External Torx is a male star head that a socket fits over — the inverse of the Torx recess, and a different tool entirely. This is the complete list of 5 E-Torx sockets in 1/4 inch drive, with part numbers.
E numbers and T numbers do not correspond
This is the single most useful thing to know about the range. An E10 socket does not fit a T10 screw and has no relationship to it; the two series are numbered independently, and an E-Torx socket is dimensioned to fit over a head while a Torx bit is dimensioned to fit into a recess. Ordering an E-size because a T-size was written on a job sheet is a common and completely wasted trip.
Where you meet them
External Torx heads turn up throughout European vehicle manufacturing — engine mounts, brake calipers, driveshaft bolts, subframe fixings — and increasingly on machinery where a compact, high-torque head is wanted without the height of a conventional hex. The attraction for a designer is that the star form puts more contact area in a smaller head diameter than a hex of the same strength, so the boss around the fastener can be smaller.
All 5 sizes
| External Torx size | Teng part number | EAN |
|---|---|---|
| E4 | M140704-C | 5020385133150 |
| E5 | M140705-C | 5020385133167 |
| E6 | M140706-C | 5020385133174 |
| E7 | M140707-C | 5020385133181 |
| E8 | M140708-C | 5020385133198 |
Where this list comes from
Every row is read from the live Teng Tools USA catalogue on the day this page was generated — product record, part number and size taken from the record itself, never transcribed from a printed catalogue or inferred from a pattern. Sizes use the E designation as marked on the socket; Teng also refers to this range as TX-E. A size that has been discontinued disappears from this list rather than lingering as a part number you cannot order, which is the failure mode of every static spec sheet.
Do not substitute a hex socket
A twelve-point socket will sometimes drop over an external Torx head and appear to engage, because the star has twelve points of contact and so does the socket. It bears on the very tips of the lobes, which are the least supported part of the head, and it rounds them under load — usually on a fastener that was tight enough to need the right tool in the first place. If a head has six rounded lobes rather than six flats, it needs an E socket and nothing else will do.
The range is in sockets and accessories; complete ranges are in socket sets.