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MG TD TF 1500 - Safety wire gauge

This weekend I serviced the speedometer pinion and housing which is found at the bottom right-hand side of the transmission. This may be the first time the parts were removed since installation. The parts were in excellent condition and cleaned up well.

To extract the housing I cut away the safety wire. It was very likely installed using a safety wire twister pliers. The safety wire is very stiff and is approximately 0.062" in diameter. My thought is that wire gauge, especially on this fitting, is not a great concern. I replaced it with 0.032" nickel chromium wire that I had readily available.

I have not seen the 0.062" diameter for the safety wire previously mentioned. (It was not easy to remove and I can't imagine it would be easy to install.) Any suggestion that I should upsize the diameter of the safety wire I used?

Larry
Larry Shoer

Larry, .032 wire should be fine. That size is used on aircraft a lot. It's easy to work with and conforms to small bolts very well. Next size up is .041, but is very stiff and hard to bend around small bolts, mostly used on larger stuff. The .062 you mention is mainly for large bolt heads, where sharp bends are not necessary. The main thing to remember is to install it correctly, some guys don't. Here's a diagram of how a lot of it is done. Hope this helps. PJ

PS, On left hand threads, naturally change direction of the wiring.



Paul J

Paul,

Your diagram is very helpful. Thanks for including it. If I understand this correctly, two wires should be routed through the assembly. One wire goes through the nut and the other around. I am uncertain how the wiring is terminated in your diagram.

Attached is a picture of the wire and routing I found originally.

I know that the safety wire should be routed to prevent the bolt or nut from loosening. I've seen this done with a single wire running through the nuts or bolts. This is the first time in my limited experience that I have seen it done with a pair of wires.

Larry

Larry Shoer

Sorry Larry for not getting back sooner, but I was out of town for a few days.
Here's the way I should have shown you before. This is one wire, long enough to put on the first bolt, bending the wire in half and starting the first twisting there and twist just enough to allow one wire to go through the second bolt and the other around to start another twist. You can do this with two bolts or a dozen, makes no difference. When finished, just clip off any excess. Practice makes perfect and you can do a professional job with a little patience. A wire twister will do wonders. I think HF sells them. Unless you plan on doing a lot of this, don't buy an expensive tool. The cheap ones does a good job, just doesn't last as long. PJ

Paul J

PJ, thank you. I appreciate the detailed drawing.

Larry
Larry Shoer

This thread was discussed between 20/06/2011 and 27/06/2011

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