Safety wire

Uhhh... it can, barely, be done with the transaxle in the car, but its much more difficult. For instance, the two long cross-bolts through the lower cover will not clear the rear frame rails unless the transaxle is unbolted from its mounts and jacked up about 6". This may cause problems with both muffler mounts and the AC condenser shroud, as well as the ground cable on the ZF and possibly the shifter shaft.
2)- once the bottom cover is off (save and label the shim sets on each end of each long cross-bolt), you'll find that not all the 90-wt lube drains out of the drain plug. Instead, what happens is, about a pint stays in the rear section and slowly seeps out into your face while you're unside down, working underneath.As you know, gear lube has a magnetic affinity for human skin and stains almost as bad as tattoo ink.....
3)- wherever you're doing the job, be sure to have the transaxle up high enough so you have arm-leverage enough to put 65-70-ft-lbs of torque into each of the 10 ring-gear bolts. As usual, a shop-rag jammed in the ring & pinion mesh will hold the gear in place during torquing. Replace & torque the new bolts one at a time and wire them in pairs. I suggest a crow-foot socket sized for your torque wrench (such as 1/2 drive etc), that will fit whatever drilled aftermarket bolts you'll use. Not all bolts will have the same head size. I don't recommend drilling & reusing the stock bolts, as part of the original problem comes from the way those bolts were made. If you're careful with the lower plate removal, the original lower gasket will not tear & so it can be re-used. FYI, its MUCH easier to pull the ZF & do all this on a bench! Refills are simpler, too. I suggest a refill using premium 80-W-90 gear lube for Posi-type differentials. Synthetic isn't necessary.

Safet-wiring, like so many skills, is an art. I suggest you practice several times on various bolts until you feel comfy with it. I spent four years in the AF safety-wiring A-10s and I will tell you some people were great at it and some weren't no matter how hard they tried, especially safety-wiring the hubcaps.

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Originally posted by JR:
I'm ready to start work to safety wire my ZF. Before I start can anyone give me any support on what I will need as far as tools? I understand this procedure can be preformed with the transaxil in the car, a little more difficult but I'll give it a shot. Will I need crowfoot wrenches if so what size? I know I will need a torque wrench,gaskets and syn oil and special pliers for the safety wire. Also what would be the torque value of the bolts? Thanks for you're time.

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JR,

Thomas Tornblom in Sweden has the entire safety wiring procedure along with the pictures of the tool you can make to do the safety wiring. His site is located at http://www.detomaso.nu/~thomast/rebuild-2002/

Dale in Missouri

I'm curious, how did the inspection go? Anything additional to add/

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Originally posted by JR:
I'm ready to start work to safety wire my ZF. Before I start can anyone give me any support on what I will need as far as tools? I understand this procedure can be preformed with the transaxil in the car, a little more difficult but I'll give it a shot. Will I need crowfoot wrenches if so what size? I know I will need a torque wrench,gaskets and syn oil and special pliers for the safety wire. Also what would be the torque value of the bolts? Thanks for you're time.

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