tab washers

the bolts that secure the brake discs to the front wheel have tab washers. some of these have broken, is it ok to use spring washers instead? :?:

 

If you still have one tab that can be bent over without breaking you should be OK. Other options are lock tite or safety wire for that racy look.

 

With safety wire do you have to drill holes in the bolt heads?

 

You can drill the head, or through the threads, depends where you want to put the wire either for looks or availabale space. Use WD40 or similar as a lubricant/coolant, and a slow drill speed - if the bit simply spins on the bolt without cutting the heat will harden the material.

This is on an old British bike... http://picasaweb.google.com/tomestl00/M ... 4221184594

(How do you submit photos to show in the thread?)

 

Use the image code Image:

 

Thanks MGM... forgot about that while finding a a place to post them for the URL part. (Didn't mean to bugger your thread, Wizard.)

 

I replaced all the tabs with lock washers. Never had a problem.

 

tomestl,
The photo on your link shows the wrong way to safety wire bolts. The holes are fine, it is the use of the wire that is incorrect. The wire should be twisted between the bolts and wrapped in such a fashion as to impart tension to tighten the bolts surrounding a bolt that might be loosening.
Please examine the following link, it is a good source of info.
http://www.whizwheels.com/Tips/safetywiring.html

 

My bad, Robert, and I appreciate the clarification. I looked at a few different websites and this was the best photo I found of the application on a bike rotor. I should have look closer at how the bolts were actually wired, they are backwards! :? I'll pay closer attention in the future.

Cheers.

 

No harm amigo, most folks don't know about the proper installation of safety wire. I cringe when I see stuff like this. Nice picture, I do think it imparted the idea you were trying to convey.

 

Beware of using lock washers They have been proven to cause bolts to loosen there have been many major loss suits filed and won over lock washers. As a result of one of these law suits The auto makers no longer use them on new cars since about 96' i believe. Clean the threads and use locktite or locknuts where needed