I just read a signature on another members post that said "My truck was built with wrenches not chopsticks" and then it dawned on me that today I had to use a metric wrench to remove my dash.
Why in the heck are they using metric screws on an American made truck? I guess they are cheaper to purchase than American standard. And we wonder why our economy is in the crapper.

 

The quote on the sig is in reference to American built as opposed to Japan (or at least Japanese, since most of them are built is the U.S. now).
The U.S. has used metric in cars and trucks since around the late 70's. It's been a real mess though because we were supposed to adopt metric back then, but a lot of the cars (most) had a mix of metric and A.S. Metric has never gone over here the way they planned on, but most of the rest of the world has been metric forever. The exception is England that used "Whitworth", so back then you had 3 different systems and I have no idea what they use now, probably metric, but I wouldn't bet on it. They've ALWAYS been kinda messed up when it came to cars (and the bolts that hold them together).

P.S. The bolts aren't made in a foreign country just because they're metric. On second thought, I guess China IS a foreign country isn't it? Is there ANYTHING we buy that isn't made there now??? Pretty sickening!!!

 

I know of one thing for sure that I buy that is made in the USA... It's my Copenhagen

 

Here's a little info map for you:



And, I think Liberia officially switched earlier this year to metric, so just the US and Burma still holding to the imperial system.

 

Wow, He so smot.

 

Keep in mind also that most American vehicles use parts and/or components that are manufactured overseas. In fact, most American manufacturer's are not really American companies -- they're multi-nationals that have manufacturing facilities scattered all over the globe. For example, my 2009 Ranger (built in St. Paul, MN) has a 4.0 V6 engine that was built in Cologne, Germany.

For the sake of consistency, it simply makes sense to use one standard so you're not continually switching back-and-forth between metric and standard sizes. If you have to pick a standard, you might as well choose the one that's already embraced by 90% of the world's population.....

 

The only metric I ever really needed to take apart the interior of my truck was an 8mm socket. That one little socket could disassemble the entire interior. The only exception being the torx bolts that hold the seats down

 

Did I start this?

I never thought my little ol' sig would start such an in depth discussion.

 

NLJ- Are you SURE you needed an 8mm on your interior? Do you drive a '94 as you're profile states? Do you realize an 8mm and a 5/16 are EXACTLY the same??? I have always used them interchangeably.

 

Yes sir, I guess you did

 

Sorry, I should have clarified, I was referring to my old '05. I always kepted the 8mm out and on the ratchet, because I used it all the time

 

Yea, after I posted I went to your profile and saw the '05. Since an 8mm is used extensively on our American vehicles now I'm glad that 5/16 is the same because you can at least spread the wear out that way. When I was working I used an impact most of the time (1/4 in on the small stuff like that), but even then it would eat the 8mm's fairly often.

 

Old news. Heck my old '82 F250 had metric bolts on it.

 

actually 5/16" is 7.9375 mm... so close, but not "EXACTLY" the same.

A measuring system based on 12 divisions was smart back in the day... 12 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, and 6. So when people built things without calculators they could easily calculate 1/2 or 1/4 lengths. Whereas 10 is only divisible by 2 and 5.

Now that we all have digital calculators, the metric system makes more sense.