Westerbeke Engine Oil Drain Plug

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

While your statement is certainly true in theory, I've owned countless engines over the years, and none had safety wired drain plugs, and they all sealed with some sort of crush washer... metal or fiber. Never had one come loose, and have smashed a lot of knuckles trying to undo them!

So, I'm forced to question the necessity of the safety wire, unless there is something very unusual about the Westerbeke engine.

Jim

Agree with you. This is no different than all cars. No safety wire on my vehicle oil pans. I wonder if the 'new' engine had a maker's alert tag wired to the plug? Paper tag now long gone.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

So how do you "feel" something that you can not touch (as per your statement)?

If you wish to push this; if you can't handle the task it would behoove you to safety it before you install the engine. I don't understand the resistance to doing something that is obviously the correct way? Who gives a crap that your Ford truck has never had the drain plug fall out. How often do you drain the oil from the plug at the bottom of your boat engine? I can't even see mine. You need to rely on the plug to be secure.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Agree with you. This is no different than all cars. No safety wire on my vehicle oil pans. I wonder if the 'new' engine had a maker's alert tag wired to the plug? Paper tag now long gone.

That sounds plausible to me.

I wonder if there are other WEsterbeke owners on the site who can check their plugs for the subject safety wires?

Jim

[dohenyboy]

The PO obviously safety wired the drain plug. Its probably unnecessary but maybe that is what he felt comfortable doing, for whatever reason. Maybe he owned a safety wire factory. There is no other reasonable explanation for the wire being there, threaded through a hole in the bolt head. Maybe the bolt came out before. Maybe the boat is haunted. Maybe PO -1 scrounged a bolt, found one with a hole, then PO saw it and figured the hole was there for a reason


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[chris95040]

On my westerbeke 55b, the drain plug is a multi part assembly that includes a drain hose. This wire was looped around the drain hose (making it such that the base plug and the hose assembly couldn't rotate independently) so the hose itself would hit the engine and prevent the plug from rotating a full 360 degrees.

The hose is a small diameter and makes oil changes take forever. I was convinced it was leaving behind some oil too. This year I cut the wire to allow removal of the whole plug assembly. An extra pint of oil came out.

I didn't replace the wire when reassembling, but I wonder if part of the additional concern (beyond your typical ford pickup etc.) is the offset weight of the wiggling drain hose is a bigger motivator to spin that plug loose.

[onestepcsy37]

On the other hand...

Guy with the same boat as me, csy 37, had his driveshaft bolts constantly working loose. Took a look at mine and they were all wired tightly. I gave him a couple of feet of safety wire.

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[gordwedman]

Originally Posted by Guy

I guess your experience is limited to your, experience.

Well I agree with Jim. In 40 years of car ownership I have never seen an oil pan drain plug lock wired and they actually seem to self tighten to the point I sometimes need a breaker bar to loosen them. Maybe this wire is just to help prevent loss of the plug.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by dohenyboy

The PO obviously safety wired the drain plug. Its probably unnecessary but maybe that is what he felt comfortable doing, for whatever reason. Maybe he owned a safety wire factory...

Actually the safety wire shows in the Westerbeke shop and parts manuals as "Lead Wire", and it came with the engine.

Originally Posted by chris95040

On my westerbeke 55b, the drain plug is a multi part assembly that includes a drain hose. This wire was looped around the drain hose (making it such that the base plug and the hose assembly couldn't rotate independently) so the hose itself would hit the engine and prevent the plug from rotating a full 360 degrees.

The hose is a small diameter and makes oil changes take forever. I was convinced it was leaving behind some oil too. This year I cut the wire to allow removal of the whole plug assembly. An extra pint of oil came out.

I didn't replace the wire when reassembling, but I wonder if part of the additional concern (beyond your typical ford pickup etc.) is the offset weight of the wiggling drain hose is a bigger motivator to spin that plug loose.

This is exactly my set up and why I started this thread - I had a leak and had to remove the banjo bolt. I was not sure what was its purpose and I could not tell if the wire was tied to the hose, but it will not be an easy task to do that when I replace the plug. Still undecided whether or not I'll re-use a safety wire primarily due to access.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Actually the safety wire shows in the Westerbeke shop and parts manuals as "Lead Wire", and it came with the engine.



This is exactly my set up and why I started this thread - I had a leak and had to remove the banjo bolt. I was not sure what was its purpose and I could not tell if the wire was tied to the hose, but it will not be an easy task to do that when I replace the plug. Still undecided whether or not I'll re-use a safety wire primarily due to access.

If you had to have an inspector for your work and I was the inspector, I would make you figure out how to do it. If you could get a wrench in there to take off the fitting, you should be able to do a one handed safety wire job. It does not need to be very pretty. However you don't