16 mm Allen wrench needed
 

I have many sets of alen wrenches and sockets, from 2mm to 25mm. All of them skip the 16mm for some reason. I can't seem to find one, Sears, Park all of the usual sources except Facom, which will sell me one for $43.00. I need one to tighten the cap on my SRAM crank arm. Anyone have a source?
Thanks

A 16 millimeter Allen (hex) wrench, huh? Wow, that IS an odd (large) size. What does Sram have to say about this?

Sorry, don't have a source for the Allen key.

Could you find a hex bolt with a 16mm head and tighten it by a nut? Make sure you can find a left-hand setup too for getting it loose again.

Yeh, I've never seen a 16mm hex key either.

But, you might want to look for a 5/8" (= 0.625") hex key. 16mm = 0.6299"

Since the 5/8" would be only ~0.005 smaller, it would probably work just fine.

But, that being said, I've never seen a 5/8" hex key ;-(

I think this is a good idea. I would grind the bolt head as flat as possible. Then thread on a couple of nuts and lock them together. Then put the whole business in a bench vise and turn the crank on it.

edit: Or, as I previously pointed out, a bolt with a 5/8" head.

The left crank is removed by simply turning the 8mm hex fitting counter-clockwise. The arm includes a "one-key" release system. There is no need to remove the system. The release system is secured with a 16mm hex wrench. The fitting may come loose. If a 16mm hex wrench is not available, substitute the head of a bolt that uses a 16mm head. Another option is a 5/8" head, common on 1/2" SAE threaded bolts. Use the SCW-16 and secure the one-key system into the crank (Figure 5).
http://www.parktool.com/images_inc/r...ramfrc_118.jpg
From the Parktools site

Have done about the same thing but used a wide 16mm nut so i could get a regular combo wrench on it

Thanks, that worked well for me. It came loose after I removed the crank. Wonder why 16mm hex is so hard to find and why SRAM decided on that size??

Wouldn't have thought of that in a million years.

Catapillar likes using 16mm fasteners. Try Harbor Freight, but you may need to buy a whole set. NAPA would be a better source.

16mm crank cap
 

+1 weld or loctite a couple of nuts to a 16mm bolt.


http://www.independent100.com/crank_tools.html

http://www.superbiketool.com/prod_de...?cat=12&id=156

Try SK.

I used the bolt-head option for my truvativs and it worked perfectly.. not even my LBS had a 16mm hex.

Thanks but...Amdish.com's Price: Currently Unavailable

The bolt trick worked perfectly, I may just TIG weld the bolt to a cheap 16 mm wrench. Not that I'll be using it it much, it's just one of those things that you like to have when you do need it.

You don't have to do either. Just thread two nuts onto the bolt shank and tighten them together hard. Then put your open end or box wrench on the nut closes to the bolt head and the outer nut will keep it from unthreading while you loosen the crank arm.

Exactly! :beer:

The $0.37 solution. :)