I thought my old USA 1/2" teardrop raised panel Craftsman ratchet was dead, even bought a replacement. Or two. I've used and abused it since I got it new in the early 80's, there was no shame for it.
With nothing to lose, I took it apart, cleaned and lubed it with Super Lube (silicone grease), now it is fine again. Then I read on GJ tool forum I did it all wrong. But it keeps on working.
Later on I inherited a bunch of my GrandFather's tools, I cleaned all the ratchets up. I found most any lube worked... on those old, big head, low tooth count ratchets.
Turns out, the fewer (and larger) the pawl teeth, the thicker a lube you can get away with before it interferes with the works (as long as you don't overload it)... but the ideal ratchet lube is thin, especially on the smaller 1/4" and/or fine tooth ratchets. ATF, air tool oil or Marvel Mystery all work well... for a little while. The relatively thin NLGI #2 White Lithium Grease works well, for longer. The ideal lubricant is thin but sticky enough to stay around. Thus, an assembly lube like Permatex 81950.
If you're really lazy, or have a ratchet that can't be opened, soak it submerged in Ed's Red (ATF and Acetone) until it frees up. Then exercise it some and then soak it in straight ATF for a while, then let it drip-dry. Should be good to go for a few years, maybe longer.
