Does anyone know the exact procedure for safety wiring the oil pump nut?
Is it actually a nut, or a bolt? I want to do this procedure. It so
happens that my motor is out while having some accident repair work done.
I asked the BMW tech if he could accomplish this mod while the motor was
out. He's trying to locate a place to get the ??? drilled. Or, trying to
find a source for the ??? that has already been drilled. I have a fairly
short window of opportunity. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks - Jay
97 M3/2

Originally posted by LUNI2NZ
He's trying to locate a place to get the ??? drilled. Or, trying to
find a source for the ??? that has already been drilled

Your mechanic/tech doesn't have a drill? Safety wiring nuts/bolts isn't exactly rocket science. You won't be able to buy a drilled bolt.

Find a race mechanic, he'll be able to do it for you in a couple minutes. We safety wire most every important nut/bolt on our race cars.

As for the procedure, I haven't really looked at the oil pump on our cars...but all you do is drill a small hole through the nut/bolt and then "tie" the wire off with a safety wire tool onto an anchor point so that the nut/bolt can't back off/out of the threads.

Bryan-

Thanks for the input. Race mechanics are a little hard to come by where I live. I'd do it myself but was trying to take advantage of the motor being out of the car. The dealer is doing the r&r. I'm just trying to facilitate the process. I'm told that pre-drilled bolts are available. Up until a little while ago, I didn't know if it was a bolt or a nut or how many or what size. Just spoke to the BMW tech and found out what and how many. Also found out he wants way too much $$$$ to do it. I may have to persue other alternatives or just roll the dice.

Jay

If there's even a small airport near where you live, there should be some kind of aircraft mechanic able to do the same thing. I've got a friend who's a pilot, and there are some very interesting similarities between the simplest little cessna 140 out there and your typical race car.

Suffice it to say, they can't just pull over if there's a problem. :eek: Practically every bolt in every aircraft engine is safety wired.

Thanks, Andy. I talked to Chuck Stickley today. He says the nut is hardened and isn't an easy deal to drill. His suggestion is to use red Loctite #272 and center punch the threads. If I can drop the pan myself, without too much drama, that's what I'll do. Otherwise, I'll just keep my fingers crossed and try not to loop the car and burp the motor backwards.

Jay