are coming right fer ya'. ...must have been a connection problem. These meter dials are haunted as frig, wah!" Love the channel!
That camshaft story reminds me of swapping the cam in an old Mini. You can pull the engine and trans, and do the job on the bench...or you can pull the radiator, snip one of the radiator outlet fins in the front left wheel arch and bend the ends out of the way, then pull the cam through. When you're finished, just slap a little paint on the cut edges if you're feeling generous, and bend those ends back into place. :-P
we have used both for years now and have yet to have one fail. same tool its used 24/7 between 8 techs. used to remove rusted 3/8 bolts and these things work so good makes our job way easy. and never had one break. occasionally batteries go bad but hd replaces them free we also tq them with all ur weight, I cant imagine them breaking even if you tried
I sheared that drive pin in the head of my 3/8' non-fuel ratchet 6ish months into owning it with a solid palm smack trying to loosen an oil drain plug, warrantied it out and from then on anything larger than a 12mm I broke loose with a regular ratchet and zipped it of with the milwaukee. Dropped er in a bucket of coolant(more than once), fished it out, sprayed it out with brake clean (which began to melt the off-brand battery plastic oops!) let it dry for a day and 3+ years later of professional mechanic-ing she still chooches. Perfect 5/7, would buy again
For $5 American you can buy a 3/8" & 1/2" adapter insert bits for your impact driver or drill and save $150. Remember, every dollar saved NOT buying a tool, is a dollar more for beer !!!
AvE, you aren't wrong about that crank pin in the head. I sheared mine clean off. The nice thing about it was when I sent it in for repair. Milwaukee just sent me a brand new bare tool. Best i can figure is it must have been cheaper for them to send out a new one than pay a technician to tear it down, replace the part, and reassemble it.
Other than the need for a hose and compressor, think I'll stick to the pneumatic models from my dad's auto shop. They're still working after 40yrs though getting long in the tooth.
Other than hauling a 100 pound air compressor and 25' of hose, and possibly a generator to run the compressor pneumatic are plenty portable hahaha These are ideal for service truck or mobile mechanics, and people who have bought into the really handy M12 line.
Running a non-fuel Milwaukee side by side with a snap on 14v. Which is way closer to the fuel milwuakee. I prefer the non fuel Milwaukee. Turning wrenches for a living the size matters way more than the power. That little ratchet is on my hand more so than my half inch Ingersoll. Dead nuts on the battery flexing issue. Do that constantly and cringe every time, definitely not how it was new but after three years she's hanging in there. Made me more money than I paid so if it grenades tomorrow I wouldn't shed a tear.
you can buy the new plastic housing for cheap on eBay. I picked one up for mine when the motor burnt out after about 3 years. cheap motor from Milwaukee, I picked up 2 and replacing the plastic housing. like a brand new tool.
I am an electrician and I got mine in a set for $200 with two batteries charger drill flashlight impact hackzall all the crap. I use mine for disassembling and reassembling electric gear that we have to take apart to get through doors. worked phenomenally and cut about 5 hours off the time. plus didn't have any striped out bolts from using an impact. I didn't use the ratchet tighten the bolts. I used a box wrench on the nut. Glad I did that.
I have the Snap On 3/8" battery ratchet and as a mechanic, I use that thing daily. Have had it well over a year with zero issues. I'm waiting for the new 3/8" ratchet that is supposed to have 70 lb/ft of torque to come out. I like Milwaukee tools, but the Fuel's head is just too big to get in places.
I’m 12 and my dad and grandpa have collected lots of old engines and trucks and stuff that are completely fucked and I get to take em all apart without having to remember how they go back together and it’s great
I read somewhere that Milwaukee did not consider the auto service trade when they built these ratchets. They were designed for the lineman/electrician industry.
Had the same solution to my Ford Fusion (4cy) when replacing the idler pulley. Holesaw in the wheel well to access the threaded mount hole for the pulley.
