18mm wrench not so popular?

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Originally Posted By: css9450
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
I'll get some hate for this, but I like to treat myself to an HF visit once a month. What can I say.. Its an awesome store!

I guess Sears is my only other option. I wonder how the warranty will work when they go under and some Chinese company purchases the brand??



Cheap tools from HF are a "treat" but you're worried about breaking your one item from Sears?

I don't think I understand the concern.


Most Sears tools are now made in China just like HF. HF is normally cheaper and I tend to go towards the lowest bidder.
 
Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Originally Posted By: jrustles
Stupid sizes are the worst.

I only have respect for the JIS sizes.

19mm can be turned with a 3/4
14mm can be turned with a 9/16
etc

Thank you JIS

No thank you ISO.
Put short, any metric size on this chart that is not displayed (17mm 11/16 should be on there), is an idiotic size.
mm-inches2.png



17mm & 11/16" do not cross, Nor 14mm & 9/16", 1/2" & 13mm is iffy. Try putting a new 1/2" socket on a 13mm headed fastener.


13mm and 1/2" are very close, but iffy indeed. The hub bearings on my Jeep are held on my 3 12 pt 13mm bolts. The 1/2" just rounded the head.

14mm and 9/16" closer, but i cant really say how close or far. I did use a 9/16" and a 14mm yesterday while replacing the brake hose on the girlfriends Volvo. It did the job.
 
16mm and 18mm are very common sizes with power steering hoses and mounts. Especially gm and Chrysler, cant say about ford. I am not pro but even I have flare nut wrenchs in 16 and 18mm for those power steering hose replacements. On My jeep the oil drain plug has a 16mm head. As for 5.5mm you need that size to remove the module on eecIV fords circa 1981 thru 1990.
 
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
That Allen is way too short for me. Everything I've experienced in 18mm is very tight. My Buick has 18mm in motor mount nuts, transmission mount nuts, ball joint nuts, tie rod end nuts, and lower control arm bolts. I'm actually in need of an extra long combination wrench. Even the long pattern is too short for ball joint nuts. I'm having to use all the strength I can possibly muster to get that castle nut lined up for the cotter pin. An extra long combination wrench would do wonders. I'm either going to get a Cornwell or a Snap-on.


Snap-on High Performance wrenches are BADA$$, 18/20 combo 0 degree offset is around 15" long 18/20 Hi-Performace
 
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Originally Posted By: clinebarger
Snap-on High Performance wrenches are BADA$$, 18/20 combo 0 degree offset is around 15" long 18/20 Hi-Performace


Yes I know they're bad***, but a box end won't fit over the ball joint castle nut. The castle nut is immediately below the CV axle housing. No room to slide the box end over the top. Thanks for the reply though.
smile.gif
 
Snap on makes some nice tools, but they too rich for my blood.. Especially for something I would use maybe a few times a year.
 
My Audi's use some 16mm and 18 mm fasteners on the suspension bits. I found that a 5/8" works well on the 16mm, but I do have some 16mm sockets and wrenches. For the 18mm, my old Blackhawk socket set has a 23/32" one that fits perfectly. I also found that a worn 11/16 socket can be tapped on with a hammer and works well, too. But not if you plan to reuse the fastener.
 
18mm and 16mm wrenches used to be almost redundant for many years, but a lot of GM (Europe) cars use them on suspension components lately, as well as several European makers. Often I find generic replacements will have 17mm and 19mm fittings.

Roger.
 
I must be working on some strange cars, the 18mm gets more use than 17 or 19 on later model American cars. Years ago i remember them mixing SAE and metric in the same car, that was a crazy time.
GM uses a lot of them as does Ford but aftermarket replacement parts like ball joints and tie rods are usually 17 or 19mm.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Years ago i remember them mixing SAE and metric in the same car, that was a crazy time.


Yeah, your typical 80's Ford, LOL! Oh, I remember that well with both my '87 GT and my '89 Town Car
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Now we are going back. I bought a brand new 87 GT red convertible with a stick and shipped it to Germany.
I got it through the TÜV okay but started having trouble with the body twisting, one door had no gap and other you could fit a kids head in.

I had to jack up the other side to bring the gaps back to normal. Ford wouldn't fix it as it was a Ford-ASC (or something like that) conversion. I had to keep it 1 year exactly so i wouldn't have to pay customs on it (that trick doesn't work today).
That was one of the most miserable years of my life. lol

It was claimed to only have a couple of hundred HP IIRC but it sure felt stronger than that. ASC used 16ga sub frame connectors that were only 1" tall. Great engine and gearbox but horrible car.

Edit: One thing i found on that engine that was great was the rubber boot over the distributer cap and wires, simple little thing but it worked.
 
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Ive heard of 18mm ,but I have no intention of buying a GM or a Chrysler unless it is old enough to use inch sizes. I ran into the 16 mm on my Jeep's power steering pump. A socket and a combo wrench were 5$ at the 'Zone. The under sized socket is a crude but effective way to back of a nut that has rusted undersized. I was tipped off to a sale on a set 5.99 Chinese 1/2 drive impact sockets. Metric or regular, I bought one of each. IDK how good good they would be on an impact gun. They rock with a 5 lb hammer. In a metric /inch completely interchangeable are :8 mm/5/16, 11 mm/ 7/16, 14mm/9/16 (Only if the wrench is a little worn.) 19 mm,3/4, 22mm /13/16 23 MM/7/8,30 mm/1/14.
 
Originally Posted By: djb
Originally Posted By: dparm
18mm is an unusual size for automotive stuff. Most of the wrench sets will not include that.


It used to be vanishingly rare, but not anymore!

In the old days you fix anything German (DIN)with 8/10/13/17/19/22
And Japanese (JIS) with 8/10/12/14/17/19/21.

But ISO changed that to 10/13/16/18/21.



So does this imply that notionally going forward all auto manufacturers will use the ISO set of fastener head sizes for most fasteners?
 
It seems possible.
What has changed?

Withdrawal of DIN standards without replacement, particularly with respect to locking elements
Changed widths across flats for hexagon screws
Changed height for hexagon nuts
Changes in standards for threaded screws and sheet metal screws
Changes in standards for bolts, pins, headless pins and washers for bolts
Changed countersink angle for countersunk head screws


http://www.boellhoff.com/en/de/fasteners/din_standard_parts/changed-standards.php
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
I must be working on some strange cars, the 18mm gets more use than 17 or 19 on later model American cars. Years ago i remember them mixing SAE and metric in the same car, that was a crazy time.
GM uses a lot of them as does Ford but aftermarket replacement parts like ball joints and tie rods are usually 17 or 19mm.
Volve did the same thing in the 70s.
 
Originally Posted By: Trav
Now we are going back. I bought a brand new 87 GT red convertible with a stick and shipped it to Germany.
I got it through the TÜV okay but started having trouble with the body twisting, one door had no gap and other you could fit a kids head in.

I had to jack up the other side to bring the gaps back to normal. Ford wouldn't fix it as it was a Ford-ASC (or something like that) conversion. I had to keep it 1 year exactly so i wouldn't have to pay customs on it (that trick doesn't work today).
That was one of the most miserable years of my life. lol

It was claimed to only have a couple of hundred HP IIRC but it sure felt stronger than that. ASC used 16ga sub frame connectors that were only 1" tall. Great engine and gearbox but horrible car.

Edit: One thing i found on that engine that was great was the rubber boot over the distributer cap and wires, simple little thing but it worked.
I liked the silicone rubber seals that Bosch made for their plug caps back in the 70s. Fixed several VW bugs which had starting troubles on damp days with those. VW finnally got their own.
 
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