Octania

Just when I thought I had Every Tool Known to Man...

put new headlights in the '99 Caravan the other day
One points at the ground.

There are adjusters for up/dn and L/R I guess
Net search shows how, use 4mm socket...

WTH? FOUR millimeter aka 5/32"?
I look in the Road Kit, nope.
Look in the garage, nope.
Look in the Extra Sockets - AHA, Chinese 4mm 6pt

Between the presumably Chinese 4mm hex[ish] stud and the Chinese 4mm POS socket... I get no joy, the stud will not turn.

Tossed POS sockets in the scrap pail. Off to find a real socket and complete this job another day I guess...

4mm, really, what the hell? That's so tiny.

oldspackrat

Try looking at a parts store tool selection. There are some funky sizes in some of those little kits. Maybe in the tool aisle, or up by the counters. My local O'reilly has some things like that.
Good luck.

Octania

I was going to stop by the buy-n-sell store and try to find a name brand, Craftsman or better, see how that goes.

Good idea though

aha!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-CRAFTSMAN...tem4accd6191b\

wait, wait, wait

got this one on the way, too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Point-T...item2332de88da

brddg

I have a pair of vice grips for any occasion.

Lady72nRob71

The tape decks of the high end GM Delco double DIN radios use 4mm screws - it drives me nuts... Often one size is close enough but the heads are so low that most sockets cannot even get on them. Needlenose to the rescue...

However i see it as just another reason to buy more tools!

BILL DEMMER

how about 4.5mm and 5.5mm? who the **** thought that was a good idea??


bill

tru-blue 442

Ha ha ha, Right?
The one larger Craftsmans set I have
has them both in 1/4" drive, but I haven't
come across anything that needs one yet.

A couple of 1/4 sockets would be good for me.
I always either misplace or lose those...

Run to Rund

I have a good supply of metric stuff since Cummins uses it, and American cars have increasingly gone to them. It can be a real pain crawling under the truck and then trying to figure out whether metric or American sizes are in play. I also have learned which metric sizes closely match American, and which are right in between. 10 mm is popular, and is in between 3/8 and 7/16 which is interchangeable with 11 mm, etc.

bccan

I think this this is the "official" tool. Has kind of a friction clutch ratchet action. Nice to have when you need it.


http://www.toolplanet.com/product/Li...ive-hand-tools

Seff

I'll add that it's a major pain to try and remember if 5/16" is bigger or smaller 9/32" or whatever tiny sockets one might need to fool around behind the dash. Metric at least has a straightforward progression of numbers.

Run to Rund

Well, then remember that 8 mm is .003" bigger than 5/16' lol.

Seff

I do, and I remember that 10mm is 3/8".

13mm works for 1/2", 14" seems to work for rod bolts, and 19 works for 3/4".

Octania

10mm is one snick bigger than 3/8
Meaning, 3/8 socket may not fit on 10mm A.F. [across flats] fastener, and
10mm may fail to turn that Olds 3/8 tool size rocker cover bolt if it's badly rusted. One of our engineers was amazed one day at my grasp of this matter- how did you learn that? "From YEARS of going back to get the other slightly different tool and lugging a toolbox with duplicates" [13mm=1/2, 19mm=3/4, etc...]


I posted all that stuff here a couple months ago, a summary everyone who works with tools should know.

So, my headlight.... RH not bad, not the blinding white light I expected, but better. Uhm, Grrrrr... L/R adjuster rubs on coolant over flow bottle. Not good.

LH.... aims at the ground.
will not adjust, period.
even with the proper 4mm tool.

which, by the way I got 4 of plus a #3 made in USA Phillips Drive bit all for $3 and 10m of digging.

Rock auto web page lags sending me a password reset
Call 'em instead.
They email me a return label to exchange the defunctive HL Asm.
Meanwhile I fished the old one out of the recycle bin [just in time] and reinstalled that.

I LIKE that 4mm ratchet tool shown above. Hmmmm....

Bee-Oh-Pee

My first refuge in your situation would be turn to my super delux Harbor Freight Security Bit set at the outrageous sale (seemingly forever) price of $9.99
(If it were J.C. Whitney, I'm sure it would claim "Faster E.T.'s.... Better M.P.G.'s... Higher Top Speeds!")

Octania

But wait... for $1 more I can get the LONG REACH kit:

http://www.harborfreight.com/32-piec...set-68460.html

Alas, these are male tools.
Headlight adjuster is a male hex, needs a female socket.

Bee-Oh-Pee

Pshaw! Foiled again!

Octania

Kudos to Rock Auto on the return
they insta-emailed me a return label
I pulled the headlight AGAIN to remove the new turn signal lamp & holder that had stayed in the car, so it could go back with the defective part and be dumpstered.

this time I put the ONE nut back on, not the 2 PITA nuts...

Dropped pkg off at fedex on the way home
730 pm they say my new part is shipped or ready to ship.
It'll be -20F by the time it gets here of course.
It was almost 60F yesterday pulling the signal lamp out.

Octania