Cracked transmission housing

[Aaron_Greer]

So, our 01 Jetta TDI manual had an unfortunate meeting with a curb this morning. I had covered the original belly pan with sheet metal long ago so the good news is the oil pan was not damaged. Unfortunately the transmission housing has multiple cracks, see pics:




I haven't seen any other photos on here but have read about cracked transmission housings. I assume that I will need to buy a manual transmission or would it be possible to buy just the bell housing and repair the transmission? Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Aaron

 

[Sbeghan]

Buy a 2.0 manual transmission from a scrap yard. Swap bellhousing. Should cost you $100 plus shipping.
Or pay $400 for a TDI trans.
Or bondo?

 

[ItAintRodKnock]

Buy a 2.0 manual transmission from a scrap yard. Swap bellhousing. Should cost you $100 plus shipping.
Or pay $400 for a TDI trans.
Or bondo?

First option isn't bad, and if gone that route you can scrap the rest of the tranny and old bell housing for a Hardee's burger or something.

 

[Aaron_Greer]

Thanks for the prompt replies. The bell housing swap out is the first thing I thought of, pretty big job though. I would JB weld the cracks but I would be concerned those cracks would just continue thru the case over time.

 

[Sbeghan]

Well, JB weld will cost $10 and an hour at the most. Try it and monitor fluid levels. If it works it works and saves you hundreds of dollars and a lot of time.

 

[jimbote]

Buy a 2.0 manual transmission from a scrap yard. Swap bellhousing. Should cost you $100 plus shipping.
Or pay $400 for a TDI trans.
Or bondo?

not as easy as it sounds to do it properly.... swapping bell housings requires reshimming of both the pinion and the differential .... simply swapping parts will reduce bearing life, gear life and could result in a noisy transmission that machines itself to powder in just a few miles....

 

[turboboost1]

If you go the JB Weld route, you need to drill small holes at the ends of each crack to keep it from propagating.

 

[Lightflyer1]

There was a thread here recently about some kind of aluminum repair that you could do with a normal torch and seemed to work very well.

Something like this:

http://www.aluminumrepair.com/?gcli...ZnRlxSzDx7ineTDozquR7Rqp1HqT-8sBfIaApys8P8HAQ

 

[Sbeghan]

The "easy" aluminum fix is a bar of zinc, you're basically soldering the aluminum with zinc. Doesn't work out all that great and will prevent you from ever welding it. Welding it properly is a feasible option. I would consider aluminum stick as well as MIG or TIG. Just go fast, do a couple inches at a time and stop to let it cool down before continuing.

If you're going to trash it anyway give it a try to fix in place. If it doesn't work, you're not out much.

 

[Aaron_Greer]

If you go the JB Weld route, you need to drill small holes at the ends of each crack to keep it from propagating.

Yes this is exactly what I was thinking of doing. I am concerned that the cracks will propagate just the same as there are several and the area is load bearing. I appreciate all the responses. I am going to clean it up really well to be sure but I think I will try the surface fix (with stress relief holes) to prevent crap from getting inside and just keep an eye on it.

 

[AndyBees]

Drive it!

From what I saw in the pics, the crack is not in an area involving the transmission oil. The balance of the bolts securing the tranny to the engine will hold it just fine. The crack was impact imposed and will not affect support of the transmission to the engine.

JB Weld would be of no benefit with respect to strengthening! If the cracks were in the area of transmission oil, JB Weld would be helpful but would require a tremendous amount of preparation!

 

[hughesjasonk]

Have you thought about having the cracks tig welded? and like some one else suggested i would also drill holes at each end of the crack then fill it while welding up the crack.

 

[turbocharged798]

Personally I would swap the bell housing. Put in new diff bearings and reset the preload while you in there.

 

[CoolAirVw]

I'll second what jimbote said... not every DIY'er can change a bellhousing successfully. But pulling it out and having someone weld the cracks might be a good option, or even if you know someone who will weld it in the car that might work also.

Also someone above estimates $400 for a used trans. That is unrealistically low. I usually pay at least double that. If anyone has tdi specific 02J GOOD USED 5 speed for $400 I'll take every one you got. I'll even buy the broken ones (for less of course).

 

[d2305]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ACYV6dJTbk might work.

 

[CoolAirVw]

Oh and order you a skid plate... (link below)

http://shopping.boraparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=198

 

[jay.sejkora2011]

So. My 09 Sportwagen bellhousing

Contemplating swapping my 06 BRM DSG into my 09 after I saw this. At first thought, I figured the transmission would be toast. After further investigation, it may be salvageable. Need an opinion from a pro obviously...
The transmission has been hard shifting for a couple of weeks. Bucking. Reverse has been a trouble spot as well. I went ahead and started looking at the Mach unit but once i got under it to change my oil today I found a giant crack in my Bell housing.. Hoping that I can swap something here and be better off in the long run.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fHMuLL2bp9A57fS-doYBzMwj737MfoYf/view?usp=sharing