Bell housing Crack (1 Viewer)

[Boaf 32]

Hi LCer's,

I have a cracked bell Housing in my 3 speed trans. That, I believe is White metal that is not weldable. Is it?

Thanks.

Boaf

 

[brian]

the bell housing is cast iron, and though challenging to weld, it is perfectly weldable.

 

[A10Driver]

I wouldn't weld it

 

[coonassjohn]

I wouldn't weld it

Just curious, why not?

 

[Tancruiser]

That really should be nickel welded and there’s plenty of 3 speed bell housings out there cheap.

 

[A10Driver]

Well if you mean you personally wouldn't weld it because you don't have the skill set then I would agree with you. Few people can weld cast iron well.

However, when done properly, cast iron is as @brian said, perfectly weldable.

It is thin cast iron, if it is cracked it will crack again as it is fatigued, and there are plenty of 3 speed bell housings around.

 

[brian]

the bell housing is not what i would consider thin, it has plenty of meat to take some heat.
i doubt that it is a fatigue crack.

 

[Pin_Head]

The problem with cast iron is not so much the welding process or skill, it is the metallurgy of cast iron and the fact that heating it above 1400 F and then letting it air cool will create “white” iron, which is mostly iron carbide, which is brittle. Cast iron needs to cool slowly at a rate of about 120F per hour until it gets below 600 F so that the lamellar or nodular phase will reform. The lamellar phase (grey iron) or nodular iron are stronger and more ductile. White iron is hard to machine too. Nickel filler can help a little because it doesn’t form carbides, but you still have a lot of white iron in the heat affected zone.

 

[Dizzy]

What about brazing? Perhaps drilling a hole at the terminus end of the crack to keep the tensile stresses from advancing? How is the crack located in relation to the part?

 

[RustyNailJustin]

Just as Pinhead and Brian talked about. It takes a bet of planning to weld to bit I pretty much have to laugh when it comes to welding cast. Use the right rod control the cool down. Even though thatthat bellhousing is easy to get for even free it's worth the skill in learning how.

 

[A10Driver]

phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/pts/d/toyota-land-cruiser-3-speed/6490807119.html

 

[A10Driver]

Or 50 bucks gets you a bellhousing with an engine
Fj-40 eng and parts

 

[middlecalf]

The OPs in PA and a craigslist post in Phoenix is suppose to help?

 

[RustyNailJustin]

I suppose this is what I meant by the skill. That is,the knowledge of the metallurgy involved.

It isn't that big of a deal, I figured it out by trial and error back in the 1900s lol.

 

[A10Driver]

The OPs in PA and a craigslist post in Phoenix is suppose to help?

By showing that there are a s*** ton of 3 speed bell housings out there. Rather than try and learn how to do complicated welding on a bellhousing that is a pain to remove if u screw it up just put one that is not cracked in.

 

[Boaf 32]

The problem with cast iron is not so much the welding process or skill, it is the metallurgy of cast iron and the fact that heating it above 1400 F and then letting it air cool will create “white” iron, which is mostly iron carbide, which is brittle. Cast iron needs to cool slowly at a rate of about 120F per hour until it gets below 600 F so that the lamellar or nodular phase will reform. The lamellar phase (grey iron) or nodular iron are stronger and more ductile. White iron is hard to machine too. Nickel filler can help a little because it doesn’t form carbides, but you still have a lot of white iron in the heat affected zone.

Thanks Pin Head,

I am definitely not the welder for this.

 

[SuperDuperCruizer]

Boaf 32

I have a 3-speed bell housing in Takoma Park, MD. I'll be in Hagerstown, MD next weekend... if you want to coordinate an exchange next Saturday. Does $50 sound fair?

 

[Boaf 32]

Hagerstown, MD

I just spent $75 in Boston for one. That is a good deal though, thanks for getting back to me.

 

[SuperDuperCruizer]

No problem... glad you found one close by.