How To Rebuild Snap-On Ratchet Wrench With Repair Kit 

That F720 would have been made in Mt. Carmel, IL. I machined millions of ratchets from 1977 until the plant closure in 2003. The plant was actually in operation from 1937 - 2003. I believe ratchets are now made in Elizabethton, TN. I think that model is now discontinued though. You did pretty good on your rebuild, nice video.

R.J. Thank you for posting the how-to video. After watching, I had the confidence to do my own rebuild vice chasing down the local Snap-on guy and ruining his day... The ratchet I rebuilt is a vintage F-710B, 3/8" drive ratchet, circa 1964. It was pretty rough (yard sale find ). I had a difficult time finding the rebuild kit online (RKRA380), so I called Snap-on directly and they sent me the kit. Cost was about $20 with shipping and handling. The trickiest part was holding the spring in while I set the pawl in place during the reassembly. I made up my own "special tool" from an old pair of tweezers to hold the spring & ball in place and "shoe-horn" the pawl into position. And now, I have a nicely working vintage Snap-on ratchet in my tool collection!

I did the same thing with my great grandpa's old F70N. Thing was so worn out it had 1/4" of slop in it. $10 for a kit made the 67 year old ratchet like new again. I use it all the time.

Very helpful video, I've done a few of these and one tip that might be added is sometimes when your all finished the drive gear might be hard to turn, 2-3 firm taps with the drive square on the anvil and it'll adjust the gap inside and spin perfect.

You just saved my day. The antique instructions with an antique kit did not label the parts. Many thanks! One note about older repair kits: I had one & the separate ball bearing is hard to manage. Without that Snap-on holder you have, I had to cut a shim out of aluminum flashing to hold the bearing & spring down because the fit is so tight between the pawl and the bearing. No screw driver would fit in there.

If you use the old drive head instead of a socket, the bushing will seat more squarely. I used to be a Snap On dealer, I can't count how many of those I rebuilt.

Well presented video. I was on a Snap On van today for the first time in years to get a new ratchet gear set for my F736 ratchet. Its first repair in 34 years although I'm on to my 3rd 3/8 Snap On breaker bar.

I had an old style but most everything was the same as I changed it. The hardest part was keeping the spring in while putting in the paul. Thank you very much for your video!!!!!

Thanks for the video. Watched this so i could fix a ratchet I inherited from my dad. Mine is a flex head. Didn't want to replace it with a new one. Almost the same ratchet. Snap on rep gave me a repair kit for a new one. Wrong repair kit. So he brought me the right one when it came in. I don't like snap on prices. But i would buy from him because of customer service. Great job Steve! Also i couldn't find a video that had the same era of ratchet so great video for me. Thank you.

DUDE! Like many have said before me; you saved my day. And my ratchet. I have about a dozen craftsman ratchets that I’ve disassembled/cleaned/lubed over the years, both the standard and professional lines. They’re easy. My one and only snap on (F830 3/8”) I was always afraid to take apart. It’s my go to ratchet. Anyhow, I finally decided to take it apart. When I couldn’t get the spring/pawl/ball bearing back together, I found your video. I ended up making a tool from a metal shirt collar stay which I drilled a hole to seat the ball and bent. I also crazy glued the ball to the spring. I popped it off after assembly. Thank you very much for this clear and very helpful video.

Thank you so much! Using your video I rebuilt my S715 Snap-On wrench and it’s like new. I even polished it while it was apart. Great job on the video! I didn’t have the special tool to compress that spring so I used a tool meant for carving on clay. It was rigid enough and I ground the surface of it so it would grab the little ball. It took several tries but worked.

I,am in the process of installing a repair kit myself just waiting for delivery, glad I took the time to watch your video a couple of tips there i think will make it alot easier. many thanks

im actually a cornwell dealer but this shows no matter what brand of tools you have, as long as you take care of it and repair it properly when needed they will last a life time. good video

finally got one of these kits what a difference. Feels much tighter and even more precise. Thanks again.

I have the same ratchet. Nothing's wrong with it just would like to regrease it and your video is very useful. Thanks a lot.

Just rebuilt my old f71g 3/8 s k ratchet after watching your video thanks . works like new

Very good video and repair job. I just rebuilt my TM 70B 30 tooth, 1/4" ratchet, it was somewhat simpler than the 3/8". I wish I had seen your video first. Snap-On dude said he'd do the repair free with the kit, but I wanted to explore the little thing for myself (always nice to learn a new trick).

Thank you. I didn't have that Snap-on tool you used for the spring. So I used my specialized cuticle pusher. It has a small spoon at one end. A Great Video. Sheilah :~)

Great Video! Excellent step by step instructions, especially considering that they weren't provided by snap on. Thank you for sharing this!

Great video; I ordered a rebuild kit for a F71G I just picked up at my local pawnshop. Had know idea how cheap Snap On stuff could be purchased second hand (at least at this pawnshop). This video helped me see how before trying so thanks.

Awesome job once again! Never repaired these ratchet wrenches but now I know how-to if needed, thanks!

Useful to rebuild my ratchet, thanks!

Great job. Very informative.

Thanks for posting this, just stripped the gears out of my old second hand snap on ratchet and need to repair it!

Thank you for posting this! 👍🏼

I love my 80 tooth snap on ratchets but l do own a f-70-m ratchet and every now and then I want a course ratchet so I grab that one. Made from 53 to 58 but still a good ratchet for what it is. Snap on make very good quality hand tools that will last you a lifetime of heavy use!

found one of these old snapon wrenches in my grandpas tools. Solid find from pops, I'm deff going to get one of these kits for it. it looks pretty beat up as its missing a screw and the plate is all scratched up!!

Well done and with part references. 👍👍

Thanx for posting this vid I have the same ratchet and it stopped working just wouldn't turn at all or would not catch on the internal teeth I didn't think i needed a kit just a good cleaning and repacking looks like rust was my problem now its working like new

Good guide, thanks!

Thanks!! Great video!

Thankz . nicely done

Thank you

your video helped a lot! Thank you!!!

helpful yes! thanks

Good job

Great Job

Great vid. Ty.

Thank you so much!

I've only just found this video ,but its still an outstanding teaching tool . I've a 3/8 ferret ratchet circa 1960's +/- that had me puzzled . The switch for tight ,loose is brass which has had me stumped. Snap -On UK denied it was one of theirs when I rang for a refurb kit even though it has a Snap -On part number. I thought I may have been talking to a new guy so rang again Nope never heard of it but you can have a new one for £60 . I wanted to preserve a bit of Snap On history . It would seem Snap On don't care about there rich history in tools which lets face it built the world for the most part Subbed to your channel Regards from the UK Darren

great vid

useful information !!! Thanks ....

great video.

Very cool love the videos

Dar'n fine upload this 👌💯this buddy 👍

Great Video, subscribed, thanks!

I made one of the spring pushing tools out of a flat piece of brass for my craftsman ratchet

Thanks!

Thanks for the video I just found one of these Ratchets and the selector was broke, I didn't know if the repair kits came with a new one, or not now I do Thanks,

Informative; good video. Thank you.

My dad gave my his old snap on ratchet, will be my main ratchet once I restore it

Craftsman screwdriver used to fix a snap on tool.

"Little" wooden mallet. Lol Nice video. Rebuilt two of my ratchets after this video. Keep them coming.

Exelent 👍

Nice job good video

This was a big help the logo piece and bushing has me confused as hell

Good

great

Good video I would have used more grease

Hello, i Love your videos and when i need som help with my bike i allways watch your video Clips , but could you please do more videos with ratchet wrenchs? //Jocke from sweden

@4:34 Your Keurig coffee finish brewing?

I just bought this same ratchet at a garage sale for $1.00!! SWEET. Its a little rough so i will just open it up and fill it up with grease. Dont think i really need the rebuild kit.

A quick tip for everyone, if you don't have that little ball bearing retainer tool you can take a copper washer, hammer it flat, cut it in half, take a punch slightly bigger than the ball bearing and make a dimple, then make a 90° bend and bing - bang - boom you've got a tool that will hold that ball bearing and is thin enough to allow you to slip the pawl in.

In the wobbly vice

Thanks I just ordered it 95 cents tax included.

You'd think since these tools are lifetime guaranteed, they would send you the kit, for the price of shipping? All my Snap-on tools are from the 80's. I left the auto repair world around 95. Now my tools are slowly breaking down, from doing my own repairs. But it's difficult to find a Snap-on truck. A few years ago they sent me a replacement hammer (the old one, the plastic handle fell apart and was left with just a metal rod). It was nice that I didn't have to send them the old one. But after about a month, the head of the hammer broke from the handle. No more metal rod, just plastic. Just goes to show how prices go up, but the quality goes down. First hammer lasted 30yrs, new hammer 1 month.

“A little wooden mallet” 😂 that’s half a tree my dude

Great video. I have an old Snap-On of my grandfather's that's needed a rebuild. After seeing your video, I ordered the rebuild kit and gave it a shot. Unfortunately, my reassembly did not go a smoothly as yours. I set in the new backplate and bushing, and (tried) to press it in as shown, then heard a crack. Opened up the vice and the new bushing fell out in three pieces. No big deal, I thought - I would just put the old one back in... CRACK! Now I'm stuck. Anyone know if you can get just the bushings from Snap-On? It would be nice if I don't have to buy a whole nother kit for just that one piece... 🙃 UPDATE: I got my second kit (everything, when all I needed was another bushing). This time, I used the old core of the ratchet (rather than a socket) to press the bushing in. Worked great! - the old core did a great job of holding the new bushing even and centered when being pressed in (which is I am sure why I broke the other one). The old ratchet is good to go another 20 years (at least)!

Thx for the video. I rebuilt an old FL720A (long handle), but the square drive does not sit deep enough in the ratchet. The black cover plate does not fit flush with the ratchet head. I believe the bushing is in far enough. Gonna try again using the old drive to seat the bushing. Any ideas? Thanks again!

I have that snap on ball detent tool it’s part #spp744 and it’s discontinued.

Hello, Do you know which rebuild kit I need for an F70-M?

It appears that the ratchet came with a 20 tooth gear and engaged a single tooth in either direction on the pawl but the rebuild kit came with a 30 tooth gear that engaged two teeth in either direction on the pawl. Is this so?

Now that you have purchased quite a few of these various ratchets and fixed them up do you find yourself reaching for one in particular? Also it'd be neat if they made a kit for that ratchet that made it have finer teeth. I hear a lot of people who love the 80 toothed Snap-On ratchets, I bet if they made an 80 or 72 tooth kit for these older styles people would buy them to sort of "upgrade" their older ratchets. Anyways thanks for another great video!

I thought Snap-On was guaranteed for life? If it isn't I'll start buying Duralast!

Where can I buy news inside parts to repair a craftsman socket wrench like you are doing here thxs Ed

Do you know what size those screws are? I have an F720 in great condition but it’s missing those two screws.

Thanks for showing. I’ve worked on a few myself. Did you find that there is a break in period for these? When I rebuilt my FV71, the on/off mechanism felt a little tight. I know it’s all put together right, but other vintage ones I have seem to have a more broken in feel. Maybe the modern rebuild kits are engineered to tighter tolerances, who knows?

I'm curious in refurbishing a few that I have left behind by friend that passed away. Where did you get the kit? Snap on directly?

Where can i get that tool to install the spring and ball, I have some Williams 1/4 ratchets m-52eha that has the same kind of setup and it was a pain trying to get the spring and ball installed

I just make my dealer do it, lol

Do all snap on ratchets have flat head screws to disassemble?

I need the kit. Could you help me?

I had these ratchets and traded them back in for their new fine teeth models wow can't go back or use anything else that isn't fine tooth

Sir rachet repair Ka new part kaha melaga

What do you do with the old left over ratchet parts?

Hey I appreciate your repair lesson , I have the quarter inch small ratchet that skips on me at times. I believe is time to rebuild it.. I guess,I have to order the rebuild kit from Snap on ? I thought they fix the tools for free ?

Did the new plate come in the kit? I just got my kit but it has everything except for the plate

Hi where did you find the spring steel tool to seat the spring and direction paw?

Need help: I have removed all of the parts except for part of the spring that interacts with the pawl, some part of the spring is broken and stuck down in there. Any tips on getting the rest of it out?

Hello, I enjoyed your video. I also have the same wrench but have failed to find a repair kit for it. Any help to find one would be greatly appreciated

Hey, great video, I have an F720 I need to repair as well...however, the slotted screws you remove at 0:25 are in pretty deep for me, and one of them might be a little stripped. :( I've used a few coats of PB blaster and so far that screw's still stuck, my driver keeps slipping. Any suggestions?

Will this rebuilt kit work for a blue point ratche? I'd like to upgrade my blue points to a higher tooth count as they have a 42 tooth gear I'd like an 80 tooth gear

paddle pop stick would have worked faster lol

can you send the link to were you bought that rebuild kit?

that #7 is the code symbol for made in 1957

Where did you get the Snap on spring loaded tool to push the spring into the ratchet? What is it called? Does it have a part number?

What's the name of the flat spring hold tool? Part number? Alternative?

I wish I didn't take the nameplate out. It isn't necessary for the rebuild. My new one was just a bit off and it refused to go in straight no matter what I tried so, the old one went in with the new ring

Did you buy rebuild kit or it was free because for lifetime warranty from snap on ?

Im trying to open up my fk720 and I took the screws out and the plate will not come out, any suggestions? Thanks