Safety Wiring

[67rally]

I need to safety wire my front Wilwoods disc brakes when I get my car back from the body shop. Since I didn't have any experience with safety wiring, I let someone else do the wiring the first time, and thanks to a few guys here, I found out it wasn't done right.

I have never done this before, so I bought a set of safety wire pliers and some .032 wire, and decided to get some practice in before I do it for real. I just used a few bolts that I had lying around (not grade 8), and drilled a hole in each one and bolted them to a scrap piece of plywood. I'm not looking for any ego stroking. The first two attempts were a little loose and I was making the pigtails on the wrong side of the bolt head. After a little research, I think this is right, but am very open to critique/criticism since I want to do it right. This was my third attempt.

Comments?

[HarleyR]

Those look good... I would of done those bolts pretty much exactly the same way... someone might chime in a pick it apart saying you have either to many or not enough twists per inch or you finished the end off wrong.... I used to hear this type of crap from my dad who was a career jet mechanic and on those types of things it is a factor...but in 99% of applications your stuff looks good... besides some feel safety wire is good for one thing... keeping all your parts attached to your car when you limp it back in the pits

[Bryce]

Looks good.

[67rally]

Those look good... I would of done those bolts pretty much exactly the same way... someone might chime in a pick it apart saying you have either to many or not enough twists per inch or you finished the end off wrong.... I used to hear this type of crap from my dad who was a career jet mechanic and on those types of things it is a factor...but in 99% of applications your stuff looks good... besides some feel safety wire is good for one thing... keeping all your parts attached to your car when you limp it back in the pits

Thanks. I folded the pigtails over and tucked it back under itself, so the end is smooth. I thought about twisting it under the wire between the two bolts. What's the preferred method?

I didn't think about the number of twists per inch, I'll have to measure that.

[Rod]

looks good! wire on my friend

[MuscleRodz]

looks great, if you folded the tail back on itself so as not to stab you, job well done

[Trevon]

Can't see the picture where I am currently at, but the correct amount of twists is 7-12 per inch. Other than that you just want it to always be "pulling" the nuts/bolts tighter. There are some tricks to make it tighter in the end, kind of hard to explain it on here and you aren't supposed to back it off if you make it too long either. Probably some good youtube videos, and those bolts on the brakes don't seem to need any excellent safety wiring. I just like to do it.

Planes require a lot of safety wiring...

[TheJDMan]

Don't be concerned if you dont' get the wire right the first time. You can allways cut them off and redo them as many times as you need to get it right. I did my rotors two or three times before I was satisfied with my ties. BTW, if you need drilled cap screws check out McMaster-Carr they sell pre-drilled allen head cap screws in all the popular sizes.

[jake72ss]

looks good, I'm an A&P mechanic and I have to say it really makes me sad to see some of the safety wire jobs ive seen done by some really famous car builders. One trick to make the wire tighter is to twist the wire a few times and then whip the wire so to say in the direction of twist without using the twister, probably doesent make sense. Also sometimes when you are doing a lot of this stuff you get through and find a neutral or negative safety, so keep in mind the wire should look like the letter "Z". Hope this helps, Jake

[MIKE67]

2nd Jake. On your tests (which I highly approve of doing on anything new you are trying), the wire between is a little loose. This will allow the bolts to back out a little, not good. To make the wire between the bolts tighter, choke-up a hair before twisting (there can be a small gap without any twists before going into the 2nd bolt), give it a little jerk in-line with where it will end-up along the 2nd bolt (not too hard or you will break the wire - LOL), twist, maybe another little jerk if not tight on the 1st bolt, then put the wire thru the 2nd bolt, lock the pliers on the one wire, and give it a little jerk, repeat on the wire around the side of the bolt. Now twist the two, trim to length and bend the end so you won't get poked.