What type of tool is this?

I was about to take the caliper off my Nissan Quest, then noticed I dont have the tool to take off the bolts.

They look similar to allen wrench bolts, but the female part looks like a 6-pointed star instead of a hexagon.

Can someone tell me the correct NAME for the type of wrench i need? Also, is this a type of bolt only specific to cars?

Reply to
Martin Lynch
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It sounds like a Torx bolt (so you need a Torx wrench or bit). You can get them anywhere that sells tools. They are not unique to cars; I've seen them on electronics as well.

Reply to
Matthew Hunt

It's called a "torx" (pronounced TOR-EX). You should be able to find torx drivers that fit on your ratchet.

Cheers, Geoff Glave Vancouver, Canada

Reply to
Geoff Glave

It's a Torx(TM), Torx(C), or Torx(R) (not sure which of the (TM)/(C)/(R) items actually belongs there) fastener. You can get the bits to fit them from most places that sell tools, though for oddball sizes, you may have to look at places with a better selection. No, they aren't specific to cars, although cars and computers are currently where they're most often seen.

Reply to
Don Bruder

Its a Torx driver. Popularized by General Motors, and a basically good driver design. Can take a lot of torque, hard to strip, etc. Its not limited to cars- take a look at most laptop computers and you'll find Torx screws holding all sorts of things together. Available in a wide range of sizes.

Reply to
Steve

^^^^^^^^ You, eh, never owned a Jeep Wrangler, I take it.

It seems like every f*cking important fastner is a God Damnned torx.....try replacing any exterior body part (windsheild hinges, door hinges, tailgate hinges) without stripping at least {N/2}.

Of course, if Jeep spent a few more $$$ on the metal they made the bolts out of, would probably help matters....

Tony

Reply to
Tony

Umm...maybe if you live in Canada.. Down here, it's one syllable. "Torks"

Reply to
Bruce Chang

"Bruce Chang" wrote

Yes, but what do you expect from a country that pronounces "z"...."zeeeeeee". (grin)

Ian

Reply to
shiden_kai

I encountered my first torx in the early 80s while trying to change a headlight on a used AMC . Auto parts guy said the bit was a dealer only item. I think it was an industry attempt at getting the regular Joe out of his tool box and into the dealer. They try to stay one step ahead of the aftermaket. OBD2 is a perfect example

Reply to
Akacguy6161

Well, that's the excuse he was using for not having the tool available...

Yeah, Phillips head screws were of a similar conspiracy. (feel free to substitute reed and prince, allen, robertson, etc for phillips)

"They?" OBD2 is an EPA requirement, not an industry requirement. OBD2 makes -more- information available, not less. OBD2 defines component and system faults more precisely.

In many states, an emissions test takes much less time on an OBD2 vehicle since interrogating the on board system takes much less time than running the vehicle on a dyne for two minutes would/does.

Reply to
Neil Nelson

All right, I give up. Where the heck did they come up with "Zed" anyway?

Zed-28 Camaro LMAO.

97T
Reply to
97T

The torx screwhead is the first screwhead to unseat the robertson as the ultimate screwhead. The robertson (square indent) screw will stay on the end of the screwdriver, sometimes even when held vertically from above, and it is very good for being power driven. I have been told that the advantage of the torx over the robertson is that you do not have to stop spinning the bit to get a torx screw on the end of the tool, which allows an assembler to do a few extra screws every hour (which amount to pots of money in high volume manufacturing). The phillips screw was the marginally useful result of Robertson refusing to sell the rights (after being badly burned by unscrupulous "partners") and Ford refusing to buy from an outside supplier.

Despite losing the UK to unscrupulous partners and Ford not using them in his cars, Robertson still made out like a bandit, as his screws were cheaper to produce than slot heads, and he always sold them at a higher price than slot heads.

Reply to
Richard Bell

New screw heads are invented for one reason, and one reason alone: To save money, or time. To understand the advantage of the robertson, put a robertson screw on the end of a robertson screwdriver and see what angle the screwdriver is at when the screw fall off. Repeat with a slot head, or phillips. The next category is power: (1) With the appropriate bits, drive a slot head, phillips, robertson, and torx into wood (no pilot hole) [did you get the slot head screw in?]. (2) Find some really old, painted-over screws in your house [torx gets a bye for this event], and back them out with your power tool. (3) Repeat (1), but with the screws started in a little and your tool must be spinning --- BEFORE --- you insert the bit into the screw head (maybe this only works for threading bolts into threaded holes). Only the torx should be easily tightened without stopping the bit, or so I have been told.

Reply to
Richard Bell

Actually, I've always read that it was an attempt to save assebmly line time. Torx drivers are a lot easier to use than either standard or Philips screwdrivers. They are quick to align like a Philips, but unlike a Philips they don't require downward pressure to keep the bit engaged with the screw. If you assembly line job is inserting a screw over and over all day, you'll appreciate a Torx a lot.

As a side-note, I've also read that the original Philips bit and screw were designed to deliberately make it hard to apply high torque to a fastner so that line workers wouldn't over-tighten screws. Kinda the way a QWERTY keyboard was originally designed to slow down typing.

Reply to
Steve

Steve wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@texas.net:

They were made so you could torque to specs. You can not torque a Phillips, the tip will come up out of the slots.

There is a Phillips "like" head that you can torque, it's called a Pozidrive. Looks the same except the slots are not tapered, they are straight all the way to the bottom of the slot....

Reply to
wß

ZED is the pronunciation of Z in all of the English-speaking world except for the USA.

Reply to
see sea oh ecks at you aitch see dot comm

Mine uses a Torx T-50.

Reply to
Childfree Scott

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