metric or sae

[Trans1998am]

Hey was working on my 02 explorer and noticed a couple of sar sockets fit really well. I know some sizes are almost the same from sae to metric but it had me wondering. Are American cars sae and forensic cars metric? I thought most new cars now a days were metric. Sorry for such a noon question.

 

[retDAC]

Your fasteners are metric; some SAE are very close:

19mm = 0.7480in (rounded, 19/25.4)
3/4in = 0.7500

16mm = 0.6299in (rounded)
5/8in = 0.6250

8mm = 0.3150in (rounded)
5/16in = 0.3125

You can determine others easily. Sometimes 9/16 works for 14mm and 1/2 for 13mm, but those are not so close. You've probably run into some tools broached tighter/looser. Certainly fasteners will vary as well.

Like your sig. You need to correct "surrounded".

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

Yeah that should be metric - anything in the 2000s should be, I'd think.

Generally just look for whichever socket/wrench has less play in it. Sometimes you might even find, for the close matches (some of which retDAC listed), the "incorrect" standard might fit a bit tighter. You may, for example, have a "3/4 inch" bolt head which is actually slightly undersized that a 3/4" socket works fine but a 19mm works even better. A couple times I've had "21mm" bolt heads where a 13/16" wrench fit better. There is approx 0.01" of difference between those 2. Also keep in mind that the quality of your tools affects this. Use cheap tools (which I was doing with that 21mm bolt) and they, like the bolts, have tolerances and might not be perfect. It might not be that my 21mm bolt was slightly undersize but that my low-quality wrenches were slightly oversize.

I did have 21mm available at that time but I went with the 13/15" because it was the better fit for those specific bolts and those specific wrenches.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Rear differential bolts on Jeeps I believe are still 1/2" and not a metric size. Possibly the newest ones have gone metric, but even just a few years ago they were still 1/2" just like they always were.

 

[General Geoff]

American cars are often a bastardized mix of standard and metric. A 2000 model year explorer should be mostly (95%+) metric.

 

[whitetrash1]

American cars are often a bastardized mix of standard and metric. A 2000 model year explorer should be mostly (95%+) metric.

This. I always go for metric but there's always one or two sae bolts

 

[SantaAna12]

I keep a mic close and check if I do not like the fit.

7/16 could be added to the list.

 

[RedneckWelder]

American cars are often a bastardized mix of standard and metric. A 2000 model year explorer should be mostly (95%+) metric.

Pretty much this.

I use mostly metric on my 99 Chevy but sometimes end up with standard (a good example, the bolts holding the driveshaft u-joint to the differential yoke were standard)

If you look at a bolt head, and it's not worn off, metric bolts will have a number like 10.9 or 8.8 while SAE will use often use hashmarks to denote the bolt grade (above grade 2). Cheap **** bolts are a tossup as to what they are and what hardness they are- but car fasteners should mostly be decent quality bolts (outside of non-critical trim pieces and the like)

https://www.boltdepot.com/fastener-information/materials-and-grades/bolt-grade-chart.aspx

 

[Whitworth]

I agree mostly Metric in all new vehicles, but with some sub-assemblies using SAE. No doubt depending on country of origin and whether the contractor uses SAE.

 

[shockwave]

Most cars these days are mostly metric but gm uses sae on a lot of newer engine bolts

If need be you will be fine with metric and a few sae sockets like 1/4,3/8 and 1/2 and 9/16 those are the most common sizes I come across

 

[Trans1998am]

Thanks guys. That is good to know. I don't have the best tools in the world but they work fine for me. I always truly to find the tightest fitting socket or wrench I was just curious since I had a couple that were sae that fit really well. Anyway thanks again for the responses.