Lifespan of Drawer Slides

[The Critic]

How long do your toolbox drawer slides last before requiring replacement?

I recently purchased an EPIQ that was used at a shop for 4 years. 7/10 drawers are either squeaky or stiff after being loaded with tools. I thought the slides would last longer than 4 years, but maybe that's the lifespan under daily use....especially if the drawers were overloaded?

 

[TheLastWord]

Have you cleaned and lubed them? I have an older (15+ years) Snap on and a newer (4+ years) HF set. The HF is far superior in drawer slide quality. All drawers 5" and over have dual slides. Impressive powder coating also. At 1/4 the SO cost. Yes, the SO is the "low end" KA series. But a SO is supposed to be a SO........isn't it??

 

[Deleted member 89374]

How long do your toolbox drawer slides last before requiring replacement?

I recently purchased an EPIQ that was used at a shop for 4 years. 7/10 drawers are either squeaky or stiff after being loaded with tools. I thought the slides would last longer than 4 years, but maybe that's the lifespan under daily use....especially if the drawers were overloaded?

Did you lube the slides?

PS: Did you catch my post on RF?

 

[JHZR2]

Seems like a short lifespan, especially for a premium product. Is the grease dried out in the slides?

 

[TheLastWord]

RF??

Link?

 

[4wd]

Did you lube the slides?

PS: Did you catch my post on RF?

What is required HTHS, Noack, and appropriate “slug” of moly ?

 

[Soft Cars]

I don't know if your box was ever in a body shop, but from what I've been told, Bondo dust floating around in the air can wreak havoc on ball bearing slides.

I took off all my slides one day. I found the best way to clean them is with a toothbrush in combination with GooGone. The toothbrush gets in between the steel balls real well and the GooGone helps break down the dried up silicone grease that's wrapped around the balls.

Being that the GooGone has citrus oil in it, I decided it wasn't necessary to add any grease. That was a mistake. Although the slides move freely after being cleaned, they're noisy. I can hear the little balls moving around when I open a drawer. If I had it to do over again, I'd find a way to rinse off the GooGone residue and re-grease the slides; compressed air would probably work. The grease I would use is SuperLube 21030.

There's a special tool for Snap-on boxes. It's called the SPP837. It's a special pry bar for getting the slides off the inside walls. In addition to the bayonets on each end of the slides, there's a "claw" in the middle of the slides. The special pry bar is for remedying that.

 

[The Critic]

Did you lube the slides?

PS: Did you catch my post on RF?

I tried spraying some Super Lube into the tracks, no change. I guess I’d have to do a full disassembly and cleaning in order for it to have any effect?

 

[Timmastertech]

Theres ball bearing slides in my Dads snapon box that are older than I am so...

 

[SubLGT]

Seems to me a $17,000 EPIQ box should have sealed, maintenance free slides and lifetime warranty.

 

[Deleted member 89374]

I tried spraying some Super Lube into the tracks, no change. I guess I’d have to do a full disassembly and cleaning in order for it to have any effect?

Probably so.

 

[clinebarger]

Seems to me a $17,000 EPIQ box should have sealed, maintenance free slides and lifetime warranty.

The slides do have a lifetime warranty.

 

[Jetronic]

How long do your toolbox drawer slides last before requiring replacement?

I recently purchased an EPIQ that was used at a shop for 4 years. 7/10 drawers are either squeaky or stiff after being loaded with tools. I thought the slides would last longer than 4 years, but maybe that's the lifespan under daily use....especially if the drawers were overloaded?

Never wore any out, last I used wa a Facom chrono for 8 years, 5 days a week

 

[Dave9]

I took off all my slides one day. I found the best way to clean them is with a toothbrush in combination with GooGone. The toothbrush gets in between the steel balls real well and the GooGone helps break down the dried up silicone grease that's wrapped around the balls.

Being that the GooGone has citrus oil in it, I decided it wasn't necessary to add any grease. That was a mistake. Although the slides move freely after being cleaned, they're noisy. I can hear the little balls moving around when I open a drawer. If I had it to do over again, I'd find a way to rinse off the GooGone residue and re-grease the slides; compressed air would probably work. The grease I would use is SuperLube 21030.

There's a special tool for Snap-on boxes. It's called the SPP837. It's a special pry bar for getting the slides off the inside walls. In addition to the bayonets on each end of the slides, there's a "claw" in the middle of the slides. The special pry bar is for remedying that.

GooGone won't break down silicone grease, had to be a petroleum based grease. It's more economical (well for me anyway as I keep *dirty* gas to reuse in a tub to clean things) and equally effective to put them in a tub of gasoline, soak, agitate, and scrub.

There is minimal citrus oil in GooGone, not enough for drawer slides by a long shot, but also no need to remove the residue. There's just not enough orange oil residue to matter much in changing the viscosity of whichever grease you want to use, unless the cleaning it didn't get all the old grease out due to using a relativelyl expensive solvent, too sparingly. I doubt that is the case if the balls are that freely rattling around, think for ease of application I'd just hit them with some rattle can grease, not take them out.

 

[Dave9]

I tried spraying some Super Lube into the tracks, no change. I guess I’d have to do a full disassembly and cleaning in order for it to have any effect?

Yes, unless the drawers became so difficult to open and close that the user decided to use muscle to solve the problem and has wrecked them. Definitely worth trying to clean out and relube, then you see what you're dealing with.

 

[D60]

This is interesting as I used to have a 55" KRL setup.....the gray Harley anniversary setup -- we've all seen them. The drawers all just seemed stiff. Very smooth but required more effort than I would have liked.

I was always curious if this was normal but I was (apparently) always too lazy to try cleaning them. It did improve somewhat with weight in the drawers and I learned to live with it.

Ultimately I wound up selling that box and getting a 72" Homak RS Pro, with which I have no complaints and it's likely my last box for what I do

 

[The Critic]

This is interesting as I used to have a 55" KRL setup.....the gray Harley anniversary setup -- we've all seen them. The drawers all just seemed stiff. Very smooth but required more effort than I would have liked.

I was always curious if this was normal but I was (apparently) always too lazy to try cleaning them. It did improve somewhat with weight in the drawers and I learned to live with it.

On the full length drawers, in order to get the drawers moving, it seems like you have to pull had enough to almost break off the latches. Once the drawer starts moving it is fine.

 

[Soft Cars]

GooGone won't break down silicone grease, had to be a petroleum based grease. It's more economical (well for me anyway as I keep *dirty* gas to reuse in a tub to clean things) and equally effective to put them in a tub of gasoline, soak, agitate, and scrub.

There is minimal citrus oil in GooGone, not enough for drawer slides by a long shot, but also no need to remove the residue. There's just not enough orange oil residue to matter much in changing the viscosity of whichever grease you want to use, unless the cleaning it didn't get all the old grease out due to using a relativelyl expensive solvent, too sparingly. I doubt that is the case if the balls are that freely rattling around, think for ease of application I'd just hit them with some rattle can grease, not take them out.

I normally use Purple Power to break down silicone grease, but on that day I didn't want to have to rinse the slides with water.

I've never been able to use any kind of petroleum based solvent to break down silicone grease; probably because silicone is not petroleum based.

 

[Soft Cars]

On the full length drawers, in order to get the drawers moving, it seems like you have to pull had enough to almost break off the latches. Once the drawer starts moving it is fine.

After you get the drawers disconnected from the inner slides using the quick releases, you'll see the windows cut out on the inside wall. There should be 3 rows of windows going from top to bottom. The front and rear rows are for the bayonets. The row in the middle are for the claws. You can slide a thin credit card or rewards card between the slide and the wall; that will allow you to locate the claw since it's not visible from the outside of the slide. You're going to put the pry bar directly above the center of the claw and pry gently. If you have to use enough force to where the wall starts flexing, stop and relocate the pry bar. That inside wall will bend real easily, so be careful. Incidentally, all you need is a pry tool that's at a right angle or L shaped. You may even have a trim removal tool that fits that description.

 

[TheLastWord]

The slides do have a lifetime warranty.

Original owner only, and even that is iffy:

https://www.snapon.com/Terms-and-Conditions-of-Sale


This warranty only extends to the original Customer and cannot be transferred or assigned.


And :

In addition to any limitations outlined in warranty statements provided with the Product, Snap-on does NOT provide any warranty for (1) products labeled other than Snap-on or Blue-Point or (2) products subjected to "abnormal use". Products that are not labeled Snap-on or Blue-Point are subject to the warranty provided by the manufacturers of those products and Snap-on will pass along any such warranties. "Abnormal use" includes misuse, accident, modification, unreasonable use, abuse, neglect, lack of maintenance, use in product-related service, or use after the product is significantly worn. Abnormal use of tool storage units also includes, without limitation, situations when a unit is pulled using a mechanical vehicle, rolled over large drops, used in a highly corrosive environment, used as a step stool, modified with non-Snap-on parts, overloaded or modified in any way.

And more. Read it all, a lawyers delight.