^^AppfreaK^^

I'm stumped. I have recently replaced a ton of things on my '87 4runner (engine rebuilt, plugs, wires, tps, afm, injectors, clutch/flywheel/slave cylinder, CSI, and many more), and finally got it dialed in. I mean, this car runs extremely well...until a couple days ago when I recently went to change the crush washer on my tranmission fill bolt and ended up cracking the hub that the fill bolt screws into. See the pics below. Its been bad luck I guess.

I have a two part question. (1) I dont really have the money to get another transmission right now and I'd like to see what you folks thought about placing the bolt and broken hub piece back in the tranny, then using JB weld and basically sealing the bolt to the transmission. Its just a fill hole and I could fill from the shifters if need be. I know prep work is a huge here, so lets say I degrease the crap out of it with cleaner and acetone, and maybe some sand paper. Would that hold, you think? Does it look like something I need to take to a master welder instead? Is it even fixable? Just need to buy some time until I can save for a transmission....or better yet ride it like it is, granted it seals properly.

(2) I'd love to drop $1200 on a MC tranny, but I dont have money for that right now. I've seen used ones for $250-$650. My concern with a used tranny would be getting it, and the synchros are bad or something unforseen is messed up with it. All I can do is as the PO about the condition, shifting, last used, etc.

Any tips on both options would be greatly appreciated!

Background: 1987 4runner MT (W56 B transmission). Daily driver...well, trying to be one at least. Yes, I do still have the piece that broke off. I can actually put it back on, and tighten the bolt and it holds in place.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Wow that sucks -sorry man.

I would think JB weld may work out for you. The other thing you could do is pull the transmission, break it apart (the transmission is actually mounted on a steel plate 1" thick, and the 2 aluminum case ends mate up to it and hold the oil), and replace with an aluminum case from a donor transmission, if you can find one cheap. Assuming your tranny works fine already and you want to preserve the internals.

I took apart a used one to replace mine because it was leeking and I needed to re do the seals.

Curious to see what others suggest too...don't take my word for it alone.

^^AppfreaK^^

That's a great idea, Philbert. I may just have to do that if the weld-route doesn't do it. If you think of anything else, please let me know.

Thanks!

^^AppfreaK^^

Ok, so far so good. For anyone paying attention to this, I used JB Weld afterall. JB Quickweld and JB Steelstick to be exact. The quickweld is more liquid so I was able to hit the threads of the bolt, the all around the washer, and of course all around the cracked piece and hub it cracked off of. I basically just caked it on one layer at a time (the quickweld dries and cures quickly so you gotta move fast...hence quickweld). After a couple layers of that, I cut about half of the steel stick and pancaked it to cover the entire bolt and all of the quickweld to form and outer barrier.

It looks and feels extremely solid. I cleaned the area really well before applying any of the layers so I'm hoping for a permanent fix. Yeah, since the fill bolt is now sealed, I'll have to fill the transmission fluid from beneath the shifters, but I honestly prefer to do it that way. It makes for a much easier job in my opinion.

She's back on the road and driving well....for now. Seems like one thing after another with this car. It makes me wonder if I should get rid of it while I can.

Up next, heater core and A/C compressor!

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Man that looks ugly but glad you found a solution! Don't give up that easy....truck is old, of course it will have issues. I've had mine over ten years and its always something...but you learn from each fix and know that YOU did the work so repairs should stay right (unless you do them wrong....) hang in there!