safety wire SS Header

[Ralphcobra]

Rod. Have you addressed the issue of the bolts coming loose frequently. I have to tighten mine at every track event. Ralph

[svopantera]

Re: header

Originally posted by Ralphcobra
Rod. Have you addressed the issue of the bolts coming loose frequently. I have to tighten mine at every track event. Ralph

A good solution would be to safety-wire those bolts

[kennycoulter]

or didnt the original studs have the oval lock nuts? you can buy them at napa and sears.

[svopantera]

Originally posted by MikeFleming
That doesn't really address the issue of the bolts loosening, per se. However, it does place an unexpected labor load on the installer who is, most likely, not a skilled safety-wiring person. In my experience of wiring exhaust manifold header bolts on race cars (why would anyone want to do that on a street car?) is it adds about an hour per side when using the proper tools (assuming a v-ate engine). While that's not a great amount of time, it's still quite a lot to do it properly since there's no direct "line of sight" between the bolts.


To do it to the bolts you already have only requires drilling the bolt heads. I recommend a cross drill pattern so there's several options on where to start the wire in each bolt head. Jigs for drilling bolt heads (and allen heads) are readily available at machine shop supply stores. Be sure to read up on wiring techniques in the aircraft literature before starting on this task. Here's a quick reference page (with a couple of broken links): http://www.geocities.com/robm351/pantera/index-24.html



-Mike Fleming
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When installing the exhaust manifold bolts on a street car I think the installer would have the mindset that the install would be at least semi-permanent so the extra time safety-wring would be more of a peace of mind investment IMO.

[mustangjohnny]

job description

I thought tightening header bolts and fixing oil leaks was just part of the job description of owning an SVO?
Johnny

[Pat_in_L.A.]

WOW, this "For Sale" ad has certainly been hijacked!

Here's an alternative to safety wire, and they list an application for a 2.3.

Locking Fastners

[rod87tbird]

Ralph,
You have the original bolts which where way too short. They only had about a 1/2" or so of grip. I went with longer bolts which give you about 1" or so of grip. Also, I have spacer's to adapt the stock bolts which have a 3 sided raised part of the thread to keep them tight.
Rod

[SVOeric]

these posts were removed from the classified section, since the post got hijacked into a tech session on safety wire.