Ellis Juan

iTrader: (5)

I bought a used t56 a few months ago for my 76vette swap. The owner completely listed all the problems, so I knew what was up. The bellhousing had a crack near one of the trans-bell mounting. He had it welded up by a certified guy. Should I be looking for a new bell or should this one be fine? I know its hard to tell from the pics.

SIK02SS

iTrader: (11)

that doesn't look very clean at all.

if you decide you want a new bellhouse i have one brand new never used, pm me if interested: https://ls1tech.com/forums/lsx-parts...ale-cheap.html

Ellis Juan

iTrader: (5)

Thats being a good salesman

WYATT318MOPAR

iTrader: (28)

Doesn't look like it was cleaned before whoever tried to weld on it. I would probably have someone grind or bur out all that mess and put a real weld on it before I ran it behind anything. Aluminum is not very forgiving when the metal is made porous due to trash and contaminates getting in the weld makes it brittle and prone to cracking.

Ellis Juan

iTrader: (5)

Ill just buy another. Cant go half assn parts at this point.

calhoon

iTrader: (6)

Good move. Even if the weld looke better, the heat concentration in the die-cast aluminum most likely distorted the bell. You could re-machine the faces to be sure its true but then you would need to add a spscer to compensate. Alignment of other components then come into play.In my eyes there is no fix for a cracked bell that is less $$ than a replacement part.

SIK02SS

iTrader: (11)

i cracked a bellhouse once before and looked to get it fixed (welded). i was told i'm better off getting a new one just because of the heating properties of alum and the difficulty to have something like that patched.....

but i figure if i have one fs i might as well put in a shameless plug

still fs btw

Gen414

iTrader: (38)

I'll be the one to say let it eat. It's one bolt hole out of 6. If it was 5 out of 6, then different story. Hell, guys that are putting NON LS trannies behind LS motor are using NON LS bell's and only using 5 bolts to mount up their trannies since only 5 of the bolt holes will line up.

So, I say it will be fine, ain't that big of a deal.

NemeSS

iTrader: (127)

true, the th350/400 dont use all the bolts with sbc bolt pattern. on ls engine

WYATT318MOPAR

iTrader: (28)

350/400 and powerglides may not use all the bolts but they are not busted aluminum cases that have been half *** welded back together either. If it was welded good and solid and actually looked like the weld had good penetration into the base metal then I would run it even if the hole for the bolt was completely filled in and unusable. That is just not the case here it is cracked, not properly repaired and will most likely bust under torque and load.

Gen414

iTrader: (38)

Again, you are only talking about ONE bolt hole, NOT the whole damn bellhousing.

WYATT318MOPAR

iTrader: (28)

The crack affects the integrity of the whole housing it has nothing to do with how many bolts you put in it. 1,2,5 all 6 bolts it still doesn't effect how the metal itself is going to react when stressed under load, and vibration. There is a lot of force transmitted through the bellhousing of a tranny. Have you never seen a transmission crack and bust under extreme load?

Gen414

iTrader: (38)

To answer your question. Yes, I have. Too many actually. I know how much force is transmitted. Again, you are still talking about just one bolt hole. A ear. That's it. I broke one of the four mounting lugs on a Tremec tranny. (tranny to bell on a Tremec, SBF is only 4 lugs) Had the lug welded back on, and let it eat. No more problems with that again.

If the case was cracked, again, another story. But all that is broken is a mounting ear. I am telling you, he would not have a problem. I will use teh SBC conversions as an example again. They are only using 5 of the 6. And you are not hearing of people complaing about breaking bell's there. All of this is a moot point anyway, as I am pretty sure he is getting abother one. But, that lug, I am telling you would be just fine.

WYATT318MOPAR

iTrader: (28)

I am not arguing with you, we weren't talking about ear or bolt holes. There is no comparison to a cracked housing vs. leaving a bolt out. The dowels in the engine hold more then the bolts do anyways in the form of torsional force the bolts only hold the two parts together.

Gen414

iTrader: (38)

Oh, Im not arguing either. I am just throwing my .02 into the ring. What you just said is exactly why I said that it will be just fine.

Ellis Juan

iTrader: (5)

If I would have seen the damage to begin with before it was welded up I could make a better decision on whether or not to use it. Since I cant and I dont know who welded it, I am just gonna have to get another. If most replies would have been like "no brainer! just use it" I would go with it. I would hate to have ripped my car down to the frame and have something stupid like a 100 dollar bellhousing cause me problems