Cracked Tranny Case - Repairable?

[JBLACK]

So long story short, cracked tranny case, non leaking.

My insurance company was originally going pay to have it replaced, but now they are just wanting it to be repaired.

The crack goes all the way through the case to the interior, but it is non-leaking.

The case was pulled and sent to a racing shop locally(Brinks, Irving,TX) to have it repaired / welded back together.

The body shop is telling me that this is the better option because if they had to replace the case there would be a lot more work involved and the tranny guts would have to be re-shimmed etc. (which since I'm not a tranny specialist I have no idea what they are talking about)

So now to the question.
Am I being fed a load of garbage here, and should I push to have the case completely replaced.
-or -
Should I just let it ride and talk to the mechanic putting it all back together in order to get a warm fuzzy feeling?

thx

 

[comtec]

So long story short, cracked tranny case, non leaking.

My insurance company was originally going pay to have it replaced, but now they are just wanting it to be repaired.

The crack goes all the way through the case to the interior, but it is non-leaking.

The case was pulled and sent to a racing shop locally(Brinks, Irving,TX) to have it repaired / welded back together.

The body shop is telling me that this is the better option because if they had to replace the case there would be a lot more work involved and the tranny guts would have to be re-shimmed etc. (which since I'm not a tranny specialist I have no idea what they are talking about)

So now to the question.
Am I being fed a load of garbage here, and should I push to have the case completely replaced.
-or -
Should I just let it ride and talk to the mechanic putting it all back together in order to get a warm fuzzy feeling?

thx

Why are you getting a transmission fixed at a bodyshop? I would think it would be cheeper to get a used transmission than to get a new case and have someone rebuild it with the parts from your old transmission. IMO a transmission is a high stress part and should not be welded to fix a crack, it should be replaced. Not sure on the nsx but i think it is a aluminum housing and that is more of a reason to not repair it. Just my opinion and i am sure other people will respond with theirs.

Good luck

 

[JBLACK]

Why are you getting a transmission fixed at a bodyshop?
Good luck

Mostly because all the suspension is being replaced at the same time, and a front and back bumper being repainted.

I was rounding a blind corner about a month ago, and there was a semi-truck that had decided to park in the 1 lane turn lane that couldn't be seen until you were right there on him, and rather than slam into the back of the truck I choose the median, I was doing doing about 50 when we hit the median, we hit with enough force that it clean snapped all the wheels right off and cracked the tranny case, oddly enough though, no body damage which was quite odd.

So that's why the body shop is doing the work, although the tranny is being done by a mechanic, it's an Acura dealer doing all the work.

 

[comtec]

Mostly because all the suspension is being replaced at the same time, and a front and back bumper being repainted.

I was rounding a blind corner about a month ago, and there was a semi-truck that had decided to park in the 1 lane turn lane that couldn't be seen until you were right there on him, and rather than slam into the back of the truck I choose the median, I was doing doing about 50 when we hit the median, we hit with enough force that it clean snapped all the wheels right off and cracked the tranny case, oddly enough though, no body damage which was quite odd.

So that's why the body shop is doing the work, although the tranny is being done by a mechanic, it's an Acura dealer doing all the work.

Sorry to here that but at least you are ok. If it is a acura dealer and the insurance is paying I would tell them to replace the case. It sounds like they are wanting to have it welded because it is less work for them. From this statement

The body shop is telling me that this is the better option because if they had to replace the case there would be a lot more work involved and the tranny guts would have to be re-shimmed etc.

Better option (No) Easier option (yes)


Anyway, i am glad you were not hurt.

 

[clr1024]

So long story short, cracked tranny case, non leaking.

My insurance company was originally going pay to have it replaced, but now they are just wanting it to be repaired.

The crack goes all the way through the case to the interior, but it is non-leaking.

The case was pulled and sent to a racing shop locally(Brinks, Irving,TX) to have it repaired / welded back together.

The body shop is telling me that this is the better option because if they had to replace the case there would be a lot more work involved and the tranny guts would have to be re-shimmed etc. (which since I'm not a tranny specialist I have no idea what they are talking about)

So now to the question.
Am I being fed a load of garbage here, and should I push to have the case completely replaced.
-or -
Should I just let it ride and talk to the mechanic putting it all back together in order to get a warm fuzzy feeling?

thx

I would worry about distortion, welding anything concentrates heat at single point and as it cools it may distort, while this is not critical for many fabrication assemblies a part that is finished machined may lose its tolerance, twist or distort, while this may not be readily apparant it may causes internal parts to wear abnormally, rubs etc. I am not sure I would be happy with a rewelded tranny, unless I had some sort of warranty, certainly more than a year. Or if its proven that the damage internal to the tranny was because of the weld repair that they would be obliged to replace it with either a sourced used one of similar miles or a new one. This may be difficult to prove depending on how/if the tranny breaks. Sort of a which came first the chicken or the egg argument.

 

[JBLACK]

I would worry about distortion, welding anything concentrates heat at single point and as it cools it may distort, while this is not critical for many fabrication assemblies a part that is finished machined may lose its tolerance, twist or distort, while this may not be readily apparant it may causes internal parts to wear abnormally, rubs etc. I am not sure I would be happy with a rewelded tranny, unless I had some sort of warranty, certainly more than a year. Or if its proven that the damage internal to the tranny was because of the weld repair that they would be obliged to replace it with either a sourced used one of similar miles or a new one. This may be difficult to prove depending on how/if the tranny breaks. Sort of a which came first the chicken or the egg argument.

Yeah I was a little concerned with if down the line somewhere the tranny is damaged because of the weld will that be covered. My guess is much like what you said, chicken or egg.

 

[Briank]

We could use a little more info, do you have a picture. If the crack is just a mounting point or in the bell and not the main structure it could be no be deal.

 

[goldNSX]

why is there a crack in the tranny? Very unusual. Agree with Brain for pics.

 

[JBLACK]

We could use a little more info, do you have a picture. If the crack is just a mounting point or in the bell and not the main structure it could be no be deal.

I'm not sure where the crack is as I havn't seen it yet, so I don't have pics, I'm going to run out to the dealer here in a bit and see if they have already welded it back together. I'll get pics then and post my findings.

I was told that Curtis @ Goodson was the one working on it, and I've heard good things about him, so I'll see what he says.

 

[JBLACK]

why is there a crack in the tranny? Very unusual. Agree with Brain for pics.

That's where the curb hit I'm guessing, the bottom portion of the tranny casing, I'm not really sure as I havn't see it up on the lift, or the crack.

 

[JBLACK]

We could use a little more info, do you have a picture. If the crack is just a mounting point or in the bell and not the main structure it could be no be deal.

Okay, here's some pics. Unfortunately by the time I got there the work was all done. So this is what I could get of it.

 

[clr1024]

Where did they weld? I think you circled the end boss but not sure? How big was the crack, what weld process did they use? Assume TIG but did they skip weld rather than seam weld? There are ways to weld and minimize distortion but without before and after machine dimensions hard to tell if the part distorted. I guess you could have them check the machine features to the factory specs and make sure they fall within.

 

[JBLACK]

Unfortunately, by the time I got there the welding was done so I have no before pictures to go by. They said that it was seam welded with a TIG, but that's about all the info I have on it. One of those too little too late type deals.

 

[goldNSX]

Wow, that looks bad. Seems that the area was overloaded for some reason. Do you run FI, just wondering?

 

[Briank]

Looks like the bump out in the case to clear the shaft just got dented. IMHO it is a non structural part so the repair was a good solution.

 

[JBLACK]

Wow, that looks bad. Seems that the area was overloaded for some reason. Do you run FI, just wondering?

I'm going to say no to this as I'm not sure what you are referring to as FI?
You'll have to educate me on that one.

 

[JBLACK]

Looks like the bump out in the case to clear the shaft just got dented. IMHO it is a non structural part so the repair was a good solution.

What do you think the odds of that opening back up would be.
Slim to none? or is it something that should definitely have an eye kept on it?

 

[clr1024]

I'm going to say no to this as I'm not sure what you are referring to as FI?
You'll have to educate me on that one.

FI- Forced Induction, i.e. Turbo or Supercharger