Broken Bellhousings!

[zerocool]

Needed to know if anyone has had problems cracking or breaking of the bellhousings on automatic trannys? I have had 2 t350\'s in my truck and they keep cracking right in front of the front pump. I have plenty of clearance all around the tranny and am using rubber engine and tranny mounts. Need to find out whats causing the problem cause its gettin expensive! Any help would be appreciated, thanx!

[rudedogg]

check the position of your drivetrain,make certain it is not in a bind,at the mounting areas like motormounts,transmount then driveshaft location.all of these will play a factor in driveline alignment.so make sure your mounts are fastened tightly.

[zerocool]

No binding anywhere, checked all mounts and they are tight, driveline is aligned the way it needs to be. Thats why im blown away with this problem, never faced anything like this before! Any other suggestions would be appreciated! Thanx rudedogg!

[rudedogg]

maann,you got me stumped there , are there any street rod shops in your area,that have hands-on knowledge? thats the only suggestion i can come up with,never even had the problem.

[4more]

a friend had this trouble in his 68 camaro but he had solid trans mount and maybe motor mounts we put the same engine in a 79 camaro and never had a problem --i assume not major engine vibrations and you get the bellhousing bolts tight so im stumped also

[91s10350]

that happened to a buddy of mine. he has a 70 nova and while on a chassis dyno it came apart at 6k. his problem was there was a hair line crack in the transmission case. you couldn\'t see it but you could tell after where it split apart. it might be worthwhile to look extremely close at the case just to make sure.

[tawd]

Strange problem! Humm... When you mate your tranny to your block will the block sit flush against the bellhousing without cranking down the bolts to fasten them together? The bell housing and the back of the engine should be able to lay against each other without the bolts squeezin them together. If it seems like they are mating fine, make sure the torque converter has enough room to \"free spin\" when not bolted to the flywheel. Maybe something is binding up on assembly and is stressing out the bellhousing. Just a guess, Ive never heard of any problems like this.

[zerocool]

Ive checked the contact between the tranny and engine and its ok. I have plenty of room to spin the converter after the tranny bolts are tightened. Ive never had an issue as far as bolting the tranny up before. Im still lost. Im trying to get a 700r4 since my t350 is broken again. Not only cant i find a 700r4 but im scared to put it in if i do for fear of breaking another bellhousing! Im up s**t creek with out a paddle! http://www.s10v8.com/images/smilies/icon_confused.gif

[bohn333]

Has your truck ever been wrecked? Take your truck to a local bodyshop and put it on there frame rack.

[Wendell]

check to see if your torque converter is balanced, such as any weights that is used to balane them hasn\'t came off or wasn\'t balanced at all.

also did you have any problems aligning the converter bolt holes with the flywheel......

this is a strange one

[Wendell]

oh yea.... is it breaking in the same spot on the bell housing? this may be a dumb question but you do have dowel pins sticking out of the block to align engine and trans right?

[dave4455]

A friend had the same problem with his s10. He got rid of his mounts that he got through summit and made his own to sit the engine down and back further and never had a problem again. I do know that alot of people use these same mounts without any problems and that does not make any sense but I also know that fixed the problem. He broke 2 and his 3rd one is still going strong.

[stenaholic]

hey man, i cant say for sure what your problem is but as a mechanic for the army i have seen a lot of trannys separate. i have a good feeling that it is because army mechs. dont give a f%#K about the equip. and dont use new fasteners. just for cheap insurance USE NEW FASTENERS EVERY TIME!!! a lock washer loses most of its holding capacity the first time it is loosened from initial torque. i just wanted to put that out there for the guys who think they are saving a few CENTS!!

[hairdryer]

Do you have any vibration while going down the road? I had a bent driveshaft once and you could just barley feel it and it broke the tranny where you are talking about. Also had a bad u joint at the rear end and it did the same too.

[basementdweller]

Are you running solid mounts anywhere?