clutch throw out bearing sleeve broken on 350

[cwheat]

Hello,

Have a 350 with straight transmission, clutch, no reverser, and a gas burner. Bad luck pulling engine to fix a clutch plate rusted to the flywheel, shaft came out with the engine and got in a bad angle and popped the sleeve that is mounted in the bell housing and transmission tube off. This is the sleeve that the throw out bearing and casting slides on to activate the pressure plate. It is broken off about a half inch or so behind where the casting has to slide so the weld would not be in the way for it to work if it was positioned close enough to true to work right. Has any one had any luck welding this piece. It appears to be either cast steel or cast iron and could be welded where it would hold with 680 stainless rods.. Just wondering if anyone has tried this and succeeded. I am tempted to try because it is ruined anyway and if it works it would save a tremendous amount of extra work to get to the part and make a new one.

Thanks,

Charles

[Lavoy]

In that particular piece, I might be inclined to try bronze, wondering if it might be a little less brittle.
Lavoy

[cwheat]

Thanks for the reply Lavoy,

I found an inspection port in the middle tube that I did not know was there, and I got to the bolts that hold the sleeve and removed it. I have got it out where I can put a bolt through it and clamp it good and hold it true. I think you may be right about brazing it. Welding would make it more brittle and the engine vibration etc. that it would have to endure may would be a problem. I will just have to v it out and leave enough of the original metal so it will stay clamped in position with the bolt while brazing up the crack. If I was going to arc weld it with stainless I was planning to v out three places about a half inch or so long and tack it back together to hold it, then v out the rest of the crack and weld it up. That would make it easier to be sure it did not move and would ensure full penetration of the casting. I would be afraid to trust three small brazed up places to hold it due to having to heat it up to finish brazing the rest of it. It may would melt the three tacks and let it fall apart. Worst case if I ruin it I can fabricate one out of steel and put it in. Hopefully it will work out. Thanks again.

[jtrichard]

i would do the 3 vs and hit those with stainless then v out the rest and braze it then it cant "move" while brazing the rest

[Lavoy]

I have some high PSI bronze that the maker claims you can basically "sweat" into a crack and make it as strong or stronger joint than veeing and welding. I personally can not do it, they want it close to white or blue hot (can't remember which) to do it, and by the time I get it that hot, I end up wrecking the part. I still use the rod just like regular bronze, it is still supposed to be something like 50,000 PSI tensile strength vs I think 35,000 for regular bronze.
Lavoy

[cwheat]

I ran a piece of 1 inch all thread through the hole and clamped the two pieces together and it seemed to go back together as is was originally so I cut three vees in the crack and brazed them up leaving three approximately one half inch places that I did not vee out holding the load of the clamp bolt and keeping the broken sleeve in position. Then I veed out the three places that I left to start with and brazed them up. It looks good but after it cooled off I took two squares and checked each end for square with each other there is about a sixteenth of an inch or so on a 12 inch square blade that the sleeve extension of off with the bolt flange. Wonder how much this can be off before it affects clutch chattering? I think all it would do is put the throw out bearing at a very slight angle to the clutch fingers and it may not matter too much. There may be enough slop in the slide fit of the throw out bearing casting to take some of it up too. Tomorrow I am going to try and shim the flange and straighten up the sleeve as much as I can so the throw out bearing housing will be square with the clutch fingers if I can get a good measurement off the bell housing face where the engine bolts up to. This turned into a major malfunction because of breaking that sleeve assembly. Thanks for all the input.

Charles

[Lavoy]

If you have a lathe, or access to one, you should be able to hold the tube, and face the flange so it is perpendicular to the tube.
Lavoy

[cwheat]

Thanks again for your interest Lavoy. I do have a small lathe and will do that tomorrow. That is the simplest fix for this and it probably will not take much to true it up. It will also be much easier than trying to shim the flange up in the housing. Thanks again for the input.

Charles

[Lavoy]

No problem.
Lavoy