welding transmission bellhousing (700r4)

[moturbopar]

Hi all my uncle just purchased a 84 jimmy project. The thing has a freshly rebuilt 700r4 but the bellhousing has one of the ears broken off on the transmission. its a nice clean break with no distortion, the peice fit back into place nicely and doesnt move around. do you guys thing that it can be mig welded or should he pay someone to come out and tig weld it? Or if ou guys have any other ideas please let me know.
thanks

 

[Mad-Dog]

Since you can't MIG weld aluminum.....i would strongly recommend a qualified operator with a TIG machine for the job...
Should hold up fine after the repair

 

[LongIslander26]

Welding

I agree, get it done by some qualified and know that it's done right.

 

[cybrfire]

It can be done by either method. Or I should say I've seen it done by either method Never actually welded a Trans before. To tig weld that though it'd have to be extremely clean. Not sure that you'd ever get it clean enough. Mig would be a bit more forgiving in that regard. If it were me I would probably mig weld it. But that's me.

 

[dave_90_blazer]

It can be done by either method. Or I should say I've seen it done by either method. To tig weld that though it'd have to be extremely clean. Not sure that you'd ever get it clean enough. Mig would be a bit more forgiving in that regard. If it were me I would probably mig weld it. But that's me.

same here, I say mig it, if you have a friend do it, he needs pure argon and aluminum wire, and a little ractice, this should be enough for the occasional aluminum weld job

 

[Brocky]

I split open the housing on a th350. Not where it bolts on but the housing itself, so it wasn't that extreme, but I got it welded up and only took it out a little while ago. It was used for about 3 years. But now he sits in the burnout transmission pile. Think I need to go to a standard. Mig worked for me.

 

[R72K5]

i had one welded and drilled at a local weding shop he charged only 40 bucks for the whole job, he added aluminum to the whole area and shaped it and drilled hole and all

that tranny is the th350 i put in my 82 trans am

was an easy fix for him, but it sure didnt look pretty when i took it in to him, now you cant even tell its been repaired, all cept for being clean there


hit up the local welding guys in your town

its not expensive to have stuff fixed like this

good luck

 

[Brocky]

Cost me a dozen cold ones.

 

[ntsqd]

same here, I say mig it, if you have a friend do it, he needs pure argon and aluminum wire, and a little ractice, this should be enough for the occasional aluminum weld job

Having been the guy it was taken to on many occasions I TIG them. Not b/c it's a better way to go, but b/c it's what I have.

It will never be clean enough. Clean it, pre-heat it, clean it some more, heat it a little more and see if it still oozes. Judgement call on how much ooze can be tolerated.

For a MIG he'll likely want straight Helium rather than Argon. Helium transmits more power into the work than Argon does. He'll also want a liner specifically made for aluminum. Those have a teflon tube inside the wire spiral to keep the carbon out of the filler wire. Even better would be an aluminum dedicated spool gun.

 

[diesel4me]

just run it!

Its not too costly to have it professionally welded..thats the best solution..

I've run more than 1 tranny with an ear broken off,and never had any trouble!--not that I reccomend it--but I had driven one truck for 5 years before I noticed one bolt ear was cracked away from the bellhousing during an oil and filter change...I never bothered to try to do anything with it--I eventually sold the truck..the tranny never gave the next owner any grief either...he did clean the cracked area and smeared J-B Weld on it,but I doubt that did anything but make him feel better about it!

I even ran a buick TH350 tranny in a 67 Caprice I had--I bought it cheap with no tranny and a lower ball joint was snapped after someone slid into a curb on an icy road..the guy said it came with a "new" tranny in the trunk--after I got it under the car I realized it was not the chevy bellhousing! --my brother said it would still fit and work,but only the 4 lower bolts will line up!...he suggested getting an adapter plate,but by this point I was already disgusted with the car,so I threw the tranny in anyway,using only the 4 bolts.

..I started up the car,and filled the tranny up with fliud,and went for a ride--it was a pretty nice car otherwise,so I kept it,and planned to swap another Powerglide or chevy TH350 into it someday--but I drove it 15,000 miles that way,and it never gave me bit of trouble!--of course I did not do any brakestands or hole shots (only had a 283 2 bbl anyhow!)...a few years later I sold it to a friend,he never changed the tranny either,and did not plan to unless it gave trouble...we just locktighted the 4 bolts,and made sure they were tight at every oil change.. however,I dont think this would last long in a 4x4 application!..

 

[R72K5]

its pretty cheap to have this fixed, just go talk to your local welding shop guys, small town ones, etc,

they will hook you up for low cost

no worries

 

[74 chev]

ya it wont be a big deal one of my buddys put a 10 inch crack in the bellhousing of his TH350 and i cleaned it up as best as i could and TIG welded it back together. it welded pretty dirty but the weld actually didn't look bad and to this day hasnt broke again.