Anyone ever had a use for a 15mm socket/wrench

[philw]

I was going through the box and was thinking about some of the stuff that never gets used (at least for me). I can't remember ever using the 15mm size. 11mm is another odd one for me. Anyone else have any odd sizes they don't use?
Don't get me started about some of the old stuff. I have some of my grandfathers sockets in all of the crazy /32 sizes and I even have a 1/2 deepwell that is 51/64 or something weird. Apparently the /32 were for a different type of bolt (USS standard or something?)

 

[Beartrax]

Yes, on a bicycle.

 

[boiler7904]

15mm is used for a few bolts on my Trek mountain bike

 

[Jeeper]

I used a 15mm wrench on the upper strut mount for my old '99 grand prix.

 

[strizzy]

Back mounting nut on Mercrusier (boat) power steering unit... everything else on the motor is standard....

Oil drain plug on my old Malibu.

 

[plinker]

15mm:
oil drain plug '99 buick century and various places on a '87 ford ranger.

11mm and 19mm are almost interchangeable with 7/16 and 3/4 I have found.

I have used a 25/32 socket to remove some rusty lug nuts once, couldnt get a 3/4 on it. A "bolt out" socket would have worked if I had one, the rust got under the chrome plating and "bulged" the sides out to the point I couldnt get a regular size socket on the lug nuts.

I have also run across 19/32 on a old delta table saw.

 

[sunshineFC3s]

Haha...yeah, I use 15mm on my bike too (as mentioned).
How about the 16mm...mine still has the "just out of the package" smell to it
-a

 

[MarkH]

Multiple GM uses, in fact shows more wear than most of the rest of metrics.

 

[Jared]

16 mm, brake lines on a 73 volvo 164

 

[wilbilt]

15mm, lots of front end/alignment uses on the "big 3" US autos and trucks from the 80s-90s. Tie rod sleeves, upper strut mounts, ball joint pinch bolts, etc.

15mm and 18mm were my most often-used sizes...back in the day...

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Both my '91 Ranger and my '99 Plymouth Breeze use a 15mm. The Breeze has lots of 15mm, the Ranger, a few places.

Charles

 

[wythors]

I use both 15 and 11 fairly regularly on my Mustangs.

 

[JRGSPE73]

15mm is everywhere on GM, including just about every oil plug. I'm convinced you can take a GM 90% apart with a 15mm wrench for the outside and a 7mm socket for all of the screws that hold the interior together.

 

[Deafautotech]

DamilerChrysler have a lot 10mm, 13mm, 15mm, 18mm around vehicles... i already loose swivel socket and it pop itself.... the chrysler have 13mm deain plug for engine and old model jeep use 16mm wrench to do engine oil drain...

 

[Uncle Buck]

Another GM & Ford guy here, 8, 10,11, 12, & tons of 15mm. Not much metric used except those!

 

[Deafautotech]

Another GM & Ford guy here, 8, 10,11, 12, & tons of 15mm. Not much metric used except those!

i work next door (Mercury/Lincoln dealership) with tech. i was used a lot of 7mm impact swivel on spark plug C.O.P. to pull cylinder head (spark plug pop). but ford vehicles use a lot 8, 10, 13, 15, 18mm.... even 12pt 12mm for driveshaft...

 

[Uncle Buck]

i work next door (Mercury/Lincoln dealership) with tech. i was used a lot of 7mm impact swivel on spark plug C.O.P. to pull cylinder head (spark plug pop). but ford vehicles use a lot 8, 10, 13, 15, 18mm.... even 12pt 12mm for driveshaft...

I forgot the 13mm

 

[Coach James]

My Saturn takes a 15mm on the oil drain plug and transmission drain plug. My Grand Prix takes a 13mm on the oil drain.
Coach

 

[Jbullfrog]

I have used my 16mm for something because I had to get a second one, but I can't remember what. I'm thinking it was the engine in a Toyota forklift.

 

[pearltsi]

on my neon

 

[RAYJAY]

we use every size from 7mm to 32 mm on our goss newspaper press the folders now are american sizes

jeff

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Asian cars use alot of 15mm, I have 3 of them

 

[Cashed]

BMW motorcycles also use 15 a lot. Including the bolt to turn the engine over manually.

 

[joenero]

There's quite a few when you replace the engine on a Land Rover Freelander. I can think of 34 off the top of my head and I know there's a few more if you do a teardown.

 

[martell06]

Don't get me started about some of the old stuff. I have some of my grandfathers sockets in all of the crazy /32 sizes and I even have a 1/2 deepwell that is 51/64 or something weird. Apparently the /32 were for a different type of bolt (USS standard or something?)

I believe i read somewhere that the military used to use odd sized hardware on their machinery so that if it fell into enemy hands, they couldn't work on it. after the war was over companies started making the **/64 sockets so that people could fix them. Can't remember where i read this at - can anyone verify??

 

[wilbilt]

I believe i read somewhere that the military used to use odd sized hardware on their machinery so that if it fell into enemy hands, they couldn't work on it.

I heard that it was to reduce the theft of the tools used to work on the equipment. Who would want a set of tools that didn't fit anything at home?

 

[Junkman]

I believe i read somewhere that the military used to use odd sized hardware on their machinery so that if it fell into enemy hands, they couldn't work on it. after the war was over companies started making the **/64 sockets so that people could fix them. Can't remember where i read this at - can anyone verify??

I had given that information a while back on this site. Don't remember the gist of the post, but do remember my reply. The military also used odd dimensions when it came to the diameter and thread per inch of most of the bolts, so if you lost one, you were just stuck. They did everything that was possible to make it miserable for the enemy to use and fix the military hardware..... Junk.....

 

[Steve in Mi]

Anybody looking for a Bonney 31/32 12pt socket to complete their set, I've got em NOS. 3/4" drive IIRC, have to check if anybody is interested.

19/32" Rod cap nuts on Model A Ford engines among other things.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I had given that information a while back on this site. Don't remember the gist of the post, but do remember my reply. The military also used odd dimensions when it came to the diameter and thread per inch of most of the bolts, so if you lost one, you were just stuck. They did everything that was possible to make it miserable for the enemy to use and fix the military hardware..... Junk.....

And a damned good idea for their purposes it was!

 

[kartracer55]

15 gets used, not as much as others but way more than 16mm

 

[Brandon_Lutz]

I use 15 mm every time I change oil in my S-10 or my folk's cars. Just a GM standard for the oil plug. I also use a 17 mm alot. I can't place at this moment on exactly what, but I know I've used a 17 a bunch of times.

 

[Spookrider]

Do an oil change and you will be amazed. I grab a 15mm more than I ever wanted. I would say 3/4 of the oil changes that I do is 15mm and then 13 or 14 on cars and 16 & 17 on bigger thing i.e. truck and suvs.

 

[Spookrider]

Try a 7/8 SAE on a '65 Ply. Belvedere that blow my mind. I had to go to my bottom drawer and knock the dust off to find that wrench.

 

[epmills]

They are used on Mercedes every once in a while. What I can think of off hand... 11mm on brake bleeder screws on 220 chassis S-class, and 15mm on the tensioner nut on 104 engines.

 

[Coach James]

Also, the nut that holds the windshield wipers on my Grand Prix takes a 13mm.

Coach

 

[Spookrider]

I use the Gearwrench Flex head ratchet wrench alot and hold up pretty well so far to all the abuse that I have given to it. Also it make the job go faster.

 

[dxdexter]

Got a new one. Just fired up my furnace for a test run and needed a 15mm for the bleeder screw on a Riello oil burner.
With the price of furnace oil I hope its a warm winter, the oil company guarantees a maximum price of $.865/litre or $3.28 a US Gallon.

 

[IanF]

15mm is the oil drain plug size on a Toyota p/u 22R I owned many years ago. I ended up with 3 of these silly wrenches because I was always at work when I wanted to change the oil, but the wrench was at home...

Eventually got smart and just left one in the glove box...