'79 cj7 Bellhousing.

[jafo]

Was on way to work this week when the jeep made a clunk sound, clutch pedal went to floor and the jeep lurched and died. Luckily it happened right in front of the house so it was easy to get back to the garage. Looking under at the bellcrank assembly, all intact. Traced it on back to the bracket on the bellhousing. There it was, the bellhousing that holds the bracket broke out in a chunk. There was only normal resistance on the pedal, no binding. So I am currently looking for a bellhousing. (Smh)

 

[cglax6]

There was a recent post on something similar...cracked off bolt hole from a bellhousing. You might be able to fine someone to fix it if you know of any trusted shops, but it'll probably be easier to call your favorite Jeep yard or check car-parts on the interwebs for a new-to-you bellhousing.

Either way, that sucks! Ton of work and tear-down just to replace the damn thing.

My condolences!

 

[jafo]

Thanks. It's a bummer for sure. I have an offer in on a nice used one. Just waiting for a response. I just don't know if I would trust a repaired one. Might be better might not. I know when it gets swapped, I am going to take a good look at the design and see if I can improve the reinforcement at that point on the housing. Probably with a bracket of some kind.

 

[jafo]

Ok. Got under and ascertained the damage. Pulled a chunk exactly where the bellcrank bolts to the housing. It tappered off at the edge of the top bolt hole. Sheared off the top bolt head. So I have to get the threaded part of bolt out. I think I can build a functioning bracket much stronger than the original mounting design. I can utilize the two bottom bolts of the dust cover. I'll build an off set angle "L" shape bracket and thread the two top holes for the bellcrank bracket to bolt to. Then run the long length of the "L" bracket across the bottom of dust cover and use the bottom two bolts to secure it. I think I will also utilize the large hole on the corner at the bottom. That will give me three secure points. I'll be using thick flat strap mild steel. Best I can do, but I think it'll work. If this works, I think I will use it on the replacement hosuing as well.

 

[jafo]

Well I got the bracket built and installed. It wasn't to bad a deal. Cutting and drilling 3/8 thick steel was a small chore for home tools but we got it. So far clutch feels smoother. This bad boy is going on when we do thw Transmission swap this winter. We'll see how durable now. I had one hole still threaded at the top of the bellcrank bracket, so that helped. But here is some pics..... also note, had to cut a corner out of bracket for rod clearance going back to fork.

 

[mtnwhlr]

Heck yea that should work good. Nice work.

 

[Torxhead]

Yeah that's a pretty neat fix you did there, Jafo. There is another bolt that you can attach to above the bellcrank pivot point that you can use if there are any issues. I am sure you noticed that though. Good idea!

 

[jafo]

Thanks all.

So far so good. I have drove it maybe 15 miles now. Worked perfectly. I figured if it needed it, there should be a few different points where I could also add a brace.

It definitely changed my clutch pedal a little. I need to play with it some more to get the right feel. The 3/8 strap was just a little thinner than the original housing. So it through off the clutch p3dal adjustment a little.

 

[jafo]

Just an update. I drove it prettyuch the rest of the weekend and no problems. Checked the welds, cause I'm a tad rusty. Bolts still tight and all welds look good. Got the clutch adjusted out where I like it and it seems much smoother than before .

Here is my thought on what caused all this. I have made my cj my primary driver all summer. I notices the top bolt of the bracket was missing the bolt head. I think it must have been like that gor a short time before it broke the bellhousing. It was primarily being held on by the lower bolt. So it just finally gave out and took a chunk out of the bellhousing. I will form now on watch my bolta a little closer. These things rattle and bang off bumps and it can rattle bolts loose. So I already keep an eye on suspension fastners, I'll just add this to the list.

 

[JimsCJ5]

Nice fix. We had something similar but I made a brace out of sheet stock to spread the force. When we replace the bellhousing I think we'll still keep the bracket. The stock set-up seems to be a weak point.