Since when did Kohler switch over to crappy metric fasteners? Had to pull the stator coil out of a 30hp command twin, every d@mn fastener on the thing is metric.... This is the 1st Kohler anything that I have worked on that wasn't totally opposite.... Usually they are all SAE/standard fasteners.
Since when?
- Thread starter dodge trucker
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Just a guess, but engines these days are made for applications all over the world, of which most if not all are already metric. Even US made engines want to produce a global standard, they need to be metric. Blame your government for not switching everyone over when the rest of the world changed decades ago when the earth was still green, they missed a golden opportunity.
When you say crappy metric fasteners, you mean crappy in that you don't have a metric set of tools? Because metric fasteners are just as good as SAE, and much more easily scalable. Also, new inventory control systems hate fractions, where metric the size and part number can be same.
When you say crappy metric fasteners, you mean crappy in that you don't have a metric set of tools? Because metric fasteners are just as good as SAE, and much more easily scalable. Also, new inventory control systems hate fractions, where metric the size and part number can be same.
Our 30 yr old buick is all metric.
Mike
Mike
Oh no, I have plenty of SAE and metric, but I was brought up on 1/8ths and 16ths, national coarse and national fine thread, not this metric crap. Been working on all things mechanical at least since I was 12, and yeah/ the late 70s GMs with their mix of sae and metric started my hatred of things metric. When I was 18 my Dad bought me a hand me down Yamaha Enduro, that was like 15 years old then // and some parts were starting to get hard to get then. A 1970 bike in 1985. Dad had NO metric tools. Lots of crescent wrench, pliers and vise grips used on that thing. By the time I was done about half of it had been rethreaded to the closest bigger size in SAE thread as bolts broke and stripped.
Being a fleet mechanic my sae tools see little action at work, but still lots of action at home. What really pisses me off is when I'm sure a given fastener just has to be metric and it winds up as being SAE. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone?
Just like torx, external torx and such I think that at some point it was a scam involved by one of the tool truck company, so that instead of saying to the snap on guy "no, I have all I need" now all of a sudden none of what I have will fit and work anymore.
When I was an alignment guy, I came up with specs in fractional degrees and toe was fractional inch increments. When Sears got their latest whiz bang alignment machines, I was working like 3 to 9 and weekends.
We had 2 racks, when the 7 to 3:30 guy would leave I'd switch the machine that I used back to fractional units
for a while when we first got those we would leave one machine set up each way. Because the older machines they replaced were all fractional based.
Then someone decided to switch the fractional machine to decimal like the other one. And I'd always switch it back, this was in the late 80s
Being a fleet mechanic my sae tools see little action at work, but still lots of action at home. What really pisses me off is when I'm sure a given fastener just has to be metric and it winds up as being SAE. Why couldn't they just leave well enough alone?
Just like torx, external torx and such I think that at some point it was a scam involved by one of the tool truck company, so that instead of saying to the snap on guy "no, I have all I need" now all of a sudden none of what I have will fit and work anymore.
When I was an alignment guy, I came up with specs in fractional degrees and toe was fractional inch increments. When Sears got their latest whiz bang alignment machines, I was working like 3 to 9 and weekends.
We had 2 racks, when the 7 to 3:30 guy would leave I'd switch the machine that I used back to fractional units
for a while when we first got those we would leave one machine set up each way. Because the older machines they replaced were all fractional based.
Then someone decided to switch the fractional machine to decimal like the other one. And I'd always switch it back, this was in the late 80s
I was brought up on Cream of Wheat...but rarely eat it today.
To each his own. One man's hate is another man's love.
To each his own. One man's hate is another man's love.
Also when it comes to bolt grade,,, I understand 3 marks 4 marks and 6 marks on the head of a bolt easier than 8.8, 10.9, etc.
I was working on my mom's car one day and needed some replacement bolts. So I went to Menards and bought "10.9" which is a "harder" bolt right? Those bolts were so soft they twisted off like a soft pretzel. I wound up going to the junkyard and taking the same respective fasteners off of a junker to get it done. Had they been SAE that wouldn't have been necessary. Lots of PITA for no good reason.
I was working on my mom's car one day and needed some replacement bolts. So I went to Menards and bought "10.9" which is a "harder" bolt right? Those bolts were so soft they twisted off like a soft pretzel. I wound up going to the junkyard and taking the same respective fasteners off of a junker to get it done. Had they been SAE that wouldn't have been necessary. Lots of PITA for no good reason.
10.9 is equal to or stronger than grade 8.
My big complaint is at work our machines are now a mix of metric and sae.
Hubs for the planetary drive are now metric measurements. The standard hubs dont fit even though they are identical to the new hubs(except for the less than 1/16" difference in metric vs standard). That change cost me 20 hours of my life trying to figure out why the hubs wouldnt fit!
The parts book showed the old part numbers.
My big complaint is at work our machines are now a mix of metric and sae.
Hubs for the planetary drive are now metric measurements. The standard hubs dont fit even though they are identical to the new hubs(except for the less than 1/16" difference in metric vs standard). That change cost me 20 hours of my life trying to figure out why the hubs wouldnt fit!
The parts book showed the old part numbers.
maybe theoretically, but those (think the brand was Hillman hardware) that I bought for my Moms car on the sae scale wouldn't have rated a 0.5, as easily as they twisted off, even though they were clearly marked "10.9". I think the ones that I was replacing were "9.8".
I am of the age that, when Canada made the big switch, I was in my mid 20s. I had learned the Imperial system in school with just a smattering of Metric. It was a tough go for our generation. The wrench sizes, lengths etc was probably the easiest. Speed, MPH vs KPH was not so bad. Temperatures are a pain when talking to Americans. I say its 0C out (freezing point) and they say that's really cold (-18F or so)...Barometric stuff, I just ignore.
The hardest part for me is miles per gallon vs Km/100 kilometers....Try and figure that one out........
The hardest part for me is miles per gallon vs Km/100 kilometers....Try and figure that one out........
Is that the same as Whitworth?
Yes it is. Kind of rare anymore, but I still have a set of wrenches at work.
I've heard that a lot of that hardware comes from China and you cannot count on it actually meeting the specification marked. Same for SAE bolts.
I wouldn't dream of buying critical hardware from a big box place. Fortunately I have a fastener supply place near me that sells quality products and I think they're probably less expensive than questionable stuff from the big chains.
I prefer metric it’s more intuitive. I can handle SAE just fine but takes a second to think about sizes. If I have a 1/2” wrench and need next size up is it 9/16? lol takes longer to think about than 12 to 13.
The only issue I have is when stuff uses both, now that’s frustrating.
The only issue I have is when stuff uses both, now that’s frustrating.
Only ever heard of it.
We had a machine built in Germany that had British standard pipe fittings and housing on it. That was a night mare
Bstp bsp bsp oring
I have to admit that metric is far more logical and once your head gets wrapped around it, it is easier. Unfortunately my "olde" brain is wired Imperial and I have trouble thinking intuitively in metric. It's slowly coming around, but I won't live long enough for it to become second nature to me.