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Socket size equivalents

This gave me an ugly flashback to a post some years ago. Guy blew a rage at the 'board when he used a 1" socket on his oil pan bolt, rounding it so good he couldn't get it out. He'd seen a 1" size posted here by someone (not me) and decided that was gospel. Now most of us know that a 1" socket or box wrench is usually an adequate substitute for a 25mm, but combine a neophyte gear head who barely knows lefty-loose from righty-tight with a frozen oil pan bolt that is probably already half-rounded and give him a 1" open end wrench or cheap socket and a wobbly breaker bar - well you get the idea. I'd almost swear he was contemplating a lawsuit.

The moral of that story is whether or not it's in an equivalence chart always check for a good fit and use a socket and wrench appropriate for the application and your skill level. Unfortunately there seems to be no substitute for experience when it comes to learning what is about to cause damage. To help avoid damage, it's better to use 6-point rather than 12-point sockets/wrenches. If you're ever going to be buying a set of 6-point SAE sockets to complement your basic set then consider paying a few more bucks and getting deep sockets (they're normally 6-point) so they can do triple duty.
--
Dave -not to be confused with a real expert






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New Socket size equivalents
posted by  Colin UK subscriber  on Sat Nov 13 01:23 CST 2004 >


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