SAE Tools around the Home/Farm etc

[T45]

How much has metric made inroads (if any) into this work in the past 10-20 years? I know most of the contractor stuff at Home Depot remains fractional, but I see names like Honda and Husqvarna in the lawnmovers areal alot more

 

[mudflap]

Even some of the Medium Duty stuff now..Mahindra , Kabota, etc..

 

[WhiskeyRanger]

I still rarely use metric either at home or at work (industrial electrician), even on my Jeep, most of the aftermarket stuff seems to be SAE unless it reuses the old hardware. Even that's frequently torx. Of course I have to carry one metric nut driver for those stupid SEW Eurodrive motor terminals.

 

[WittHay]

German farm equipment, Claas, Fella, Krone, Fendt, Grimme
Expensive but works better than North American brands

 

[slip knot]

Almost all of the CUTs and SCUTs are import now. I doubt you can get anything >100hp that's domestic anymore.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Our CaseIH 75A is all metric and all the small equipment has Honda or a Tanaka engines so metric for that as well. The old farm trucks are still SAE, but not sure how much longer they are gonna last. Still have some old NH equipment that is SAE and most of the buildings and HVAC is SAE.

 

[65k10]

In my limited experience it depends on the age and what it is. Our tractors before 1990 are almost all SAE, but starting with our early 90s Case IH tractors you get an odd mix of metric and SAE with our most recent tractors being pretty much metric.

Implements seem to be a different story. For example our 2008 New Holland Bi-Directional is metric, but the loader and hay head for it are all SAE. For that matter we bought a new Vermeer baler and Great Plains brand seed drill in the last two years and they are all SAE from what I can tell looking at the grading marks on the bolts.

Metric is just common enough that I include metric sockets and wrenches in my field set. My dad however just has his small 19" hip roof box with SAE only tools and that usually does the job for the typical field repairs and adjustments. Needless to say his portable tool box is much handier and lighter than my field set, but not having metric tools when it rears it's head is too frustrating to not have it handy.

 

[WittHay]

If we are talking about metric fasteners, there is a mix of SAE and metric on equipment assembled here in North America. Example: Hesston mowers, the cutterbar is metric and the rest of the machine is SAE. A Canadian made Agland can be all SAE, while a US built John Deere can be nearly all metric.

 

[555]

I mostly work on old Harley Davidsons, all SAE. I do have some older Hondas which are a mix of current metrics and Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS). Two of our Fords were made in Mexico and I can almost disassemble them with a single 10mm. My Ford truck seems to be a mix of SAE and metric, so I take a variety of wrenches when I work on it. My 1985 Bronco had a bizarre combination of metric and SAE bolts on the water pump!
My Dodge Ram appeared to be all SAE, at least the stuff I repaired/replaced.
Regards,
John

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Seems SAE hardware is just easier to get and cheaper.... at least locally. US manufacturers have been moving to Metric for a couple decades. I think we'll see SAE for a LONG time.

 

[Jim C.]

For general home repairs, etc., I'm still mostly encountering SAE. My John Deere rider lawnmower does have some metric fasteners. I like tinkering with mid 1960s Corvettes and pre 1960s Delta woodworking machines, so that stuff is all SAE. I might have a line a survivor mid 1950s MG.....I'm hopeful. I've heard that original vehicles were assembled with metric and Whitworth fasteners. That presents another tool acquisition challenge....

Jim C.

 

[T45]

Somebody want to chime in with what size ranges are most critical. Looking for a fully functional field repair setup (in terms of lower/upper size limits). Thanks for lots of informative replies so far.

 

[zcbauer89]

My first experience with Metric on farm machinery is my 1985 IH 5288 tractor. A lot of metric on that series tractor. We bought the machine new, and that's really when we had to add to our metric collection. Still use a lot of SAE though. We have purchased farm machinery new in the past few years that are primarily SAE.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

1/4 to 1" should do a LOT of work... unless your working on large machinery or vehicles.

 

[Pitalplace]

The John Deere combines and grain drill I run this spring and fall are all metric.

 

[stercorarius]

Deere is exclusively metric at this point. If you are going to work on Deeres stock up on 13, 16, lots of 18 , 21, and 24 mm tools. Get swivels. At least swivel adapters and long extensions. Basically any in that size that will get you into stupid places to save you from having to take off extra parts while your laying on your back in a field in the middle of the night, or worse yet in the middle of the day when it is 110+. Cordless impact wrench and a big bottle of red loctite is a must. Iirc it's a 27mm socket for the oil filter caps on all the Deeres. As mentioned before the Massey/Hesston equipment is a real pain to work on because it's a mix of SAE and MM components. It's so bad that Hesston even has stickers on the components indicating if it uses standard or metric hardware. I can't comment too much on Case or New Hold AG stuff. Macdon is MM. Case construction equipment is metric since the early 0s. Class is exclusively metric, so much that at times you get the feeling you need to learn basic German to be allowed to touch them. Oddly enough I think the Gearboxes on the Claas Jaguar might be SAE. Basically buy a 2763, both the Metric and SAE Sunex master impact socket sets, and an English to Swearing dictionary if you want to work on farm equipment. Get a big hammer in every configuration and an assortment of long prybars. A torch is a friend that can become an insurance claim in a hurry if you aren't careful. Never weld in wheat fields. Learn how to use the rumble strips on the road to take naps on the go. You'll have to have big pipe wrenches and adjustable wrenches. They save you from having to buy two expensive sets of jumbo wrenches and are a requirement for some of the large hydraulic systems. If you don't know the difference between JIC and O-Ring Face Seal you're not going to have fun. Stock up on Harbor freight wrenches because they grow legs like centipedes in Chernobyl. Tub o' towels don't make the best toilet paper, ask for extra napkins at Taco Bell. Basically you'll need everything between 10mm and 2" in a modern operation. Just my two cents.

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[zendriver]

I had a '93 John Deere 318 garden tractor. The tractor was metric, but the Onan engine was SAE.


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[davethorik]

Doing home remodeling/contracting for a year now, I've needed 1/4 thru 9/16, and a 13/16 spark plug socket. The only metric I've encountered were SHCS.

 

[jfcasey]

I still need sae for working on commercial chippers/grinders and older Deere construction equipment. I also pretty much use all sae for hydraulic hoses. Seems like most hose fittings are still fractional.

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[woody6904]

My first experience with Metric on farm machinery is my 1985 IH 5288 tractor. A lot of metric on that series tractor. We bought the machine new, and that's really when we had to add to our metric collection. Still use a lot of SAE though. We have purchased farm machinery new in the past few years that are primarily SAE.

Same here with a 5088 bought new.

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[M_George]

The flea markets here in Eastern Pa. are loaded with good USA made SAE socket sets that can be purchased at a good price.

 

[65k10]

I just do general maintenance and simple repairs on the equipment on my family's farm so my experience is somewhat limited, but here's been my experience. Since my field sets need to be light enough to move between vehicles (no dedicated service pickup) I try to stick with what I will commonly need. That means in terms of SAE, sockets and wrenches from 1/4" to 1-1/4". After that bigger sizes can sometimes be substituted with large adjustable wrenches, but ideally having stuff up to 2" is nice. If space, cost, and weight are not a concern, it's definitely worth having 1/4" to 2". I know my life would be easier if I could have a set with that range at my disposal in the field.

I think stercorarius covers it the best when it comes to what is needed.

 

[WittHay]

I have used 7,9,10,13,17,18,19,22,24 and 30mm wrenches and sockets on the German and Italian farm equipment

 

[cliftonbros89]

I mainly work on John Deere stuff. Older stuff is all SAE, late 90's and newer is usually a mix of SAE and metric. Several implements we have are all SAE. All the hydraulic stuff on them is SAE. But a few implements have a mix of SAE and metric as well. I think our drill is all metric. Also, I think our 9770 combine is almost all metric. Most metric I use is 10,13, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24, 30, 32. That's on the Deere stuff at least. Pick ups are a mix. Kubota RTV 900 is all metric but it's almost all sizes that Deere doesn't use.

 

[stercorarius]

As several others have commented, I can confirm that of the hundreds of hydraulic hoses I've done all of them use SAE.

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[drink]

How much has metric made inroads (if any) into this work in the past 10-20 years? I know most of the contractor stuff at Home Depot remains fractional, but I see names like Honda and Husqvarna in the lawnmovers areal alot more

A lot of the stuff I work on at home is SAE but I have encountered some metric stuff also. When I was a kid I bought a small Honda motorcycle that was made in Japan and it had all metric fasteners on it. My old garden tractors are all SAE and so are all of the attachments that go with them. My pickup truck has both SAE and metric fasteners.

Over the past 10-20 years I have worked on a lot of outdoor power equipment with both SAE and metric. At one point I decided to assemble a small field set of Allen brand tools. My tool box has all the pliers, adjustables, wrenches, etc. and I have a mixed set of SAE/metric sockets. Nomally I would reach for the Allen set of sockets and the tool box with a set of SAE 1/2" drive Allen sockets. The sizes range from SAE 3/16 - 1-1/4" & metric 4mm - 19mm.

One day I decided to assemble a small set of Craftsman tools in a 16" tool box. I included 3/16 - 7/8" standard & deep and 4mm - 19mm deep. The little Craftsman set was really handy and I was surprised at how much stuff I could work on around the house with it.

 

[drink]

When I work on my old garden tractors they have Category 0 hitches on them so I have to have 15/16" wrenches and sockets handy. So far I have had to use tools ranging from 3/16" thru 1-7/16" in 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", and 3/4" drive sizes to work on them.

Most of the time I give my 3/8" drive socket sets a workout. They run from 1/4" thru 1" in size. My 1/4" drive set gets a workout also and it runs from 3/16" thru 9/16".