Got the chart below with some tools I bought recently and thought it might be useful.

Colin.

1990 740SE B200E/M47, remote C/Locking.

recently needed to change the cam gear on a "metric" B20. Everybody kept saying the nut was 1 7/16".

It isn't - a 36mm is the right socket - and much easier/cheaper to find because it's the size for many FWD axle nuts.
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'73 142, '75 242, '75 245, '80 245, '83 244, '86 244, '87 745T, 92 244 (for sale)

This gave me an ugly flashback to a post some years ago. Guy blew a rage at the 'board when he used a 1" socket on his oil pan bolt, rounding it so good he couldn't get it out. He'd seen a 1" size posted here by someone (not me) and decided that was gospel. Now most of us know that a 1" socket or box wrench is usually an adequate substitute for a 25mm, but combine a neophyte gear head who barely knows lefty-loose from righty-tight with a frozen oil pan bolt that is probably already half-rounded and give him a 1" open end wrench or cheap socket and a wobbly breaker bar - well you get the idea. I'd almost swear he was contemplating a lawsuit.

The moral of that story is whether or not it's in an equivalence chart always check for a good fit and use a socket and wrench appropriate for the application and your skill level. Unfortunately there seems to be no substitute for experience when it comes to learning what is about to cause damage. To help avoid damage, it's better to use 6-point rather than 12-point sockets/wrenches. If you're ever going to be buying a set of 6-point SAE sockets to complement your basic set then consider paying a few more bucks and getting deep sockets (they're normally 6-point) so they can do triple duty.
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Dave -not to be confused with a real expert

Yes Dave,

I agree with your comments entirely, the guy who did this was probably the same one who jacked up his engine to change the mounts by putting the jack under the oil pan drain plug.

I did think about stating that the values given were only approximate, but all the warnings in the world won`t stop the "mechanically challenged" from breaking things.

Unfortunately there ain`t no substitute for experience.

Colin.

1990 740SE B200E/M47, remote C/Locking.

I wonder why it doesn't list 1/2" as equivalent for 13mm? IMO, they are quite interchangeable for most routine work.
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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current) — 240s (one V8) — 140s — 122s — since '63.

Didn`t even notice that!!

Also they don`t list an equivalent to 3/8" (9.5 mm) or 11/16" (17mm)

Though quite where you would get a 9.5mm socket (or the 5.5 mm listed) I don`t know.

Colin.

1990 740SE B200E/M47, remote C/Locking.

Thanks for the handy chart. A copy is going onto the inside lid of my toolbox.