are our cars metric ?

Series I L27 (1992-1994 SE,SLE, SSE) & Series II L36 (1995-1999 SE, SSE, SLE) and common problems for the Series I and II L67 (all supercharged models 92-99) Including Olds 88's, Olds LSS's, Olds 98 91-96, Buick Lesabres and Park Avenue 91-96. Please use General Chat for non-mechanical issues, and Performance and Brainstorming for improvements.
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pmicaza
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are our cars metric ?

Post by pmicaza »

hi,

i went to replace my water pump, (or coolant pump as the manual refers to it), today and i thought my 97 was metric...it appears it is not. is that correct? are some systems metric and others not?

thanks,

peter
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bonnevillain
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by bonnevillain »

Yeah, it's a Mix. Most major/core engine components are standard, where accessories will often be metric.
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LeSabre in Buffalo
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by LeSabre in Buffalo »

It's a mix. Also, some metric sizes are also found in SAE sizes.
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01bonneSC
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by 01bonneSC »

8mm is about 5/16" and 13mm is a lil bigger than 1/2"....
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pmicaza
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by pmicaza »

sorry for the rant....why! pick one and use it! i would prefer metric but i dont care which! eeerrrrrr! what a pita.

it looks like the water pump pulley bolts are standard (and very small too), and i used metric on them and now two are rounded and stuck tight....
sigh, guess i will try to grab them with a small vise grip from thr front and use a bi vise grip to turn the smaller vg. this easy job is becoming a project.

thanks,
peter
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Bob Dillon
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by Bob Dillon »

The crazy thing is that some of the bolt heads are metric and the threads on them are SAE. Oil pan bolts have 10MM heads and are 1/4-20, for instance. That's just a tad nutty, eh?
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J Wikoff
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by J Wikoff »

Are you sure they aren't M6x1? It's pretty close to 1/4-20.
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Bob Dillon
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by Bob Dillon »

J Wikoff wrote:Are you sure they aren't M6x1? It's pretty close to 1/4-20.
Yeah, I know, but I used a thread gauge and it came up 1/4-20. The metric was off just a tad.

And that kinda makes sense from a Detroit viewpoint. Why retool the drill heads? Ordering 14 bazillion special bolts is probably cheaper, and saves 2-3 cents per car.
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Re: are our cars metric ?

Post by 2000Silverbullet »

Funny standards but any fastener that connects with or to the engine is standard and anything else is metric. There are some studs that go into the engine, ie.exh.manifold, that are both standard on one end and metric on the other. :roll:
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