92crimsonRS

so i picked up my t-5 today got home then i noticed a dent/break in the bell housing. didnt see it due to the vent line ran right over it.


my question is can it be repaired? no one in my local area seems willing to weld aluminium or at least for a reasonable cost.

its about a golfball sized dig half way between the mating for the block and the mating for the trans. all pieces there just pushed in and split.

thought about just using my small torch to heat it up enough to push flat then jb weld it.

any ideas? opinions? cheap bell housings?

Mirror Image

iTrader: (2)

Not sure where your from? But around here there are many guys that can fix that and I would not try fixing it with jb weld don't think it would hold up

92crimsonRS

not sure how to post pictures. im north of sacramento if the cost to repair exceeds the cost to replace is my main concern.

92crimsonRS

here are the pics (i hope)

92crimsonRS

from the outside

Confuzed1

iTrader: (4)

Well, at least it's not cracked on the mounting flange itself. In theory you could just put whatever on there to cover the hole.

I suppose I would also drill a small hole at the end of each crack which "might" prevent the existing cracks from spreading to the flange area of the bell housing, but if it were mine, I wouldn't trust it….

92crimsonRS

i was planning on maybe heating up then area then tapping it flat. drilling holes it s good idea. then jb weld the crap out of it.

big gear head

That would be a pretty easy weld repair. What prices have you got for fixing it? I've welded stuff that was much worse than that.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

That's NOTHING.

Get a hole saw that can drill/cut the entire area out, and a plug/cover of some sort to fill the hole back in.

Or, if it's only a few pieces (or more accurately, a few cracks separating em), knock em all out, and at the end of each crack, drill about a 1/8" hole. Then tap a coupla holes around it and screw a piece of some sort of sheet metal over it to keep stuff from falling in.

You have NO IDEA how many BHs there have been, over the years, that have GINORMOUS holes in them, from the factory. Vega T-350 BH2 come to mind. Late-model 4L60Es have about a 1½" "inspection" hole in em. The list goes on.

The "strength" you lose from that material being gone, is as close to zero as can be, and still be a number. The only reasons the BH is a continuous piece at all is to keep debris out, and it costs more to put holes in a cast thing than it does to just ship the material.

I SURE AS HELL wouldn't bother welding on it.

toomany

x2 on running it. Knock the loose pieces out and clean up the edges. It's a factory housing so it's not like it's a SFI piece that'll contain a flywheel/clutch explosion.

92crimsonRS

i didnt think it was a bad crack. nobody where i live advertises welding so i have no idea what it would've run me. i think im gonna tap the peices flat then jb weld them the thought of missing peices or open holes doesnt sit right with me.

midias

If you really want to do something like that just cut out a hole bigger than the pieces then drill and tap some holes around it then bend some sheet steel to it and bolt together.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Don't do that.

The cracks that are there, will still be there. JB Weld won't keep em from spreading.

Drill the end of each crack to keep it from growing. Don't worry about the material in between, one way or the other. Leave it, let it fall out, bend it back, cut it away, doesn't matter one bit. The cracks are what's important, not the pieces.

92crimsonRS

well today i knocked the pieces out and rounded out the hole that was left. there wasnt any sharp corners left so my dremel left it with a nice oval hole. i have some scrap stainless layig around to make a patch to keep the garbage out.