cracks!

[hotrod ford]

i removed my insp plate today to look inside of the bell. my flt wheel is pitted in many areas and some of fly whell nuts are chewed up. when i put the plate back on and cleaned up the bell i saw these.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x115 ... 1203899063

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x115 ... 1203899096

now the cracks are in the bell. what caused them and how long will i be able to use it until it starts fallin apart?

[390Nut]

Clutch disk in backwards, would be my guess. The springs hit the bolts if it is installed the wrong way.

As for how long it will hold up, the better question to ask is, where do you want to be when it lets go? In your driveway for an easy place to fix, or on the side of the highway waiting for a tow truck?

[hotrod ford]

this is an automatic now. i'm just tryin to figure out why it is pitted. is there a chance water can get in there some how?

[390Nut]

Well, it looked like you said flywheel, so I assumed clutch and manual tranny. What you have is a flexplate, but not being familiar with autos, I'll leave it to someone else, but I'll hazard a guess that something wasn't bolted on right.

Sorry, I know it's not much help.

Someone else WILL be able to help though, I'm sure.

[hotrod ford]

yeah, after being up for 24 hrs of duty and then comin home to be up with the family and workin on your truck you would probably say almost anythin that come to your mind first!

[hotrod ford]

so it's the FLEXPLATE thats pitted. what has caused this?

[fordman]

those cracks looks like someone used too long of bolts to hold the plate on with. were all of your nuts tight? or did you tighten them to make sure i should say. to have the nuts chewed up something would had to have been in there rubbing on the nuts to chew them up.

[hotrod ford]

the bolts go into the the bell, it is threaded so the bolts go into it. as for the chewed up nuts i could'nt find any broken metal behind the plate. i don't know what is causing this noise when i go down the road. it's always when i get on the gas to speed up.

[fordman]

if the nuts were loose they would cause a noise. i dont know if its the noise you are hearing. i guess if the flexplate was put on backwards it could cause the nuts to rub on the back of the engine. that could cause a noise and the chewing of the nuts. and those bolts that are threaded could just have been too long for the holes they were in. i think 3/4 bolts is the longest they should have been.

[Wes]

Ford flex plates do crack around the bolt crank bolt circle,
I have seen them crack all the way around make a hell of noise.
The crack in second pic doesn't look to bad is bottom of bell housing ?Is it across inspection plate bolt hole ? can't figure out the 1st picture

[hotrod ford]

those cracks are both on the bell. 1st one is on the bottom and 2nd is on the side. i'll have to take a pic of flex plate. give me a day or two. hopefully saturday i will be gettin a better tranny.