VW Beetle standard bolt / wrench sizes?

[baldessariclan]

I'm working on adding a few more combination wrenches to my 1971 standard Beetle's onboard roadside / light maintenance tool kit. I've already got, and/or seem to remember using the following wrench & socket sizes for the most part:

-- 7 mm (e.g. brake bleeder screws)
-- 8 mm (used on some small stuff)
-- 10 mm (relatively common bolt/nut size)
-- 11 mm (?? seem to occasionally run into this size bolt/nut)
-- 12 mm (?? same as above)
-- 13 mm (very common bolt/nut size)
-- 14 mm (find used on some larger stuff)
-- 17 mm (?? occasionally find on some larger stuff)
-- 19 mm (wheel lug nuts, etc.)

Anybody know of other common bolt & wrench sizes I may be missing here? Do VW Beetles commonly use 9 mm, 15 mm, or etc. bolts/nuts anywhere?

[shakers73]

36mm rear axel nut mine takes a 27mm, I'm thinking for the steering wheel removal. These will have to be sockets, preferably 1/2 in drive for the 36mm
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shakers73
'74 Super Beetle
'67 Beetle

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

[VW_Jimbo]

21mm - generator nut and one other spot but I am drawing a blank.
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Jimbo

There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but all the time necessary the second time!

[Cusser]

[vwjetboat]

9mm = clutch bolts on jettas golfs and such.. and that is all i can think of 9mm is good for lol

[vwoldbug]

Spark plug socket

[Bama Dave]

[Bama Dave]

24mm for oil pressure switch and reverse light switch.
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David Richerson

!964 Beetle Sedan
1970 Beetle Sedan
1971 Super Sedan
1972 Baja

[airschooled]

I keep a deep 10mm socket for the exhaust donut gaskets, and a 6mm open end wrench for the AAR if you have a fuel-injected bug.

9mm socket with extensions are used on late model throw-out-bearing guide sleeves.

12mm triple-square XZN "stars" are used on some automatic VW drive plates, but maybe not auto-sticks.

Some tie rod ends use a 4mm Allen bit in the end of the threads to keep them from spinning if you use hand tools to install. A 1/4" drive light impact driver works too, but sometimes when you need to replace a tie rod boot in the middle of the desert……

Have a thin metric nut-fucker for wheel bearing clamp nuts up front and other stuff you don't think about like new-style tie rods and eccentric alignment bushings.

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[shakers73]

[modok]

You won't need to remove the steering wheel as a roadside repair.

10, 13, 14, 15, 17 possibly, but any more wrenches than that, is just silly to cary with you unless there is no home.

VW didn't as a general rule use any 11 or 12mm, but there are exceptions and possibly non-standard hardware has been added since. What size are they? the generator could be 19 or 36.....which nut did you put on it?
I use vise-grips for that.

#1 tool, vise grip wr5,
#2 wr10,
#3 six in one screwdriver
#4.... not sure, maybe, a hammer

[heimlich]

Have them all ready unless you know your car. I've found so many mismatching bolt sizes on cars I've purchased.

I've also added to the confusion myself. Instead of using 14mm bolts on the steering shaft I put some 13mm ones on there so now there are 13mm and 14mm ones. For the 13mm bolts on the outside of the engine I've found all different sizes. You get the point.

[baldessariclan]

Excellent input / info. everybody -- thank you very much!!

[Glenn]

3/8" if you use Jet Nuts on the intake and exhaust manifold studs.

Just saying.
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
"You may not get what you pay for, but you always pay for what you get"

Member #1009

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עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל חַי

[heimlich]

Get to know her before you take her for a ride.

[Cusser]

Special wrenches, ground down for tight areas where there is little clearance. Compare to non-ground. I have these in 11mm, 12mm (for my Mazda and Nissan trucks), and 13mm.

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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Zundfolge1432]

Take a look at that old book by John Muir, in it he gives three scenarios beginner, intermediate and professional. He breaks down what you'd find in each of these boxes and further mentions carrying a few spares. All of this is dependent on the skill level of the owner, why carry things over and above what you can do?

[gt1953]

Gotta love that old Penncraft wrench. Pick up the ones you want to reshape, grind, bend whatever, get them at the pawn shop/swapmeet.
Zundfolge1432 point is well taken, why carry more then your expertise. So cell phone aaa card and a list of friends.
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Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[heimlich]

I like the angled open end wrench (not the S) for the engine bolts. I never could get anything on there very well but with the angled one I can get over the bar that connects the two beams.

[Cusser]