I worked on a 5.9L Cummins that had had several flexplates then the guy brought it to me and i discovered that the thrust bearing had broken and part of it fell out causing the crank to walk back and forth.
ya the welding thing was a joke and i have seen a 7.3 with such bad thrust bearings that the crank hit the block/main caps and made a heavy knock sound ( hay how about tack welding the bolt to the flexplate ???? another joke ya I like welding things together ):rofl::joker::joker: