inexpensive source of 4.5, 5.5mm sockets?

[n8n]

subject says all...

I know I've had to use them before; my own set has the shallows out of some crappy dime store set probably included in a lot of yard sale sockets and the deeps I bought new at Lowe's because I needed them for something.

Is Lowe's the best bet for (relatively) inexpensive 4.5 and 5.5mm sockets?

I'm actually in the process of putting together two more complete 1/4" sets out of a pile of old Cman sockets, but it looks like Cman never made them in the half-mm sizes? So I'll need two of each, shallow and deep, so eight sockets total... at retail that could double the cost of these sets :/ (this is all pawn shop/craigslist/GJ classifieds stuff, intended as "decent enough and dirt cheap")

 

[mrborohachi]

Try Autozone for their Duralast sockets. I have yet to crack a 3/8" drive and I have used them on impacts too. I do have the earliest Gen I mfg.

Personally I'd order singles of those sizes from Ko-Ken

 

[johndeereman]

Just got a new set of 1/4'' gearwrench awsome so far.

 

[n8n]

do either sell singles though? I already have several full sets of used USA cman that I got relatively inexpensively, not looking to buy full sets unless there are no options for less than a similar amount to buying new sets.

 

[Askme42]

do either sell singles though? I already have several full sets of used USA cman that I got relatively inexpensively, not looking to buy full sets unless there are no options for less than a similar amount to buying new sets.

Lots of places sell singles. Just google it. I did came up with many choices.

 

[Harrison2]

try husky from home depot, if your lucky you can maybe use a hf coupon.

failing that carlyle from napa, gearwrench, other auto part store brands.

 

[lilcraigford]

The part numbers for Craftsman 5.5 mm sockets are 34601 (laser etched) and 43511 (non-laser etched). I know this because I'll be looking for an EE 43511. There are several 5.5 mm are eBay right now. I haven't looked for a 4.5 but a quick search claims they exist.

Edit: Those part numbers are for shallow sockets. I'm not sure about either size as a deep socket.

 

[n8n]

I've been googling my fingers off... looks like Kobalt is the cheapest save for Husky that I can find, doesn't look like Advance sells GearWrench singles, and they're listed for more on GearWrench's site anyway... if anyone has a better idea let me know, it'll probably be a few days before I roll by Lowe's...

 

[n8n]

The part numbers for Craftsman 5.5 mm sockets are 34601 (laser etched) and 43511 (non-laser etched). I know this because I'll be looking for an EE 43511. There are several 5.5 mm are eBay right now. I haven't looked for a 4.5 but a quick search claims they exist.

Edit: Those part numbers are for shallow sockets. I'm not sure about either size as a deep socket.

Looks like they're all discontinued but for the 5.5 shallow and 4.5 and 5.5 "max axxess" or whatever they call it, according to Cman's web site

Wonder why Cman doesn't seem to regularly sell those sizes with their 1/4" drive socket sets? I know there's applications for them because I've used mine.

 

[1foxracing]

Trying to fill a Hansen tray huh?
Harry Epstein has single SK's & Wright, Wright don't make the 4.5 though.
4.5 Shallow http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drstand6ptmet/SK40700.html
4.5 deep http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drdeep6ptmet/SK41698.html
5.5 Shallow http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drstand6ptmet/SK40703.html
5.5 deep http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drdeep6ptmet/SK41675.html

 

[n8n]

Trying to fill a Hansen try huh?
Harry Epstein has single SK's & Wright, Wright don't make the 4.5 though.
4.5 Shallow http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drstand6ptmet/SK40700.html
4.5 deep http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drdeep6ptmet/SK41698.html
5.5 Shallow http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drstand6ptmet/SK40703.html
5.5 deep http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/14drdeep6ptmet/SK41675.html

Hah... no, I know for a fact that I've used 5.5 on some kind of automotive interior trim. Don't want to hand someone a socket set that is missing a tool that they'll someday need to use and not have because they trusted me to give them a complete set. Probably would be better to omit the 9mm than the 5.5 honestly, I don't know that I've ever used that one.

I love me some SK, but that might be overkill for these sets... :/

 

[ChevyEFI]

I just checked; only an SK 4mm here.

 

[T45]

5.5mm is a din standard size

...but I'm pretty sure it is available if you need it

open stock cman 1/4 drive are like $2/per

 

[JonDick13926]

i know Craftsman used to make 5.5mm shallow because I have a G2 in the basement right now.

Here's kobalt, 1/4" drive, 6 point, deep and shallow 4.5mm and 5.5mm:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338154-25428-85523_0__?productId=3387526
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338157-25428-85525_0__?productId=3387532
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338156-25428-85548_0__?productId=3387530
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338219-25428-85547_0__?productId=3387638

 

[priceman1414]

Wait until Zoro tools has a free shipping promotion going on and order the sockets individually from their 'value brand' (westward).

That's where I got my 4.5mm socket for about a dollar.

 

[n8n]

i know Craftsman used to make 5.5mm shallow because I have a G2 in the basement right now.

Here's kobalt, 1/4" drive, 6 point, deep and shallow 4.5mm and 5.5mm:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338154-25428-85523_0__?productId=3387526
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338157-25428-85525_0__?productId=3387532
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338156-25428-85548_0__?productId=3387530
http://www.lowes.com/pd_338219-25428-85547_0__?productId=3387638

yeah, unlike everyone else, their prices seem to have dropped. I swear I spent more for mine a few years back when I needed them in a pinch. That might be the call... that's exactly what I need.

 

[DrBaker]

I was in the same boat as the OP and got my 4.5 and 5.5 deeps from Lowes to fill my Hansen trays. The rest of the group are old Craftsman.

Still have a few slots in the metric 3/8 tray to fill up.

 

[rednotch]

I just picked one up a week ago from the local sears. 5.5mm to finish off a spare set that was missing the 5.5 shallow, went with kobalt for 4.5. The deep kobalt won't fit on a socket tray without cutting the peg or drilling the socket threw.

 

[shockwave]

Try Armstrong fasten all sells them if one is near and they made craftsman sockets aswell

 

[johndeereman]

Sunex or gearwrench sell singles on amazon.

 

[Palmer812]

The Westward brand from Zoro for me too. It is Grainger's house brand. At regular price I got 13 sockets shipped for $23. That was 1/4" and 3/8" drive combined. I filled every empty slot on my Harbor Freight trays with them.

 

[Biomed]

Williams has 5.5mm, not sure about 4.5mm. They offer USA manufacture and Taiwan manufacture. Excellent quality, reasonable cost and you can order singles.

I usually get my Williams stuff from Industrial Supply Denver or Toolsdelivered.com.

 

[cheechi]

I can tell you the Taiwan Kobalts are probably still what you're going to get in the singles. These aren't sizes you're going to get out of the drawer every day let alone every week. I would buy them for the little they cost and then as you come across better ones just replace them.

I still use my Kobalt 1/4" set relatively often. Don't go for those sizes much.

I would also have to look at my Taiwan Williams set. I know I don't have a USA Williams in either of those sizes.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Cripe has a 5.5mm Armstrong for $1.50 (which will match your Craftsmans)
Armstrong 37-183

Hell, you could even splurge on some Blue Points through Snap-On

4.5mm for $2.60
BLPSM144.5

5.5mm for $2.60
BLPSM145.5

 

[jim1987]

Northern tool. Great open stock the one time I was in one in norfolk. They even have 12 points of mostly everything.

 

[quattroJoe]

Craftsman still makes a 5.5mm shallow- 34601
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-socket1-4-dr-5.5mm-6pt/p-00934601000P?prdNo=1&sellerId=SEARS

Armstrong makes 4.5mm shallow and deep, and 5.5mm deep. They are visually identical to Craftsman save for the logo. Not exactly cheap, typically $10-12 per socket. I got those sizes from sears.com using free tool of the month points over a few months, free ship to store. Ended up paying $1-2 each.

4.5mm shallow- 37-081
http://www.sears.com/armstrong-4.5mm-socket-6-pt-metric-1-4-in/p-00983959000P?prdNo=1&sellerId=SEARS

4.5mm deep- 37-281
http://www.sears.com/armstrong-4.5-...prdNo=1&sellerId=SEARS&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

5.5mm deep- 37-283
http://www.sears.com/armstrong-5.5-mm-socket-6-pt-deep-metric/p-00983974000P?prdNo=3&sellerId=SEARS

I run across 5.5mm occasionally in Ford interiors. Typically only see 4.5mm in electronics work.

 

[wild cowboy]

The part numbers for Craftsman 5.5 mm sockets are 34601 (laser etched) and 43511 (non-laser etched). I know this because I'll be looking for an EE 43511. There are several 5.5 mm are eBay right now. I haven't looked for a 4.5 but a quick search claims they exist.

this was the right idea - a lot of folks don't seem to realize that ebay is a great source of new tools as well as used - of whatever brand you seek

Craftsman USA, old style or new, brand new or used, any size you fancy, delivered to your door in a couple of days at great prices, why go shopping in a car?

 

[Gareth68]

As noted above blue points from Snapon.com.

After you pay gas or shipping elsewhere, you won't get cheaper than ordering from snapon.

 

[cheechi]

Hell, you could even splurge on some Blue Points through Snap-On

4.5mm for $2.60
BLPSM144.5

5.5mm for $2.60
BLPSM145.5

Well there you go. If BP makes them then they should be also available in the Williams Taiwan. Whether my kit has them or not is irrelevant, especially for that price.

Makes up for the fact I forgot to check this morning for you.

 

[Kirbot]

You definitely won't beat Bluepoint on this one.
Cheaper than Kobalt, and IIRC, everything is free shipping from snappy.

 

[n8n]

Where are you finding blue point 1/4" drive plain hand sockets? Trying to navigate SO's web site and failing miserably, all I find are turbo sockets.

Thinking Kobalt anyway... AFAIK they're still Taiwan not China, available at Lowe's, and after looking at prices last night they're about half the price I was expecting so I'm OK with that, and there's a Lowe's just up the street.

 

[Kirbot]

Just googled the part numbers

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=644952&group_ID=682201

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=644954&group_ID=682201

 

[n8n]

wow, their online catalog is a bag of fail. That looks like a completely different page than the one I navigated to previously going in the "front door." Yeah those are a pretty good deal. Shallow only though :/

edit: just because I wanted to make sure I wasn't going crazy

https://store.snapon.com/SOCKETS-C795640.aspx

 

[cheechi]

If you can find them, free shipping from SO under $500 so there's that unless you need it asap.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

wow, their online catalog is a bag of fail. That looks like a completely different page than the one I navigated to previously going in the "front door." Yeah those are a pretty good deal. Shallow only though :/

Yeah, google is how I found them in the first place since the "Updated" website is such a mess.

My mistake, it does look to be shallow only. The 5.5mm is available as a deep Williams Taiwan 30755 (Identical besides the logo), but no 4.5mm deep (except for the $21 Snappy).

 

[dnschmidt]

Are these not SAE sizes that people think are metric? I know that my Grand Prix is filled with 7/32" fasteners, especially the ones that hold in the blower motor. I went through every metric nutdriver I had until I finally realized they were SAE. 5.5mm for sure is only 0.0022 inch away from 7/32". 4.5 does appear to be unique.

My daily driver is a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix whose fasteners are a coin flip every time I turn one. Could be metric could be SAE, one never knows. The reason I bring this up is that we naturally assume something is metric but on my car that's not a good assumption. All the stuff that happened after GM got religion is metric. All the stuff that always was (like the 3800 engine itself - best V6 ever made by a mile) not the accessories that bolt to it, are SAE. I think some people are looking for metric sizes to fit bolts that actually are SAE. I admit to doing this myself. I used 8mm sockets to take off my upper and lower intake manifold bolts and they didn't seem to fit as tightly as they should. Put a 5/16" socket on there and bingo! Thankfully, the Porsche I'm disassembling and rebuilding is metric and that's that. I truly love my Grand Prix but it pisses me off every time a put a wrench to it and the damn thing really doesn't fit. That stated 3800 forever. Anvils aren't as bulletproof as this engine is.

 

[hangfirew8]

I satisfied my OCD for filling those empty 4.5mm and 5.5mm 1/4" drive socket organizer slots with Kobalt's for the deeps, only because each was under my $5 mad money threshold. I got a Craftsman for one of the shorts and something else for the other, forget.

I think 5.5mm is used only for interior fasteners so I may never, ever use the Deep socket. I could put it in a drawer beside the 20mm combination wrench I've never used and forget about it. But it is nice to see all the socket organizer spots filled, at the end of a job I know all my tools have been returned because there are no empty spots.

 

[cheechi]

These could be excluded because they are overlaps. Even so, if you are working with all metric, what's the cost of a redundant size if it says mm instead of a fraction or vice versa. If it works better for you, go for it.

And I believe you mean the VQ35DETT was the best V6 ever made by a mile.

 

[slow]

coil packs on 99 sunfires are also 5.5mm, found that out the hard way and now own a 5.5 kobalt single from around 2004 when doing coil packs on the girlfriends car. (now wife)

I had a metric set, it did not work, I bought a standard set, did not work, so I made a second trip to the store for the 5.5

Ryan

 

[n8n]

Well I already hit Lowe's, got about half of what I needed - apparently their online inventory is not in line with physical inventory (shocker!)

two more convenient to me though this'll get done somehow

I figure Kobalt taiwan is probably good enough for these bitty small sizes... if those are being used for a high torque app there's something fundamentally wrong...