Flywheel Housing Cracked

2000 reg Mpi with 20k miles.
I have removed the flywheel housing to clean as the car has stood for 5 years.
And discovered that the housing has a crack. It doent look like a new crack. I have not at any point dropped or wacked this.
There is no appearence of the crack on the inside (where the bottom bearing sits) as you can see from one of the pics there are several 'stress' cracks in the ally.

Should i be overly worried. Do i need a new one.
I have never taken one of these apart before. Some times things like this are "oh yeah everyones are like this"...are they?
https://www.flickr.c...2/shares/06t0sY

Thanks

I have certainly never seen one like this before, and I wouldn't use it myself. Are you the only owner? If not, I wonder if your car has ever had a shunt? Or someone has clouted it with a hammer rather than a rubber mallet? There's some pretty extensive cracking. 

 

My advice would be look for a better MPi one and change the idler bearing. Make sure that you carefully measure the idler gear clearance and shim accordingly.

Looks more Like casting flash to me on that picture.

+1 for casting flash

If they are cracks I'd expect to see them on the opposing side of the casting.

Something else you could do to check is hang the casing up and give it a tap - it should ring if it's intact

Edited by KTS, 29 November 2020 - 05:27 PM.

There is a non-destructive test which can be carried out. It uses a fluid called Ardrox and an ultra-violet light (from memory of a long time ago). There are other dye-penetrant fluid which could work.

If you can find a small light aircraft maintenance facility, like a local airfield might have, they could possibly do the test.

If it was actually cracked it might have been expected to leak oil.

There is a non-destructive test which can be carried out. It uses a fluid called Ardrox and an ultra-violet light (from memory of a long time ago). There are other dye-penetrant fluid which could work.

If you can find a small light aircraft maintenance facility, like a local airfield might have, they could possibly do the test.

If it was actually cracked it might have been expected to leak oil.

 

https://www.ebay.co....N8aAoLfEALw_wcB

Thanks, really appreciate the advice. I did hang it and give it a tap and it does sound ok, there is a 'ring' rather than a 'thud'
I will get some testing fluid and see hiw we go.
I want to make sure its OK before i set about cleaning it or spending 150quid on a new one.

Thanks again.

Thanks, really appreciate the advice. I did hang it and give it a tap and it does sound ok, there is a 'ring' rather than a 'thud'
I will get some testing fluid and see hiw we go.
I want to make sure its OK before i set about cleaning it or spending 150quid on a new one.

Thanks again.

 

If you do buy the product or similar that i posted a link for, make sure you thoroughly clean the area for inspection with the cleaner or even brake cleaner. Do not use petrol, white spirit etc. Follow the instructions to the letter and you will be surprised how well it works.

 

We use a very similar brand of dye pen on Aircraft components etc and for a general visual type of NDT its very good.

 

If you get false indications then you may need to polish the suspect area first then repeat the test.

Thanks for the advice sonikk. My kit is on the way already.

Thanks for the advice sonikk. My kit is on the way already.

I'm sure many members will be interested in this. If you have the time can you please let us know how you get on.

Ok here goes.
https://www.flickr.c...2/shares/88t2aE
Feels like a product review.
Firstly a word of warning. The Penetrant gets everywhere AND stains everything. Overalls and gloves a must.
The 4 pics of the same part are the series of steps.
Clean first. The cleaner is not brake cleaner solvent type so use the correct stuff. Spray on wipe all over.
Penetrant. Messy. Spray all over leave 15. mins.
Clean off excess. I mopped up the excess with kitchen roll, then spray cleaner on a cloth and wipe all over again.
You can see from the developer pic that in some places i did not clean well enough.
Developer. Spray on liberally, leave 10 mins. Look for cracks.
I made a bit of a mistake not cleaning off the excess well enough but i could not see any cracks where i thought there might be some.
I actually did both sides ove straight afyer the other to see if there were and 'through' cracks as per my first post.
But nothing developed like that.
Just the casting flash as people suspected.
This did however put my mind at ease and i am now happy to further clean and rebuild.

Most of the vids on utube are of cylinder head cracks that you cant really see with the naked eye.

It did the job i wanted and i now do not have to spend 150quid on a new one.

Looked pretty messy. But as you say, a job well worth doing just for peace of mind. Thanks for the update.

Edited by Compdoc, 08 December 2020 - 04:38 PM.

Well done and thanks for the info.

Although you found no cracks which is a result by the way if you do have an item that is cracked, the result will be clear to see.

 

BUT like i mentioned on certain things like the Aluminium components on our little cars, it always worth just polishing the suspect area first. This will then clearly define any cracked areas when the penetrant process is used.

Thanks sonikk. Now i am mostly happy i intend to get busy with the wire brush and give it a good sorting out.
I may well do the process again when its clean.