I'm going through attempting to clean out and consolidate. Never run a standard shift and any auto trans case issues I've ever had have been in aluminum and I felt comfortable either just drilling out or welding up. So looking for general consensus on whether or not a broken off ear on the dowel alignment hole would be a cause for concern. No broken mounting bolt ears,just the outer piece of the dowel area in 1 side. Nothing I'd imagine being in a high stress area like a trans mount or around the clutch fork or pivot ball area. Part of me says not a problem if there are no cracks radiating away from the missing piece and not a structural issue per se. The other side says if it's compromised it's probably best not to chance having someone use it. Even with 60s GM parts drying up I can't imagine there aren't a multitude of identical ones available without any issues at all. Have done a few searches for similar threads and have found a few that were asking about welds and whatnot or damage in other areas just not in the same spot. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
I can't imagine it would be a problem. There is enough of the hole to take care of the alignment. Probably got broke off from someone trying to remove a stuck housing by prying on it. They can stick to the alignment pins and be tricky to remove without damage. There should be no stress on that hole at all. Clean it up and use it.
Thanks for the replies. May put it in the "to be blasted" pile and see how it turns out. I'm kind of figuring I've been overthinking that spot a bit more than needed. Possible some of my caution is based upon never having run a stick and the horror stories I've heard about structural or alignment issues.
Most problematic issue that would arise is if the bellhousing is not close to being centered to the crankshaft. A good rule of thumb if you think it is off is to check it with dial indicator. FYI the do make offset dowel pins.
The HAMB never fails! Great humor! Oh, run the bellhousing! No problem there! While working on the line, I routinely ran into bell housing bolts missing, usually the ones hard to get to. I have seen as many as three bolts missing and no problem attributed to the missing bolts. Remember there are usually six bolts at a one foot radius on the bellhousing and only four bolts on the transmission at about four/five inch radius! And I have seen as many as two of the transmission bolts missing! Now I do not recommend less bolts, mind ya, and I know this is a broken alignment hole. Just giving some perspective! Bones
and if someone is one the ground looking at it, and says something ,kick him in the nuts............. jus sayin.............................................
The Henrob torch I have been using for about 18 years will weld it quick and easy. None of my cast iron welds have ever broken and you can grind, drill and tap the Henrob welds. Plus the welds are good looking, they dont look like post #5
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