Brake Wire

[eamici]

How important is it to have the safety wire installed in the front end Willwood assembly?

[David Hodgkins]

Do it. Too many little parts spinning at a high rate with major heat cycles.

Brake safety wire isn't as hard as it first appears. Just make sure to get decent wire and a pair of safety wire pliers. They are designed to clamp and twist the wire. 2 examples:

Eastwood:
http://www.eastwood.com/safety-wire-pliers.html

or McMaster makes a high quality piece:
https://www.mcmaster.com/#safety-wire-pliers/=19fvoo9

Get the tool. Pretty soon you be looking for other stuff to safety wire.

:)

EDIT PS My first attempt: My Wilwoods are a little smaller, designed for 15 inch rims:
http://ffroadster.com/images/Brakes/FrontBrakes071.jpg

[Avalanche325]

All the way important.

About the same level as oxygen in the air that you breath.

[NAZ]

Take David's advice and get the proper tools and SS safety wire that was made to be used as safety wire. While it's not rocket science, it's good to first get grounded in how to properly safety wire fasteners as there is a correct way that has been proven to work. You can find military aviation technical manuals on line in .pdf format which are a good source of this information. The Army trained me so I'm partial to the US Army Aviation TMs but any of the branches will work and they are free use as they were produced with your tax dollars. There may be other sources out there as well but you can be sure to get good information out of a US military TM -- other sources, who knows?

[jrcuz]

I've heard of builders going to their local small airport and having an aircraft mechanic do it for a fee of course.
JR

[edwardb]

I did the safety wires on my Wilwood brakes for #8674. According to their instructions, only needed for competition use. And that's not me. But chose to do the wiring anyway. Found the proper tool at a local tool store and bought the specified safety wire from Aircraft Spruce. It took some practice, and several do-overs, to get the hang of it. But by the time I got through all four, wasn't too bad. I found several YouTube videos that explained the process. It's important to wrap the wires the right direction around the bolts so they work as intended.

Make sure to note the small bolts holding the hat to the rotor have an inch-pound spec. Mistakenly use foot-pounds and the bolts will break, as several forum members have found out.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Brakes/IMG_3692_zpsnz9xevsb.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Brakes/IMG_3692_zpsnz9xevsb.jpg.html)

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Brakes/IMG_3697_zpsfnrsf185.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Brakes/IMG_3697_zpsfnrsf185.jpg.html)

[Papa]

I bought the tool and a spool of 0.032 wire for about $40 on Amazon and as Paul stated, after a little practice it goes pretty quick.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4209/35755498936_513c5255b1_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WtAh8A)

And as already stated, 155 inch pounds on the bolts, and don't forget the red thread locker!

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/35755497976_1b5a6c6017_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/WtAgR3)

[Boydster]

After spending many, many years working with safety wire, I also believe this needs to be done. The result of any of the bolts backing out puts additional stress on the remaining bolts until things start to fail. And when a disc fails, it will be ugly.

The one place I found this particular job frustrating is that the edges of the wire holes on the bolts are quite sharp and does not lend to pulling the wire through easily. The wire would snag and crimp and then had to start over. I used a small stone bit in my dremel and just barely chamfered the edge of the holes to help the wire slide through. This also helped a good bit where the holes were lined up pointing at the rotor.

Then I decided to do away with the wire and used safety cables. But the tooling and parts is a lot more expensive, so dont suggest it unless you have access to borrow. The chamfered holes still made a huge difference in getting the cable to slide through.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=73847&d=1505808985

[edwardb]

The one place I found this particular job frustrating is that the edges of the wire holes on the bolts are quite sharp and does not lend to pulling the wire through easily. The wire would snag and crimp and then had to start over. I used a small stone bit in my Dremel and just barely chamfered the edge of the holes to help the wire slide through. This also helped a good bit where the holes were lined up pointing at the rotor.

That's a great suggestion and will try it with my next build. The edges of the wire holes are sharp, safety wire is relatively stiff, and you have to push the wire through the holes straight or it tends to hang up. Not easy since the bolts are below and near the rotor.

[NAZ]

Boydster, thanks for sharing. I haven't seen this before and it looks interesting. Wish we had this back in the day when I was wiring fasteners and other components on a daily basis.

[Boydster]

Boydster, thanks for sharing. I haven't seen this before and it looks interesting. Wish we had this back in the day when I was wiring fasteners and other components on a daily basis.

Hey Naz, We only started using it within the last few years. Primary on jet engines where, as you know, it can be quite cramped to do safties. Really nice thing about it is that it tensions the cable when it crimps the end. Of course that means it is Calibrated Tooling for the tension and the crimped ferrule. The crimped end has to be able to withstand a particular amount of pull. But it aint cheap...

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/safetycablekit.php?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrrTXxoqy1gIVE bjACh0biwy2EAQYAyABEgJHl_D_BwE

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/nosetool.php

[Boydster]

... Not easy since the bolts are below and near the rotor.

I noticed this when I was doing my brakes and found the bolt holes were actually shaving stainless off the wire as I pulled it through. I took a close look and compared em to some MS bolts at work and voila... sharp as can be where the MS bolts had a chamfer. Not much, just takes a touch... makes a difference.