Bolts: Motor Mounts to Bell Housing- Safety Wire AND Lock Washers?

[V4F]

I only safety wire the bolts I cant get to after assembly . have never wired motor mount bolts .

[aermotor]

Originally Posted by BillCNC

John,

PM me your address, I'll toss some in the mail for you tomorrow.

Regards
Bill

Thanks for the generous offer Bill, but I got some from a neighbor that works at the local airport.

John

[Dan Partain]

Why not safety wire them every 30 years when you rebuild the engine? LOL!
-DAN

[John Stone]

This was the wire that was installed on the rear motor mount bolts. I believe it is original. Car had a little more than 49,000 miles.

[1930-Pickup]

Originally Posted by John Stone

This was the wire that was installed on the rear motor mount bolts. I believe it is original. Car had a little more than 49,000 miles.

That's a pretty cool photo! I was wondering if any photos exist of original factory safety wiring.

You can really see how fast and sloppy the wire job is. It's exactly as I would expect from Fords line at that time. Nothing like the care and quality that is/was used on aircraft safety wiring.

Thanks for posting that.

[Nathan_1929]

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Originally Posted by 1930-Pickup

It seems unusual to me to see two different locking features on a bolt.

Aren't the transmission "rear bearing retainer" bolts (that secure the u-joint flange on the back of the trans) also lock washer and safety wired?

Originally Posted by art ebeling

Could someone post a picture of how the bolts are wired?

Just remember, a reverse S. As one loosens, it will pull on the next.

[Crankster]

Both those pics are frickin' scary that was factory??

[richsfords]

My working on SAC bombers forgetting a safety wire and having QC find after
the fact was a NO NO,
Ever lost a bolt from the flywheel?
Ever lose a bolt from a landing gear/motor mount bolt at 30.000 feet ?
I realize it is not exactly the same but.......Henry put these in place for a reason. he didn't drill holes in bolts for weight savings.

[Ed's Vickie]

Picture of Original 31 Vickie

[Purdy Swoft]

I mostly just use the lock washers and have never had a problem .

[1930-Pickup]

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

I mostly just use the lock washers and have never had a problem .

I agree with you Purdy. Most folks that have posted on this thread generally agree that the lock washers are sufficient. There have been zero reports of bolts backing off when only lock washers are used.

The folks that are still doing the safety wire route seem to be using it for show/points reasons. There is one photo posted in this thread that appears to be a factory original safety wire job...and its not exactly a 'pretty show' job. If I ever were to wire the bolts, I would use that photo as a guide on how to do it. Ironically I think judges would mark a car down for it LOL.

Makes me think about Henry and his obsessive policies on cutting cost. There they were, all those guys on the assembly lines putting safety wire on those bolts. It appears that the actual need for wire was never fully assessed or tested by Fords' Engineering department, but rather it was most-likely mandated by Henry himself based on his intuition...this is a sign of a strong leader and intuitive designer, but one who is lacking in disciplined Engineering skills. I hope everyone understands the difference between an 'intuitive engineer', and a 'disciplined engineer'.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Purdy Swoft

I mostly just use the lock washers and have never had a problem .

X2
I'll safety wire it once I know it's in for keeps.

[Floats]

Hi Guys,
Here is a photo of a locking wire twister pliers required to do a neat twist job.

[daren007]

Safety wire will not stop a fastener from loosening however it will stop it from backing out. From what I have seen safety wiring on T's and A's was not pretty just functional. Take a look at some original Model T ring gear wiring. Many of these have loose bolts when opened up. Time was of importance.

[katy]

I've seen original brass wire holding the magneto bolts on a Model T flywheel. I assume Ford used brass in case it broke or otherwise got damaged, then it wouldn't stick to the magnets.

[daren007]

You do not have to make pretty safety wiring. Ford did not have the time for this. Safety wire will not prevent hardware from coming loose but will keep it from falling out.

[Modelacoupe3]

Originally Posted by art ebeling

Could someone post a picture of how the bolts are wired?

Here are two pictures of the "Factory" installed safety wire on the engine mount bolts from my 53,000 original mile 30 Coupe. I'm 99.9 % certain this engine had never been removed from the car until recently. It still had the original clutch (wagon wheel center). The engine was standard bore, and still retained all the "Ford" script pistons, and valves. Not a very tidy job, then again trying to install the safety wire on a moving assembly line has its challenges.

[John Stone]

Originally Posted by Modelacoupe3

Here are two pictures of the "Factory" installed safety wire on the engine mount bolts from my 53,000 original mile 30 Coupe. I'm 99.9 % certain this engine had never been removed from the car until recently. It still had the original clutch (wagon wheel center). The engine was standard bore, and still retained all the "Ford" script pistons, and valves. Not a very tidy job, then again trying to install the safety wire on a moving assembly line has its challenges.

Looks just like the wire on my car, just a lot cleaner. —-John