The BRZ's oil cooler adapter plate has a recess in it that the hollow oil filter mount extension fits in. So far, so good, trouble is that the recess is pretty tight and none of the 27mm sockets I have or that I have acquired so far have a thin enough wall to actually fit in there.
Are there any really, really thin wall sockets available somewhere? The SK one I just bought is a very nice socket, but again the walls aren't thin enough and the friendly search engines throw up stuff on Amazon that's mostly impact sockets.
The typical fix for that kind of situation is to buy a cheap socket and grind it down until it fits in the recess. I'm guessing this thing won't be rusty or have a high torque setting, so the reduction in socket strength won't be an issue.
What's the max OD socket you can use? I'll measure a few I have and see if anything would work.
I recommend thick wall sockets and a lathe
Measure the maximum OD allowed and turn it down on a lathe.
If you were local I'd do it for you.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
I recommend thick wall sockets and a lathe
And if no lathe available...make one:
02Pilot said:
What's the max OD socket you can use? I'll measure a few I have and see if anything would work.
The SK has an OD of approx 35.4mm. Based on that I'm guessing that something around the 34mm OD range should just about fit. Smaller OD is better, though.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
I recommend thick wall sockets and a lathe
Alas, I only have access and the skill to operate one of the two. And some say even that is a dubious claim.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
I recommend thick wall sockets and a lathe
We do this all the time at work. We also break many many sockets due to the torque we are requiring from these turned down sockets. It's fun.
I had to buy a cheap 17mm and grind down the OD on my grinder to get the rear main bearing cap out of the DSM in situ(and reinstall it). It worked fine at that torque, though it honestly wasn't that high...maybe 60 ft-lbs?
Well, I checked - nothing I have is close to the OD you need. As others have said, I think this is going to be a custom tool modification sort of a job.
I find the non-impact sockets are typically thinner...
Yeah, not looking at impact sockets - all the ones I've tried are "normal" sockets.
For a laugh I've orderd the socket that CJ linked to, otherwise I guess it's grinder o'clock or I'll see if the machine shop up to road might be able to help.
Come to think of it, would one of those chinese mini-lathes be up to this sort of job? Might be an excuse to get one.
I can confirm that this Craftsman 27mm socket fits: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R7DQ5MR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
It's a 12 point which I usually don't like as they mostly seem to be good for rounding off fasteners, but it does have really thin walls and the adapter doesn't need all the torques...
BoxheadTim said:
Yeah, not looking at impact sockets - all the ones I've tried are "normal" sockets.
For a laugh I've orderd the socket that CJ linked to, otherwise I guess it's grinder o'clock or I'll see if the machine shop up to road might be able to help.
Come to think of it, would one of those chinese mini-lathes be up to this sort of job? Might be an excuse to get one.
Glad you found a socket that worked as is.
On the lathe, I can confirm that the low end 7" x 12" china lathes will do that, no problem. But I can also confirm that most will outgrow that lathe in about a week or so!
A friend did suffer with one for many years before upgrading to a 9 x 19, due to being dirt poor, and used it on a ton of projects. But even he said he'd have upgraded sooner, if he'd have know how dramatic the difference was.
In reply to 03Panther :
Thanks, appreciate the subtle enabling 
.
Oh, and I now appear to own more 27mm sockets than most sane people would consider necessary.
BoxheadTim said:
Oh, and I now appear to own more 27mm sockets than most sane people would consider necessary.
I guess we know what everyone's getting for Christmas this year!
In reply to obsolete :
That's assuming I'm sane, right?
BoxheadTim said:
In reply to obsolete :
That's assuming I'm sane, right?
Any of us who remember even a subset of the vehicles you've owned know the answer to that question. :)
BoxheadTim said:
In reply to 03Panther :
Thanks, appreciate the subtle enabling .
More than happy to help. 'Specially I. L. O. machining. Everyone should own a toy as useful as a lathe!
