crank shaft bolts wired

has any one seen this and why would it be done
it is a coat hanger wired though the bolts that hold the crank shaft in all crank shaft bolts have this wired thought them in pairs

pretty common on the old engines, they are safety wires to keep the bolts from backing out.

It's an art to safety wire properly. Used to teach the Atlas Missile engine system. Had to teach the students to safety wire properly. Most aircraft have some safety wire requirements. The Atlas turbo pumps had about 20 bolts that all had to be wired this way to prevent loosening.

A fussy wiring job will look closer to these on most older engines but what is in your picture will do the job. the reason is what glenn said.

(quoted from post at 16:41:37 05/08/15) has any one seen this and why would it be done
it is a coat hanger wired though the bolts that hold the crank shaft in all crank shaft bolts have this wired thought them in pairs

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I see you are working on a Z120 Continental engine in either a TE-20 or TO-20. All of those engines had safety wire on the main bolts. We had this discussion on the Ferguson board here a week or two ago.

thank you I was replacing the oil pan I bent and checking to see if every thing looked ok
this is a great forum and I learn a lot from yall

t020 tractor is a tuff old bird

Had to do it on engine and prop assemblies on the old T28 Aircraft. Here's what we used to make the job easier and quicker.
Safety Wire Pliers

So badly done that they need not have done it at all. The wire is supposed to be wrapped in a way that prevents loosening, like this diagram.

Transmission in my race car.

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Glen, you are right about the special technique to safety wire bolts.

Looking at the pictures, that is a case book example how NOT to do it! LOL And, that may even be a factory safety wire, don't know, never been into one that I knew for sure was factory.

Found this: http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/191176-1.html
Here's part of what it said: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Safety wire must be new upon each application. (This seems fairly obvious until you catch yourself trying to redo a short run using the same wire.)

All safety wires "must be tight after installation, but not under such tension that normal handling or vibration will break the wire."

Twists should be "tight and even, and the wire between nuts as taut as possible without over-twisting." (Six to eight turns per inch.)

A "pigtail" of 1/4- to 1/2-inch (three to six twists) should be made at the end of the wire run. This pigtail "must be bent back or under to prevent it from becoming a snag."

When castle nuts are safetied, "tighten the nut to the low side of the selected torque range, unless otherwise specified, and if necessary, continue tightening until a slot aligns with the hole."

The wire must be applied "so that all pull exerted by the wire tends to tighten the nut."

The wire should always "be installed and twisted so that the loop around the (bolt) head stays down and does not tend to come up causing a slack loop."

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A very complicated procedure!

Note line 2, the wire should be tight, but not too tight.
Note line 6, the wire must be applied to tend to tighten the fastener.

If the wire can't be too tight, then the odds of it preventing the fastener from loosing it's torque value are slim.

So, wouldn't the real purpose be more to contain the bolt or nut, keep it from coming all the way off, or falling out if it broke, and causing further damage?

Just pondering...

On my can of safety wire it shows the diagrams you've posted but it has a disclaimer saying it may not be right Huh ? Each bolt if turning towards loose will get the safety wire tighter and hold the bolt.

I drilled the cap screws on my JD 4010 PTO stub shaft and ran safety wire thru those. Of course, I did that after they loosened up during use and sheared the shift pin in the transmission case. Who Knew?

And it is a special wire. Dont think it is coat hanger. If it is coat hanger, then the fellow before you used whatever he felt like and had on hand.

On all the old Farmalls I have ever looked inside.


Gene

(quoted from post at 12:40:54 05/08/15) On my can of safety wire it shows the diagrams you've posted but it has a disclaimer saying it may not be right Huh ? Each bolt if turning towards loose will get the safety wire tighter and hold the bolt.

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The disclaimer may be taking into account left hand threads.

During WWII, my aunt and her two young sons had two drill presses in her garage. Once a week, someone would drop off a sack of undrilled bolts, and pick up a sack of drilled ones. She said they were used on airplanes, but she didn't know what type of plane, or where on the plane they were used.

Keeps the bolts from coming undone. Works similar to the nuts you're seen that are cut on one end that cotter pins go through and the bolt. Whoever first came up with the idea and put it into motion was a master.

Mark

TRKR, just curious, how old is that transmission, and where dd you get it? The reason I ask is because Tex Racing had a facility in a small town south of me here in NC, but I was told that Tex is now associated with G-Force South. And I feel sure that this is the same "Tex" although I may be wrong.

(quoted from post at 10:12:59 05/08/15) So badly done that they need not have done it at all. The wire is supposed to be wrapped in a way that prevents loosening, like this diagram.

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Those images in the O/P are about as bad as safety wireing gets.
In this quoted post,the image of wire between 2 bolts w/ castelated nuts.With the holes and castelations lined up,a cotter pin could be used although that is not the preferred method.

Somebody needed safety wire lessons. that might be air farce quality work. If my Shop Chief would have seen a wire job like that somebody would of been walking the plank.