Fixed-joint internal and external snap ring pliers in 7 in and 9 in, with .07 and .09 conical tips that hold a clutch pack retainer instead of launching it.
Most transmission and axle jobs stall on the same small part: a retaining ring that will not come out of its groove, or one that comes out too fast and disappears under the bench. The GEARWRENCH 89701 is a four-piece set of fixed-joint snap ring pliers built to stop that. You get a 7 inch internal and a 7 inch external plier with .070 inch tips, and a 9 inch internal and a 9 inch external plier with .090 inch tips, in a roll-up pouch. That pairing covers most of the internal and external rings you meet tearing down an automatic, a manual gearbox, a transfer case or a rear axle.
A snap ring has to be opened or closed far enough to clear its groove while you control the load behind it. The tips on this set are high-carbon steel inserts with a conical profile, so they wedge into the ring eyes and hold as the ring is squeezed or spread instead of skating out sideways. Because the joints are fixed, there are no swap-in tips to loosen up and rotate under load, which is the usual failure of convertible pliers. The internal pliers have a slim serrated head that drops into a drum or a bore without hitting the wall; the external pliers are spring loaded, so they reopen on their own and you can work them one-handed while the other hand holds a compressed spring pack or a gear in place. Each plier is laser marked internal or external, the handles are dual-layer grips, and the bodies are heat-treated forged alloy steel with a black oxide finish that tolerates gear oil and solvent.
The two lengths are about reach and leverage as much as ring size. The 7 inch pair, with the finer .070 inch tips, suits small rings in tight spots: valve body and accumulator retainers, speedometer gears, shift shaft and small bearing rings. The 9 inch pair, with .090 inch tips, gives you the depth and force for clutch drum backing plate rings, output shaft and bearing retainers and larger rings on a differential or transfer case. Match the tip to the hole in the ring eye: too small and it bends, too large and it will not seat. Very large or heavy rings, such as the big internal case rings in some rear-drive automatics, need a long-handle plier; for a wider range of tip angles, our 12-piece snap ring pliers set with 45 and 90 degree jaws adds bent-tip versions for rings you cannot reach straight on.
This is a general shop tool, not a part matched to one vehicle, so there is no year or VIN to check. The only fit question is whether the tip diameter suits the ring in front of you. It is a common bench companion on rear axle and differential overhauls, including Ford 9 inch builds where you are already handling bearings, shims and seals from a Ford 9 inch master overhaul kit and setting pinion depth with a pinion depth shim kit. If you are not sure whether a particular ring needs internal or external pliers, look at the eyes: rings that sit in a bore are internal, rings that sit on a shaft are external.
If you are tearing down an axle, pair this set with the bearings and seals for the job, such as our tapered axle bearing and seal kit for the Ford 9 inch.
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Four fixed-joint straight pliers: 7 inch internal and 7 inch external with .070 inch tips, and 9 inch internal and 9 inch external with .090 inch tips, plus a roll-up pouch.
No. These are fixed-joint pliers, so the tips are not interchangeable. That is deliberate: fixed tips do not loosen or rotate under load the way convertible tips can.
Not well. Very large, stiff case rings need a long-handle internal retaining ring plier with bigger tips. This set is sized for the clutch drum, shaft, bearing and valve body rings that make up most of a teardown.
Each plier is laser marked internal or external. Internal pliers close the ring to remove it from a bore; external pliers spread the ring to remove it from a shaft, and the external pair is spring loaded to reopen on its own.
It is a hand tool, so it is not tied to a year or model. What matters is matching the tip diameter to the hole in the ring eye: .070 inch on the 7 inch pliers, .090 inch on the 9 inch pliers.
