Why must I buy more tools just to replace brake pads?

Caddyman, Where I Live That Would Be Impossible . . . Keyword = More.

I drive on gravel (salt gravel) highways for 6 months of the year. I just can’t get enough of it. The &^%* stuff makes the roads more dangerous at the very low temperatures we have, but that doesn’t stop 'em from slathering it all over. Oops, sorry, you got me going for a minute.

CSA

I’m going off memory here but the ANSI and international standards have specified tolerance on both the fastener head and the wrench/socket. The example you gave could have a .003" interference on a nominal bolt head and a socket on the small side of its tolerance.

Chances are, you could wrench a long time and not see this combination occur simply because you’d first need a socket on the small side and then exposure to sufficient numbers of fasteners to see the tolerance extreme.

Why these oddballs are chosen is an interesting question and I’m sure there is no one reason for all instances. I know there is a strong drive to use common sizes within a factory since they get a reduced price for purchasing volume and there are lower costs for inventory, handling, tooling etc. The production and financial functions have a strong say in the parts used in a particular design.

Your memory doesn’t serve you well.

The decimal equivalant of 5/8" = .625. So a metric bolt which equals .629 would be 4/1000th larger. Well within ANSI standards. And if you look at the socket set above, there is no 16mm.

Tester

You need a 15mm socket but not a 16mm socket. Why?

16mm?25.4=.629 or 5/8".

Why duplicate a tool already made?

Let’s try it this way;

You indicated no 16mm socket was needed, a 5/8" socket would fit any 16mm bolt.

Bolt heads have a +0 tolerance or in other words a 16mm bolt head cannot exceed .6299" but can be smaller within the allowed minimum tolerance.

Now you want to take a socket that is designed for a 5/8" bolt and use it on any 16mm bolt head. Sockets are designed with a +.003" larger size to begin with so they will fit over the nominal bolt head size for their intended bolt. The minimum socket size for 5/8" = 0.625" + 0.003" = 0.628".

This is smaller than the nominal bolt head size by nearly .002". I was off a thousandth give or take.

The decimal equivalant of 5/8" = .625. So a metric bolt which equals .629 would be 4/1000th larger. Well within ANSI standards. And if you look at the socket set above, there is no 16mm.

??? So how does the 5/8" socket fit the metric bolt head that you claim is .004" larger than the socket? Please explain.

Those look like Sears sockets. Are you saying that because there is no 16mm socket in your set that they don’t exist and are unnecessary? I think even Sears sells one but it’s a separate item from their basic sets.

For what it’s worth (if it doesn’t work, it will be worth nothing), I have found that hitting rotors on the edge in a radial direction (hammer swinging toward center) works. Keep hitting while turning the rotor and it should knock it loose. I’ve never tried it on an Exhibition (:slight_smile: though so I can’t guarantee it. Hitting it from the inside, which would seem to make sense, is futile.

Well, If you take a 5/8" bolt head it equals .625 across the flats. If you take a 16mm bolt head that equals .629 across the flats.
If you look up the ANSI standard for 5/8" wrench or six point socket, the distance between the flats is .640 minimum. So it fits a 5/8" or a 16mm bolt head.

Simple enough?

Tester

I have a Ford Escort, my brother has a Ford Mustang, this guy has a Ford truck;But all 3 of us has the same problem with the left rotor wearing before any other wheel. replaced rotor and pads. 6 months later noisy brakes again, checked left side shows excessive wear. Sticky caliper, change that . 6 months later still excessive wearing. Any thoughts about that? Why always left front ??

Could you have similar driving habits? If you brake in curves and turns, especially all going to one side, it might explain it.

I am no lover of Ford, so I am not trying to defend them. My passenger-side inside pad always wears out first on my Civic.

Oh BTW…IMHO… get yourself a set of Metwrench type wobble sockets and you won’t have to go out and buy every single size SAE or metric, and keep them in your truck. …

we both live in the city and are always going around the block over and over looking for parking, But I would say that 51% of our turns are LEFT turns, and 49% are Right turns. But in the city we have to stop at the intersection which is straight, and then turn when we are moving. So I don’t think that bis it. Your Thoughts?

One more thing… My brother used to drive an 88 civic same conditions and same location… NO problem with brakes.

I’m amazed that some people don’t read previous posts. Read my post on proper brake job repair.

Also replace brake hoses if they are 10 yrs old.Too many people keep replacing calipers, without replacing the rubber brake hose.

On the other subject of wrenches , use whatever socket or wrench fits the bolt or nut with the best tight fit.If you have a bolt with a rusted 10mm head, see if a 3/8ths fits better.

11mm-7/16ths,13mm-1/2, 14mm-9/16s,16mm-5/8ths,17mm-11/16ths,19mm-3/4,22mm-7/8ths.

Always try tightening a rusted bolt or nut before loosening it.

Tapping the head of a bolt with a hammer helps break the rust on the threads.

I agree that some standard and metric sizes are close but that’s all they are; close.
(13MM-1/2", 14MM-9/16", 17MM-11/16", etc, etc.)

Sometimes they may interchange and sometimes not. It all depends on the tolerance of the bolt head and the socket.
As an example, I’ve got a near new Craftsman 1/2" boxed end that will not fit a 13MM bolt head unless it’s tapped on with a hammer.

I can’t even begin to count how many mangled Subaru oil drain plugs I’ve had to wrestle due to someone butchering them with an 11/16" wrench instead of the proper 17MM tool.
On a tight bolt or nut a few thousandths can mean the difference between breaking it loose or rounding it off.

As to 16MM sockets, I’ve got a full set of Snap-On and Cornwell sockets and both sets came with a 16.

See what happens when you don’t take any bail-out money, your customers must resort to complaining about having to buy things they don’t use enough. This has to be the biggest wine thread in CarTalk history.

I like my 16mm socket,I use it everytime I can’t find one of my 5/8, and 5.5mm has been used by GM for 20years plus,just like 18mm, but that 20mm on fuel filters, that one makes me mad.

Kurt, I’m Going To Try That Rotor Removal Method The Next Time I’ve Got One Stuck. Thanks.

CSA

How About That 19/32 ? That’s A Good One.

CSA

AMEN!

I find myself puzzled as to why anyone who works on their own vehicles would not want to get the proper tools. Those who try to use SAE sockets on metric applications, use crescent wrenches or pliars rather than get sockets or line wrenches, jam thing sinto allen holes hoping to avoid getting a set of allen wrenches, all they do is make life more difficult for themselves.

If you’re gonna do your own work, life’s much easier with the correct tools. That includes full sets of good wrenches and sockets. Multiple sets are even better…for when you have to hold the 16mm bolt while you turn the 16mm nut…and you just dropped one of your 16mm sockets and it rolled under the jackstand.

I bought a 7 piece crowfoot selection from Matco for probably 175.00 about 7 years ago. I used 1 of the pieces once and have never used any of the others ever. I certainly don’t think of this little set as "money in the bank’.

It was a 10 piece flare/crowfoot not 7 pieces andit had “flare”

Been there and done that. I ended up selling mine. I had the standard and metric set of flare nut crowfoots. The tool truck had a ‘BOGO’ deal at the time. The one I needed at the time worked great, but I never needed them again. The set you show is the same set I had, but I had two of them, standard and metric.