Allison 5sp: Busted bellhousing WTF?!?!

SmokeShow

SmokeShow

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Nov 30, 2006
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Truck developed a rattle that I thought was my shifty exhaust. Investigated a couple nights ago n find my bellhousing nearly busted all the way around. WTF causes that besides ben dropping it? LOL

Ands what's used replacement cost typically?
 
duramaxc15h32

duramaxc15h32

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Who did the your trans?, were the locator dowels between the motor and trans in place?, were all the bolts on the bellhousing tight?,,,,
There is a crack trans builder that throws away the locator dowels and just uses the bolts to aline everything!,,when asked why HE does that?,the answer come back,,"that is used just for the first time the truck is built",,,,,,,,WHAT?
 
bullfrogjohnson

bullfrogjohnson

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there is a 02 down the road from me that is an ecsb and his truck did the exact same thing. The crack runs almost completely around the bellhousing:confused:
 
M

mainer

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sent you a pm, i've got one with no cracks.... let me know and i'll get it shipped out asap
 
SmokeShow

SmokeShow

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mainer, I replied.

It's been in for about 3 years so I wouldn't think missing dowel pins would wait until now to show up. I'll check the engine and trans mounts but what exactly am I looking for - tears? play? what? How to best check besides a visual inspection?

Here's a couple pics. They are crappy as the only light was from a flashlight and it's a phone camera. You should get the jist though.

And turbo buick, what are you talking about? If I replace the entire bell housing, I won't have any issues lining things up will I?
 

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THEFERMANATOR

THEFERMANATOR

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Missing dowel pins would show up down the road, not right away. Seen similiar in racing before though from mounts that were flexing too much. Unfortunately the easiest way to check the mounts is with it running and in gear. Have somebody watch the mounts and see how much they move when you give it a little throttle. Do this in forward and reverse. If when you give it throttle you see a gap in between the rubber and steel they are definately bad.
 
Philtopgun

Philtopgun

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hmmm wonder if it was a casting flaw? I had the front of mine replaced because it was leaking tranny fluid bout a drop a month. Said bad casting and they replaced the front(bell housing?).... Well bout a 1,000 miles later, it still drips a drop bout every 2 months... sometimes more than other times.... Hope this helps...
 
SmokeShow

SmokeShow

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something got worse with the other night and started acting all pissed off after slowing n turning into the neighborhood. I coasted to the house... Checked it out when I got there and the cracks dont look worse that I could tell quickly checking but it was really clanking n rattling!! It hasn't moved since. I've found a bellhousing local to me that I'll go get this week.

What else should I check out while the trans is out? What are some other "good maintenance items" that are easier to knock out while the trans is out? Should I tear the trans down and check the clutches et al? Rear main seal? what else?


C-ya
 
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Turbo Buick 6

Turbo Buick 6

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Jun 28, 2007
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SmokeShow said:
And turbo buick, what are you talking about? If I replace the entire bell housing, I won't have any issues lining things up will I?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't think so. I was trying to say that its repairable right now but if it completely busts off it can be a real pain to fix and easier to just replace. Not sure how much a new one is but I would weld it.....but then again I'm cheap and it wouldn't cost me anything:)
 
SmokeShow

SmokeShow

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Well, the mounts have checked out alright according to the guy whose working on it now. While checking out the extent of the damage on the bellhousing some time back, I noticed the rear plate/cover on the engine had a piece chipped off. The guy working on it sent me a message last night saying it (the plate/cover) on the back of the engine was pretty F'd up. :(


So, if I assume the worse and the plate needs to be swapped out, can that be done from the back with the engine still in the truck or does the engine have to come out? And if the engine has to come out, how far down does the engine have to be taken to replace that back cover?


This sucks! :mad:
 
ripmf666

ripmf666

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SmokeShow said:
Well, the mounts have checked out alright according to the guy whose working on it now. While checking out the extent of the damage on the bellhousing some time back, I noticed the rear plate/cover on the engine had a piece chipped off. The guy working on it sent me a message last night saying it (the plate/cover) on the back of the engine was pretty F'd up. :(


So, if I assume the worse and the plate needs to be swapped out, can that be done from the back with the engine still in the truck or does the engine have to come out? And if the engine has to come out, how far down does the engine have to be taken to replace that back cover?


This sucks! :mad:
Click to expand...


flywheel has to come off and you know already you need to replace those 14mm hex bolts. then lower oil pan needs removed to get 2 bolts out to rear cover motor can stay in the truck. I would want pics of what they say is screwed up on the rear cover its not a cheap part and kinda hard to get screwed up with out someone doing it.
 
SmokeShow

SmokeShow

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As soon as I seen the cover was chipped, I located one for a good price. I just never purchased it because I didn't know for sure if I'd need it... I'm curious as to what extent the cover is messed up as well... I haven't heard back from the guy (he has a reg. full-time job. He's a sled puller and just works on these trucks in the evenings for a little extra income - I trust his work at this point) on the extent of the damage and whether or not he thinks it needs to be replaced.



This whole ordeal just blows my mind. No bad u-joints, no bad engine or trans. mounts as far as can tell, nothing had been wrong with trans. and there just doesn't seem to be any reason why the bellhousing would break. I'm thinking if the rear cover is shot, it's gotta be because the bell cracked and let things move and make contact where they shouldn't. :confused:


henry, actually I'm not sure which bolts you are referring to that I would need to replace in the event that I have to replace this rear cover.

While it seems it CAN be done with the engine in the truck, I'm wondering if it'd be easier to remove the engine and do it out of the truck or is it really not a big deal with the trans. outta the way? :confused:
 
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super diesel

super diesel

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May 14, 2007
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The turbo drain bolts have to be removed as well as the oil cooler. The upper oil pan has to be removed too because it has dowels in it to the back plate and the back plate has dowels into the block. Easier to remove the motor to do it unfortunately. You can unscrew the turbo drain bolt studs from back plate if you don't remove he tube but it's a son of a gun to reseal correct. I hope it's some thing that can be fixed with out going this far (needed?). Good luck Mitch.
 
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