Wave washer

[Bwana]

Does anyone know of a source for the wave washer under the nut that backs up the door key tumbler assembly? Astonishingly enough, I found one that is almost the right inner and outer diameter at ACE Hardware of all places. Problem is, it's more than twice the thickness of the paper thing OEM part so the spring rate is probably high enough to pull the key chrome thru the door if tightened fully :eek:

Real OEM lists it as part of the key lock assembly so it's NLA. P/N 51211809928

 

[aearch]

GRIND IT DOWN THINNER

 

[Bwana]

Yes, that's definitely "Plan B"

 

[rsporsche]

Bwana,

send me a picture of what you need ... i might possibly have one.
scott

 

[02coastie]

You may want to try Belmetric (belmetric.com). They have a really good selection of wave washers (and most everything else used to bolt our cars together).

 

[bluecoupe30!]

I just recalled a time when I found some small wave washers at a Lowes. Manufacturer was Hilllman, if I remember correctly. They were very thin and perhaps will work for you. Good luck!

 

[Bwana]

Thanks Scott but I was bored on Sunday afternoon so I went with Alan's advice and ground it down with patience and my bench grinder. Ground off about half, down to about .1 mm. Looks like it may actually work. I got the latch assembly cleaned up and back on the door, tumbler assembly next. I also was scouting around for a 30 mm open end wrench to grind down to tighten the nut but then realized I'd be there for a couple of weeks and several grinding wheels before I got it to the right size :confused: . Might make it out of sheet metal instead or just punt and use channel locks.

(I put this in "projects and restorations" as a how-to for door latch renewal but am bailing out because I haven't signed up for a new image service yet.)

 

[rsporsche]

you need to look for a bicycle headset wrench - they are very thin and 30mm. the are short and octagonal ... but that shouldn't affect you.
if the ground down wave washer doesn't work, drop me a line.

 

[Markos]

Heat destroys springs. Just sayin...

 

[Bwana]

Excellent suggestion Scott, I had that in my mind's eye but couldn't remember what it was. And no, it never got too hot to hold (145F) so I don't think I annealed it

 

[Koopman]

Just an idea. I wonder if the wave washer on the dash switches would work? The fog light,the hazard,and the rear window hear switch all have a wave washer with a large diameter.
Koopman

 

[Koopman]

Does anyone know of a source for the wave washer under the nut that backs up the door key tumbler assembly? Astonishingly enough, I found one that is almost the right inner and outer diameter at ACE Hardware of all places. Problem is, it's more than twice the thickness of the paper thing OEM part so the spring rate is probably high enough to pull the key chrome thru the door if tightened fully :eek:

Real OEM lists it as part of the key lock assembly so it's NLA. P/N 51211809928

I think I have the wave washer you need. Please PM me with outside and inside diameter.
Koopman

 

[inovermyhead]

Have you tried a breakers, they should be the same on an e3. There are 3 currently being broken in Melbourne, if I can help please pm me.

Cheers. John

 

[eriknetherlands]

I tend to think most of the fasteners BMW used are following german industry standards; called 'DIN". Do the blue books give a metric size? If so, I can try and look it up.

Looking at the DIN specs, no standard wave washer spring seems thin enough however. I think that rules out buying generic off-the-shelf parts. Remaining choice is then old stock or second hand...

I'm guessing the inner dimension is about 24 mm or thereabouts?
The thinnest ones I can find are already 1,8 mm thick at M24 inner diameter. (search DIN 137 B or NEN 2456)
If a small slit from outer to inner is allowed, wave washers up to M48 exist @ 7 mm thick. M24 is 4 mm thick. (search DIN 128 A).
If teeth are allowed (wouldn't they bite the paint-> thus a No Go?) thinner examples exist; 1,5 mm at M24; up to M30 available. (search DIN 6798J)

Erik.

 

[Koopman]

Hi,
I have the wave washer for you. I purchased it at CSI in Las olla from my friend Ben for $5,which seems expensive but we'll worth it if you need one.
I need you're address so I can ship it to you at no charge. Please make a small donation to the Forum.
Koopman

 

[Bwana]

Whoops! I already solved this one a while back. Took Alan's advise and made one from the ACE hardware washer by Dremeling the ID to fit and using a bench grinder to thin it out. Worked great. I'll take the washer anyway as I should do the passenger door too. PM sent.