Thread: Hole in bell housing???

I first thought that's a S11 bell housing. The hole being for the clutch mechanism. But the hole is in the wrong place. It has a Leyland mark on it and I wonder if it was an adaption for the P76 V8 which was a common conversion. What motor do you have?
The SIII had a sealed housing with a drain plug. You would normally leave the plug out and insert it before a river crossing. There was a bracket attached to one of the housing/engine bolts for the plug to live in when not in use.
The sealed housing allowed you to change gears in a river crossing. I needed to do this on the odd occasion when a submerged tree was in the way and I had to back up and go around it.

Originally Posted by DieselLSE

I first thought that's a S11 bell housing. The hole being for the clutch mechanism. But the hole is in the wrong place. It has a Leyland mark on it and I wonder if it was an adaption for the P76 V8 which was a common conversion. What motor do you have?
The SIII had a sealed housing with a drain plug. You would normally leave the plug out and insert it before a river crossing. There was a bracket attached to one of the housing/engine bolts for the plug to live in when not in use.
The sealed housing allowed you to change gears in a river crossing. I needed to do this on the odd occasion when a submerged tree was in the way and I had to back up and go around it.

Many thanks for your response. I've got a Holden 186 engine in it. I'm guessing that as long as I don't change gears during any water crossing, I should be right?

Originally Posted by Dobby

Many thanks for your response. I've got a Holden 186 engine in it. I'm guessing that as long as I don't change gears during any water crossing, I should be right?

Yep. But if you stall or move the clutch pedal, water will cause the clutch to slip. Just like how your brakes are useless after a river crossing!

I wonder if you could fit a plastic bung in there?

Check also that you have a solenoid operated starter motor rather than a spin-out bendix sleeve type. If you do a water crossing and water flicks around onto that sleeve it’ll get muck and rust on it and refuse to engage the ring gear down the track. Don’t ask me how I know!

Originally Posted by DieselLSE

Yep. But if you stall or move the clutch pedal, water will cause the clutch to slip. Just like how your brakes are useless after a river crossing!

And then if the water is salty the clutch can “stick” together… been there, when too lazy to put in the plug!

I must add though, that hole is way bigger than the drain hole on a series bellhousing. Almost like is was cut for some reason!

Has it been made to get at the clutch fork pivot or the slave cylinder pushrod to fork connection?

I would be inclined to make or find a plug that could block the hole to keep the water etc out. The hole appears to have been done with a hole saw, so is circular. This means that it could be plugged with a round plug of almost anything the right size, and glued in place with a suitable glue. There is no stress on it, so it is not very critical what you use. Simplest would be a plastic or rubber plug if you can find one the right size.