Knock Off Wheel Safety Wire

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by Danr55

Patrick, the car just came out of a complete frame off in October. I checked the wires on all of the wheels when the car came back.

Remove the other three safety wires and gently "tap" the spinners and see if they were only finger tight.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Remove the other three safety wires and gently "tap" the spinners and see if they were only finger tight.

No need to remove the wires unless they are wired backwards. If they are wired to tighten if the spinner loosens, then just tap the spinner ear. If the wire loosens then the wires were holding it, tighten the spinner and re-wire. Some prefer to have the wire tight, my old farm training was to leave a little slack and if you see or feel it tighten then you know the bolt (spinner) was loosening up.

[kevins2]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

No need to remove the wires unless they are wired backwards. If they are wired to tighten if the spinner loosens, then just tap the spinner ear. If the wire loosens then the wires were holding it, tighten the spinner and re-wire. Some prefer to have the wire tight, my old farm training was to leave a little slack and if you see or feel it tighten then you know the bolt (spinner) was loosening up.

That's the way I do it as well. And, although I haven't experienced it, it is my understanding that the wire won't prevent the spinner from coming off and will eventually break, so it's really just a tell-tale, not something that will hold it, and should be checked frequently for tightness.

[patrickt]

Yep, that's a good point. If you can tighten them any (with or without safety wire) with a light tap, then they were loose to begin with. Could the spinner have somehow hit a curb, broken the wire, and loosened all without you knowing it? This seems rather bizarre.

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by patrickt

Yep, that's a good point. If you can tighten them any (with or without safety wire) with a light tap, then they were loose to begin with. Could the spinner have somehow hit a curb, broken the wire, and loosened all without you knowing it? This seems rather bizarre.

Anything that would have hit it would have left a lot of scraping distress on the spinners, and most likely not just one of them (ie, multiple rotations to loosen it). I doubt it was hit, most likely not tight enough to begin with. I always tightened mine with the car still on jack but in contact enough to keep the tire from spinning so it would be able to draw it in.

[patrickt]

Hmmm, maybe sabotage by the ex-wife.

[1795]

Like Tony does, I always tighten the spinners with the car up on jack stands and then give them a few more good whacks when the tires are on the ground. You do not want to only hand tighten them in the air and then try to fully tighten on the ground. You can gain a little bit of wheel movement when the weight of the car is on it on the ground, but not enough to pull the tire in much more than a little bit. Sometimes when you have placed the wheel on and hand tightened the spinner the first few whacks will move the wheel in a substantial distance. You can put some resistance on the tire with your leg or hand as you tighten with the hammer to ensure that you have pulled the wheel in all the way.

Jim

[twobjshelbys]

Originally Posted by 1795

Like Tony does, I always tighten the spinners with the car up on jack stands and then give them a few more good whacks when the tires are on the ground. You do not want to only hand tighten them in the air and then try to fully tighten on the ground. You can gain a little bit of wheel movement when the weight of the car is on it on the ground, but not enough to pull the tire in much more than a little bit. Sometimes when you have placed the wheel on and hand tightened the spinner the first few whacks will move the wheel in a substantial distance. You can put some resistance on the tire with your leg or hand as you tighten with the hammer to ensure that you have pulled the wheel in all the way.

Jim

PS. I use that method for any tire on any car. I loosen the lugnuts under full weight but tighten with just enough weight on the tire to keep it from spinning so that the lugnuts (or spinner) have enough play to pull the wheel inwards.