Best Snap-Ring Pliers for Ford F250 and other Super Duty Wheel Hubs

Last Updated on April 3, 2024

One of the things I see people asking for help with the most in Ford forums is which snap-ring pliers are best for for the snap-rings (retaining clips) that keep wheel hubs attached on F-250s and other Super Duty trucks, plus Ford Excursions. The wheel hub assemblies on 2005 and newer Ford Super Duties are held onto the axle with a heavy duty retaining clips that most snap ring pliers either can’t reach or are too flimsy to spread. The Ford Excursion uses the same chassis as Super duty pickups so it naturally uses the same hubs as well.

I figured so many Ford F250, F350, and F450 owners in forums ask for help finding good Snap-Ring Pliers for their wheel hubs because there aren’t any definitive results on Google when searching “best snap ring pliers for f250 hub” aside from message board and forum results, many of which are quite outdated and have broken images. I decided to remedy this problem by compiling all the suggested snap ring pliers into a single list with a comparison table. Actual suggestions from people working on their Ford Super Duty hubs can be found under the table.

Table of Best Snap Ring Pliers for F250 Hubs

Click column headers to sort columns – Tool Link column contains affiliate links that may earn me a commission.

It’s easy to see from the table that the Knipex 11A series of snap ring pliers are a good balance of productivity and affordability when it comes to removing the snap ring pliers on ford Super Duty F-250, F-350, and F-450 pickup trucks, as well as the Ford Excursion. KNIPEX is a German company and its tools are very high quality, I especially like the slight outward offset the tips have for grabbing onto the snap ring and not letting it slide off while being spread.

KNIPEX 4911A3 External Straight Retaining Ring 9in Pliers

My personal suggestion would be the KNIPEX Tools 4911A3 External Straight Retaining Ring 9in Pliers because of the .094″ tip size coupled with the 9 inches of length for reaching into Ford hubs.

KNIPEX is THE authority on snap-ring pliers, and they are still cheaper than some of the other tools listed with inflated prices. Normally I’d go for something USA made, but I’m not going to let a tool’s country of origin stop me from getting the best possible tool for the job.

Best Snap Ring Pliers for F250 Hub Forum Suggestions

Here’s a run-down of the snap ring pliers suggested by Ford owners. The requirements are quite strict because the Ford snap ring pliers must be heavy duty hardened steel to not bend or break while spreading the hefty retaining clips Ford used, but they must also be long enough to reach inside the hub while also being skinny enough to spread the snap ring without hitting the sides of the hub.

K-Tool International KTI-55123 Straight Tip Snap-Ring Pliers

mtnxtreme at ford-trucks.com on 08-26-2014

I went to a large truck parts store and they had these K-Tool International KTI-55123 .090in Straight Tip Snap-Ring Pliers. They do external and internal, feel heavy in hand and must be hardened steel because the didn’t even flex, and they have extended tips so they don’t even touch the axle or hub.

Knipex 4611A2 External Straight Retaining Ring Pliers

ZMANN at powerstroke.org on 09-10-2017

Knipex 4611A2 19-60mm external – they don’t have any multi pivot force multipliers or look insanely long but it was the only set out of 10 that worked for me.

Knipex 4611A3 External Straight Retaining Ring Pliers

Bug713 at pirate4x4.com on 11-02-2016

I ordered Knipex 4611A3 last night, $25 on Amazon, received today, took me 4 seconds each side, DONE!! Thanks you!!

Knipex 4611A4 External Straight Retaining Ring Pliers

sdsd at ford-trucks.com on 11-22-2016

Knipex 4611A4… Got them yesterday. Well made, beefy, tips are hardened steel. After spending several hours bending, reinforcing and ultimately breaking a couple of other ring pliers trying to remove this ring, it was unbelievably easy to remove the snap ring with these… like less than 5 seconds.

Knipex 4911A3 External Straight Retaining Ring Pliers

Greg5OH at pirate4x4.com on 11-08-2016

Knipex 4911A3 just bought these and removed my 05 hub snap rings with ease. Approx $35 on amazon. Pretty funny when reading reviews about multiple long reach pliers “does not work on SD snap ring”, this one specifically said “works on super duty snap ring pliers” in the review.

Stanley Proto J377 Retaining Ring Convertible Pliers

ynpmoose at powerstroke.org on 11-30-2015

This set worked well for me.

jonereb at ford-trucks.com on 10-06-2010

Proto 377 is what i use. They are tough?

Mac Tools TPQ56 Straight Retaining Ring Pliers

I added the TPQ56 Straight Retaining Ring Pliers by Mac Tools because there is a youtube video that recommends them, but also because these Mac Tools snap ring pliers are the consumer brand equivalent to the industrial brand Proto J377 Retaining Ring Convertible Pliers which have been recommended. Same tool, it just costs 32% more than the Proto equivalent.

Stanley Proto J395 Retaining Ring Pliers External

bryhuds at powerstroke.org on 11-23-2013

My existing set of pliers was not stout enough for the job and after searching the various local auto parts and hardware stores I quickly determined that none of their snap ring pliers were up to the heavy duty task. I ended up buying a set of Proto 395 pliers from Grainger. Made in the USA and worked perfect!

Sunex 30077 Straight Snap Ring Pliers

Durapig Eater at powerstroke.org on 07-06-2017

I have a pair of Sunex 30077 9″ straight snap ring pliers with .09″ tip I got for 20 ish from amazon, work great and strong.

Wilde Tool G407P Straight Tip Lock Ring Pliers

I added the G407P Straight Tip Lock Ring Pliers by Wilde Tool to the table because Wilde Tool is the industrial line of Snap-on tools and the G407P Straight Tip Lock Ring Pliers are pretty much the same as the Snap-on SRP3B Snap Ring Pliers that were recommended. Save some money and get the Wilde Tool version for about 1/3 the price instead. Also comes in black for a few bucks extra.

Lisle 38700 Spindle Snap Ring Pliers Ford SD

I added the Lisle 38700 Snap Ring Pliers to the table and list because it has taken over the first page of Google Search Results when searching “Ford Super Duty Snap Ring Pliers” and I think that needs to be addressed. The Lisle 38700 pliers specifically state they are only meant for 2007+ Super Duty Ford Trucks, but the Amazon Reviews look pretty good! They look quite similar to the TP50R Heavy Duty Snap Ring Pliers by Matco Tools, hmm.. ?

Suggested 05+ Ford Super Duty hub Snap Ring Pliers Unavailable or Discontinued

These tools were suggested in forums but cannot be bought online or are part of a larger set of tools.

Snap-on SRPC9000A Snap Ring Pliers – Recommended by a few forum users but can only be bought from ebay but they seem to be discontinued from Snap-on, I can only find them on the Snap-on B2B site. Part number SRPCR9000 has the same size specifications so I’ve added it to the table instead.

Harbor Freight 11 piece Snap Ring Plier Set – This was recommended by a forum user but it seems to be discontinued, however I don’t think they would have stood the test of time anyhow.. The only set of snap ring pliers currently at Harbor Freight that look like they would come close to doing the job is the “Precision Snap Ring Pliers, 8 Pc.” set but I did not add the set to the table since they have not been vouched for by a forum user. The set is $59.99 which makes each tool about $7.50 and it has 7in and 9in pliers with straight and angle tips. In a pinch it might work if you can’t order online.

Suggested Snap Ring Pliers that do NOT work on 05+ Ford Super Duty hubs

For some reason people in forums suggested these tools for the job, however their suggestions were discounted by people further in the threads or just by reading amazon reviews. Some of those people had 04 and older Super Duty Ford trucks and they just assumed these tools would work on 05+, and some had tools that were modified to work.

Gearwrench 82032 Double X Internal Snap Ring Pliers – Forum user suggested but multiple amazon reviews state they aren’t strong enough to work.

Channellock 927 8-Inch Snap Ring Pliers – Forum user suggested but another user stated they were too wide to fit, as do many Amazon reviews.

Other Snap Ring Pliers confirmed to NOT work on wheel hubs for 05+ Super Duty Trucks

Channellock 926 6-Inch Snap Ring Pliers – Just a shorter version of the Channellock 927 that also do not work.

Lang 1434 – Good tool but does not fit/reach into hub (-Hannebal)

Lisle 46000 – Don’t even waste your time or money. These are for tiny snap rings. (-Hannebal)

OTC 4513 – These are awesome!! Huge behemoths BUT they do not fit into the hub assembly! (-Hannebal)

John Snow

John started JSnowCreations as a place to post random tech guides and product reviews. However, while shopping for his daughter’s first “big girl” bed in 2019 he learned about the hidden dangers of fiberglass in mattresses. Since then, John has made it his mission to expose as much hidden fiberglass in mattresses as possible. His ultimate goal is federal regulations that ban fiberglass from being used in mattresses, or at least a law that require it to be listed in the material tags.

www.JSnowCreations.com