2G New to the forum bellhousing crack

[Korangatang]

Hey guys new to the forum but this is my 6th dsm. I just picked up a mint 95 tsi awd with 108 on the clock. It's a 5 speed with power everything. 16g, Front mount, full straight pipe 3 inch, injen intake, basic bolt ons. Got it for a legit steal with a set of tenzo rims with kumos in great condition.

Now my issue.

The bellhousing is cracked. Right on the top of the trans where one of the bolts goes into the block it's cracked in the shape of a V. It stretches about an inch and a half and nearly symmetrical on both sides. The old owner just had a new clutch in with paperwork with just a few thousand on it. My guess something wasn't aligned and cracked it. The car won't go into a gear when running. You can see the crack pull slightly away from itself when you press in the clutch pedal. My guess is it won't release causing it to not go into gear. You can start the car in gear but can't get out of it. What should I do? Drop it and get it tig welded and cross my fingers? Or go to jdmdepot which is just north of me and grab a tranny for 500. Let me know. Either way this car starts and idle great and a real head Turner. Turns mine at least.

 

[miguelmcv]

I would get it off and weld it,,, You can even open the tranny to see how it looks, if all looks good, then go with it, if it doesn't looks good, then you can go ahead and get a replacement.

 

[bryanwheat]

If it is welded properly than it will work fine. You need to find out why this happened in the first place. It is likely because of lack of dowels or a missing bellhousing bolt. The only way that I have found to correctly weld a bellhousing is with the trans bolted to the block and torqued down. If you weld it off and it isn't 100 percent straight than it will crack when you torque the bellhousing.

 

[92AWDHX40]

It can be welded.

 

[jayson427]

If you can find a really good weld shop they should be able to weld it true so it doesn't crack again. It has to be heli arched for it to actually stick and not break down the road. When I had mine welded I unbolted it and took just the bellhousing to the shop and reinstalled it. I've put over 7k miles on it with no cracks or issues.

 

[Korangatang]

I'm going to weld it. When the car is off I can put it into gear but there is play. I looked further into it and noticed that the one shifter lever(what is this called? It's what the linkage attaches to on the transmission) hits the coolant hose and doesn't seem like it would let it stay into gear.

 

[91-GS]

Have same issue with a spare tranny. Someone said that before welding it is a good idea to drill a small hole right on the end of the crack. The hole will prevent the crack from spreading and would ensure that you welded all of the crack.

 

[Korangatang]

Got the transmission out earlier. It was way too snowy and cold and dark to really look at anything and I needed to thaw out. But, there were only 3 bolts holding the transmission in. Somebody remind me how many there are supposed to be? ( not including the starter, I dont think that holds it on anyway. )

 

[ervin00]

Yes you can weld cast aluminum, I have welded plenty of stuff in the past from bell-housings to blocks and rear ends. Just make sure that the surface is clean and make a nice v-groove for the weld, and as previously stated drill a small hole on the ends of the crack.

 

[hotrodssnova]

Remember, jdm transmissions are a different final drive. Putting this out here for future searches.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Ive had mine weled twice in two different locations worked great.

 

[diambo4life]

I would have to really trust the welder....to get that welded. Normally, I would just swap out the bellhousing..... Most DSMrs have a spare trans or two sitting around for "parts" .

 

[Korangatang]

Do you guys think I made a good investment at $2000?

 

[Kod]

Just a reference as stated above this happened in my gst with the old trans because friend didnt put the dowels in and when someone revved it to 6k blew it apart along with the starter.

 

[lasershark]

Do you guys think I made a good investment at $2000?

If the tranny/bellhousing crack is the only issue then I would say it is a steal. I probably would have bought it too but then again I wouldn't get to drive it cause my wife would either kill me or steal it since I already have two dsm's

 

[Korangatang]

Okay good news got the car back together and it starts right up. Has a great idle. Now my issue(of course).

You touch the gas it dies.

If I baby the throttle it might rev up. I was able to get it rolling in first gear and reverse but that's it.

20 on vac 14.5 volts.

It literally idles perfectly at 700-800 couldn't even tell it's running. What should I look at?


To add: I was able to rev It freely before pulling the trans.

 

[bryanwheat]

Sounds like an intercoolers hose is not connected of the Maf us not plugged in.

 

[Korangatang]

Sounds like an intercoolers hose is not connected of the Maf us not plugged in.

Sounds good I'll take a look. My partner did the intercooler and such so there's a chance something isn't hooked up correctly. Any other opinions please throw them my way.

Took the intake off and noticed a port that never got plugged. Plugged it and it really didn't do much. I put fresh gas in last night. I ended up letting it idle and then I got it to rev freely. My guess is the injectors were just dirty? Car sat for a while before I got it.

I got the intake off and noticed a port not blocked off causing a leak. Capped it off and it didn't help much. I let it idle more and eventually I was able to free rev it. Put fresh gas in it last night so maybe that was old gas burning off or a clogged injector(s).

 

[Korangatang]

Found a leak on the intake. Capped it. Now it revs freely at operating temp. Sometimes stalls after 4k. Any ideas what issue or sensor to look at.

Edit: didn't notice this merged with the previous post