Stupid question for you guys

[98k2500]

You'd need to take the trans, and the additional piece to a machine shop. They're the only ones who can answer that question.
We certainly can't weld it through the internets...

Thanks Nad.. I was just curious if anyone knew if it was possible or could be repaired. Sometimes other people have ran into similar situations so didn't think it would hurt to ask. Certainly didn't expect anyone to be able to weld through the internet, lol. Thanks for the helpful reply though.

 

[98k2500]

How many miles on the trans?

Not 100% sure. The truck has about 225k on it and if I had to bet its the original trans and never had any work done to it

 

[98k2500]

Thats cast aluminum. A pretty difficult weld to begin with.
And it is highly likely that cracks radiated through the casting before that chunk broke off.
Aluminum castings do not like to bend.
If this was a big money racing transmission and I need a couple of more runs out of it.
I would pull the torque converter, stick a chunk of fire blanket inside the bellhousing, torque it back to the block then backgouge the hell out of the broken part and hope I could get at it with a spool gun after I preheated it and tried not to light myself on fire while I washed it down with acetone before each pass.
Aluminum instantly corrodes.
The minute air hits it
If It was a bone stock transmission that I just rebuilt, I would try to get a boneyard case and swap the parts.
It its a high miler?
It isnt worth what you will have to pay a good welder to try to fix it.
A good time to rip it down and learn how a transmission works.

This is good thought Thinger. I have never dug into a tranny before but gotta start some where. I will consider this and start looking for a used one while I'm rebuilding the engine. Thanks!

 

[Erik the Awful]

I would pull the torque converter,

You have to pull the transmission to pull the converter, so you might as well drop the transmission out to weld it. If you have a spare block, I'd bolt it up to keep it aligned for welding.

As rusty as that piece is, I think it's been broken for a while. Your only mistake is not spotting it after you pulled the engine.

Is your transmission anything special? Is it recently rebuilt? Is there any reason you wouldn't just toss it aside and throw in a junkyard transmission or a fully built transmission? If not, I'd toss it. If you do a transmission rebuild, about half the parts inside get replaced. I think the case is the most valuable part.

 

[thinger2]

You have to pull the transmission to pull the converter, so you might as well drop the transmission out to weld it. If you have a spare block, I'd bolt it up to keep it aligned for welding.

As rusty as that piece is, I think it's been broken for a while. Your only mistake is not spotting it after you pulled the engine.

Is your transmission anything special? Is it recently rebuilt? Is there any reason you wouldn't just toss it aside and throw in a junkyard transmission or a fully built transmission? If not, I'd toss it. If you do a transmission rebuild, about half the parts inside get replaced. I think the case is the most valuable part.

Yep. If it was a big buck trans I wouldnt hesitate to try and weld it.
If the bellhousing doesnt have any other cracks running out from the break you could grind a bevel on both sides of the break and bolt it back to the block and bolt the broken part back in place.
Heat it all with a rosebud and lay a few 1 inch stitch root passes and let it get cold.
Backgouge and rosebud again and fill the stiches and let it cool, etc...
Pretty much an all day heat and cool multi pass weld
It has to bolted up just to keep it all flat and true.
If you try to weld that back with the trans loose its very difficult to keep that chunk from moving around and just a little bit off can cause it to snap again when you torque it.
All of this requires a pretty good mig and, unless you really hate life, a spool gun.
And some experiance welding cast aluminum
Its one of those situations where you can probably make it work with about a 3 grand investment.
But it isnt worth paying someone else to do it.
And, even if it does all work out, You still have a case that isnt worth rebuilding.

 

[thinger2]

This is good thought Thinger. I have never dug into a tranny before but gotta start some where. I will consider this and start looking for a used one while I'm rebuilding the engine. Thanks!

There is a Youtube channel I think its "Precission transmissions" or something close to that?
They have some pretty good videos on teardowns and what to look for.
One of the most important parts of a trans rebuild is keeping everything spotless.
No dirt no grit no chunks of paper towel no rag lint no cigar ashes nothing.
It kinda cracks me up a bit when I watch people get all nutted up and loose their minds with an engine rebuild but they leave the transmission upside down with the pan off for a year and wonder why it fails.
Might have been the beer you spilled in it, Maybe the bean burrito,
Could be the rat turds.

 

[kennythewelder]

That can be welded, but, you need to pull the trans to do a proper job. Cast aluminum welds just fine. TIG is what it needs to be welded with and a 5356 TIG rod. No need to preheat.

 

[98k2500]

That can be welded, but, you need to pull the trans to do a proper job. Cast aluminum welds just fine. TIG is what it needs to be welded with and a 5356 TIG rod. No need to preheat.

Thanks again for all of the information. I appreciate all of the help and tips.

 

[Captainfab]

Yes that trans case is weldable. I have done it a few times. Your biggest issue will be finding someone that has a clue how to weld aluminum. For some reason most welders these days don't know how to weld aluminum.

 

[kennythewelder]

Yes that trans case is weldable. I have done it a few times. Your biggest issue will be finding someone that has a clue how to weld aluminum. For some reason most welders these days don't know how to weld aluminum.

I guess it depends on where you live. We have a lot of boat builders within a 100 mile radius of where I live, so there are a lot of aluminum welders around. That being said, aluminum is the hardest metal to weld, and even harder to master. You may try a local machine shop, or a shop that has welders that weld aluminum for a living. A shop that builds things out of aluminum, will employ a true aluminum welder. A proper aluminum repair needs to be done by an aluminum welder. This is not a task for a shade tree welder. A machine shop that does aluminum work, should have a welder or 2 or so on staff that can do aluminum fab and repair work.