bczygan
Well-known member
1986 to 2002 vehicles.
Any SAE on these and newer vehicles?
Any SAE on these and newer vehicles?
Any SAE on Vehicles?
- Thread starter bczygan
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joe_padavano
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Certainly up to 2000 there are SAE fasteners. My 1999 Chevy truck with 454 uses SAE on all the engine fasteners and metric on most of the rest. Pretty much any vehicle with a heritage engine used SAE fasteners on those items. The rest is hit-or-miss. GM used SAE fasteners on the suspension of their heritage RWD full size cars through 1990, and possibly through the end of production in 1996.
jeeper46
Well-known member
I worked at Hydramatic. The THM400 transmissions, and all the later iterations of that model, were all SAE, right up to the end in 2010. Likely the THM 325 was SAE also, being just a 400 that was modified to be FWD. Every other transmission that came later, starting with the THM 200 around 1977 or so, was metric.
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ihateminimumwage
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Pickups and vans (the non-mini type) from the "Big Three" definitely held onto SAE longer than their cars.
Teenager with old tools
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2000 impala with the 3800 engine has a couple sae fasteners you'll encounter when doing a top end rebuild. Almost everything on the car and engine is metric however
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Empty Pockets
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We still drive a 98 Lincoln Navigator. Still a lot of SAE fasteners.
dnschmidt
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On my 3800 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix it was always take a guess with respect to metric/SAE bolts and nuts. Mostly metric with a bunch of 5/16 thrown in (upper intake manifold) along with other SAE sizes. I don't think this stupidity ended until 2010 or so. Now it's all metric but for the longest time all of the legacy stuff (like the 3800 V6) was whatever it was. DROVE ME NUTS! At least on my 911 and on my Sonata I don't have to guess what size the fasteners are.
Roberts210
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My 95 Dodge/Cummins is mostly SAE with just a little metric thrown in for fun.
md21722
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As the years go up less and less SAE on domestics. Take Jeeps for example, TORX fasteners went up, as did metric through the suspension, but axles and the 4.0 motor were still SAE through at least 2006. Two starter bolts, one metric, one SAE.
Two Door
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My 86 Chevy pickup is all SAE.
Notorious BRT
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What is SAE on a 95 Dodge/Cummins? Maybe some of the rear suspension and the lug nuts.
davethorik
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My first car was an 89 lesabre with the 3800. I remember the water pump bolts were half metric and half sae.
APEowner
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That whole fleet is more or less SAE engines in metric vehicles.
maydaymike
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Mostly SAE with a little metric thrown in here and there on my 2014 Harley-Davidson.
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wolf_from_wv
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3/8" allen wrench for GM caliper pin bolts
Technologyteacher
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I can vouch for this. I have a 95 YJ and there is a mix of SAE, Metric, and Torx and I always seem to grab the wrong choice the first time.
Advan
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toolenthusiast
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RPH
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Just buy a set of metrinch tools, fit both metric and sae. Just fits both poorly but that gives an opportunity to purchase tools to remove stripped fasteners. I see a win -win here. New tools and new skills.
Murphy4570
Well-known member
American manufacturers started switching in the 1980's. Expect from there on to have mostly metric fasteners for body and suspension/chassis. Drivetrain will switch from SAE to metric as the old engines are phased out in favor of new designs that are metric.
Example: Ford used the old 302/5.0L V8 in the Explorer/Mountaineer until 2001. That engine design dates back to 1962. All SAE fasteners on the basic engine parts. The 4.0L V6, and the 4.6L V8 introduced in 2002 model year, are newer designs, all metric.
Example: Ford used the old 302/5.0L V8 in the Explorer/Mountaineer until 2001. That engine design dates back to 1962. All SAE fasteners on the basic engine parts. The 4.0L V6, and the 4.6L V8 introduced in 2002 model year, are newer designs, all metric.
thesilverone
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This is the best thing I've ever seen on the internet
is he randy or lahey?
mbshop
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As a mac dealer in the late 80s I was selling more and more metric to mechanics, specially to farm equipement manufacturers. They were changing to metric so they could export machinery.
md21722
Well-known member
Yep, same with Chrysler/AMC/Jeep. They did not rethread existing engines to metric. Everything that ever threaded into the head or block of the Jeep 4.0 was SAE. The water pump to block bolts are SAE, the pulley to water pump bolts are metric. Lots of 7/16, 3/8, 1/2, and 9/16 on that engine.
crackit
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Even if the car is 100% metric, a lot of presses and pullers still require SAE.
BIG BACCHUS
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Schurkey
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The FWD version of the TH 400 was the TH 425. The 325 was a downsized FWD trans which may or may not have been based on the TH 350.
They started switching earlier than that. I'm thinking the '78 "A" body had a mix of SAE and metric. Fairly sure the Chevette had some metric from when it was introduced in...'76?
jeeper46
Well-known member
Oops-I forgot all about the 425-I think I only worked on that line for just a day or two. Back when I started at Hydramatic, The Assembly Room had two 400 lines, two 200 lines, the 425 line, and two 125 lines. That was when there were 14,000 people working there.
ex-x-fire
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Yep, if the part or assembly was designed after 1977-78 then it should be metric, but the auto makers arent going to retool existing components to make them metric.
Sam'sAutoParts
Well-known member
Actually they are a few metric fasteners on the square body's believe it or not. Starting in 1978/1979 or so they started to creep in. The metric is mostly confined to items that would not normally be removed but I have to keep a few metric sockets in the kit for complete strip downs.
I bought a 98 jeep XJ this summer and almost immediately realized it was a 50/50 split in SAE and Metric....