Good snap ring pliers

[twigpig]

I am replacing seals in the front axle of my Kioti CK30. I am trying to get the snap rings out. They are the largest snap rings I have ever tried to work with. My cheapo Harbor Freight snap ring pliers bent and broke in no time. I went to the local auto parts store and bought another set. They did not break but they keep slipping out of the holes. Does anybody have a recomendation for a good pair of large snap ring pliers? Does Sears cary a good pair? I checked their web site. They have a bunch of different kinds as does Napa.

 

[MikeD74T]

I'm very satisfied with my Hi-Tech snap ring pliers. Replacable points, reversable for interior & exterior rings, & ratchet locking handles. I have the set below, others are available. MikeD74T
Hi-Tech Pliers HIT 1265K 3 Pc. Internal/External Snap Ring Pliers Set - 1/4" to 4" - Toolfetch.com

 

[BTDT]

Here's a link to Snap-on online catalogue.

Snap-on Tools

I had/have somewhere a set of heavy duty ones by Bluepoint, which is sold by Snap-on. Good luck.

 

[Deerlope]

I bought a very heavy duty pair at NAPA and they work very well, 50 bucks. Reversable and interchangeable tips.

 

[DieselPower]

By far the best snap ring pliers I have ever purchased were the ones I got from Snap On Tools. I now own three sets of their snap ring pliers. Unlike the elchepo stamped steel ones theirs are heavy forged steel with very beefy handles. In my book no one else has anything close to as nice as theirs.

 

[ustobefarmer]

I bought a pair of Mac snap ring pliers several years ago. I think I paid $50 for them and they were still a piece of junk. Everytime you get a hold of a snap ring they will twist.

 

[DieselPower]

That's why I went with the forged Sanp On ones. There's no way your going to twist these heavy pliers.

 

[beersngars]

Second the Snap-On pliers. Hands down the best I have used.

 

[Bird]

I've never used the Snap-On model, although I'm sure they're good. I bought some from the Homier traveling side show that were absolutely worthless, and then I had some from Matco that I was very happy with.

 

[Toolguy]

Most of the time when guys are having trouble with a snap ring it is because they have too small of a pliers for the job. If the snap ring is not rusted in the groove almost any good pliers will do the job if it is the right size. The trick is to make sure that the the tips on the pliers are the same size as the hole in the snap ring. Personally, I like the pliers with solid tips. I don't care for the interchangable tip pliers. Too much chance for the tips to twist. For really large snap rings there are pliers that are about 18" long with a Heavy Duty Ratcheting mechanism to hold the snap ring either open or closed until you are ready to reassemble it. They come in two versions. Internal and external. They cost about $80 a pair. The right tool for the job is a beautiful thing.

 

[cp1969]

If you can find them, SK makes good snap ring pliers. I like them as well as any; better than most. We use both internal and external, straight and bent. NOT the kind with replaceable tips.

 

[skipmarcy]

I have and have used many brands over the years and by far the Snap-On pliers are the best for larger or heavier rings. For rings smaller than maybe 1 1/2" OD my set of Milbar interchangeables has held-up for over 20 years - have never ruined a tip with them yet. The Matcos are fair, as are Mac, and KD has both fairly good and poor pliers. As noted already, proper tip size is the main factor for even the high quality pliers to work as expected.

 

[tractorsanmore]

If you cannot find the snap ring pliers that are big enough , you can use a large needle nose pliers and grind the tips round .That's if you need a internal ring pliers .