Bell housing crack

[Anonymous-0]

I finished painting the "frame" of my TO30 this weekend and while moving it out of the paint room, I dropped it. I was carring it with another tractor w/front loader and a chain came unhooked and the bell housing hit the concrete and cracked it. I spot welded it as best I could but you know welding cast is not a good idea. The crack is on the bottom and if it never gets any worse I could live with it. Most of the stress is on the top of the housing where the engine bolt on.
Have any of you had any experience with anything similar? Is there something else I should do before I bolt the engine on?
Thanks,
Lou

 

[Anonymous-0]

My dad did essentially the same thing to his 35 back in the 70's and he silver soldered it. The silver is strong and the soldering temperature is low enough the cast iron doesn't become brittle like it does with welding. His repair was still holding when he sold it 10 years later which was also when he told me what he had done (he didn't like to volunteer that he made a mistake but when it worked so well he had to admit it before he could brag on it...).

 

[Tim in Tenn.]

The same thing happend to me. The first thing I did was put a pipe vise on the bell housing and pulled the crack tight. Then I drilled a small hole at the end of the crack to prevent it from cracking further. I took a small grinder and ground a groove along the crack, inside and out. Then I filled the crack with JB weld. I let it set up for a few days. I sanded the outside and primed and painted it. You coudn't tell it was ever cracked. After you bolt it to your engine block it will be fine

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thanks Tim, I was thinking about JB Weld and I appreciate you sharing your experience, now I know it will work. Great.
Lou

 

[Anonymous-0]

Thanks Don, I never thought about soldering it. I'll give that a try. Thanks!
Lou