Bell housing

[oregonduck14]

I am looking for a bell housing for a 1980 cj7 not finding anything in Portland area I have been told used are better than aftermarket new??? I may have gotten into something over my head as I am
a first time jeep owner. Thanks for any and all help.
Darren

 

[Saddle Tramp]

What's the mission for this Bell housing? Maybe there is an alternate.

 

[oregonduck14]

As dumb as this may make me sound,I don't know. I bought this jeep 3 weeks ago thinking it was sound I would drive this summer and learn how to work on it in the "off season". nothing appeared wrong with the test drive went through all the things that I knew to check. anyway started making some strange noises took it to my brother who is way more mechanical than I am and after some digging let me know the bad news.
So short answere, I will have to get a more detailed description of the situation. Sorry for rambling,Thanks again
Darren

 

[Saddle Tramp]

Darrin-

The reason I ask the question is if we know what equipment you have & where you are trying to go, it will allow the collective minds of this board to figure out your best options or what problem you might have. In Portland, OR there is no one source for used CJ parts and in fact I usually pick up what I'm looking for from private parties, Craig's list being the primary source these days with word of mouth second. Both Foster Auto Parts & Interstate Truck Parts on Foster will occasionally have a CJ or Wrangler they are parting out but it seems to be hit or miss and the good stuff always seems to go fast. For TJ parts there is a wrecking yard in Oregon City that only does TJs and can supply most anything used, if it's not already bent of course.

Also, Olympic 4x4 up is Issaquah, WA in the Seattle area has a big supply of used jeep parts but as time has past the CJ parts have gotten scarcer. Try this-

http://www.oly4x4.com/usedparts.php

Let's start with the particulars with your jeep. Is it stock? If not what does it have in it and tell us more about what seems to be wrong. What is the strange noise?

 

[BESRK]

It's also gonna depend on which engine you're running. In 1980, the GM Iron Duke was available. That has a GM bolt pattern. If it has a 6 cylinder, then it will have the AMC pattern. Also matters which transmission you have. The T4/T5 pattern isn't the same as a T176 although some of the bellhousings are "dimpled" for the alternate bolt pattern.

A bellhousing isn't something that normally breaks or wears out. Normally, a funny noise means that a moving part is acting up.. throwout bearing, transmission...etc. You really want to ID the problem before you start throwing money at it.

 

[oregonduck14]

The Piviot point for the clutch throwout arm is broken off we have not pulled the trans yet but looking through the arm hole it appears to be cast into the housing and not replaceable like the gm style but not sure. The engine is the amc 304 cant get a good look at the trans numbers to id it yet. Another question for the id of the trans is would it just say on the side t176 ect- or does it go by manufacturers code? The noise I assume is the throwout bearing itself or the pilot bearing seeing how the throwout arm is just flopping around inside the bell it could even be the arm. -Thanks again.

 

[SteelHeadz]

The Piviot point for the clutch throwout arm is broken off we have not pulled the trans yet but looking through the arm hole it appears to be cast into the housing and not replaceable like the gm style but not sure. The engine is the amc 304 cant get a good look at the trans numbers to id it yet. Another question for the id of the trans is would it just say on the side t176 ect- or does it go by manufacturers code? The noise I assume is the throwout bearing itself or the pilot bearing seeing how the throwout arm is just flopping around inside the bell it could even be the arm. -Thanks again.

The pivot ball for the fork is threaded in the bell housing, at least mine is. The pilot bearing is mounted on the center of the flywheel and crankshaft and its job is to keep the transmission input shaft centered and true to the crankshaft and will not affect the function of the clutch fork. The throw out bearing rides on the trans. input shaft sleeve to keep it true and centered to press evenly on the pressure plate release levers. If what your saying is that the fork is just flopping around in the bell housing, the possibilities of a component failure could be the throw out bearing causing the noise or in rare occassions , the pressure plate forks are sheared off where the t.out bearing pushes to release the clutch.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

1980 is the last year the AMC 304 was an option in a CJ so you most likely have a stock set up. This isn't terminal so there is no time like the present to get started on the repair before the weather turns nice and you want to wheel with the top down in the sun. Buy a shop manual, they have most of the OEMs available in reprint but Chilton's will do. The OEMs reprints cost about $80 but it will be worth it.

When you do this job safety comes first. You need to make sure you have the motor properly supported so it doesn't end up on your head then disconnect the drive lines (be sure to mark the yokes of the axels, xcase, and drivelines so you put them back exactly as you took them out as they are a balanced system), disconnect the transmission mount & torque stud from the skid plate, drop the plate (motor must be supported before the skid plate is dropped) and pull the transmission/xcase from the bell housing (a transmission jack is helpful, they are heavy). Then you can pull the bell housing to see for sure what you need.

You could get out of this pickle for next to nothing but a worst it shouldn't be too much. It is a good time to change the clutch if it has any wear at all.

Welcome to Jeep'n!

 

[Keith__C]

In my search for a final drivetrain solution (I'm going all Ford (393W/T18/NP205/D44 and still a toss up between the 8.8 and a 9") I'd offer you my bellhousing but I do not know what i am going to do with the 304/3 speed/D18 as of yet. I remember a website where I'm pretty sure it said that the FE (352/360/390) Ford bellhousing can be used with the AMC motors w/minor modification (not sure whether it was early or late model versions of the amc motors. I am not sure if this is true or not, however it would make sense as FE motors use a round bellhousing and the starter location would be on the proper side. Ford and AMC used pretty much the same transmissions over the years so the transmission side whould bolt right on.--IF this is true it would make it a lot easier to find a bellhousing, could probably find an early 70's beater truck with a T-18 and call Novak for the t-case adapter