Scattershield or OEM Bellhousing

[DrumrBoy]

OK, straw poll for the road course folks out there:


Should I upgrade to a steel scattershield bellhousing or stick with the cast aluminum OEM piece.

Why would I care? I just BROKE my bellhousing on a road course......not even shifting at the time....big crack - so big that when the clutch pedal moves the clutch pushes the trans around.

I have a brand new OEM bellhousing but have the opportunity (for a few sheckles) to upgrade to the forged steel scattershield.

Pro's are that its a stiffer mounting point for the trans, protects your feet in the event of a clutch explosion and will likely never ever ever crack.

Cons are ....the sheckles.

So the question is, "how unusual is it to break a bellhousing on a road course? If I were dragging the car there'd be no hesitation to go with the scattershield but with relatively mellow shifting I'm thinking the OEM is good.

Anybody else ever break one or hear of anyone who did (other than me)?

 

[Dom426h]

Any pictures?

I would have been on the phone with JonB & Woodhouse by now. They've had contact with hundreds of Viper racers and would be able to let you know....

 

[plumcrazy]

how about a blanket for it ?

id also like to see pics

 

[99 R/T 10]

How much would it cost for a new forged steel scattershield? I have several stock ones, have never seen one crack yet.

 

[ViperGeorge]

I would never have thought you would crack it on a road course. Maybe while drag racing and experiencing a catastrophic failure but just driving on the road course

 

[DrumrBoy]

Pix coming in 5 mins......pretty strange

 

[DrumrBoy]

OK, three pix. First one shows the start of the crack (and the piece that actually separated from the casting

The second one shows the crack continuing through 180 degrees, counterclockwise from the start

The third shows that the crack extends to a little over 270 degrees of the bellhousing!!!!

I was able to nurse the car back to the pits because I had a tiny bit of clutch at the very bottom of the pedal (presumable when the mounts ran out of flex and provided some ability for the clutch to push open against something......

Has anyone seen anything like this before (i.e. is it rare or does it happen more frequently than Im guessing it does?)

 

[DrumrBoy]

How much would it cost for a new forged steel scattershield? I have several stock ones, have never seen one crack yet.

They're pricey, about $900. Drag cars use 'em all the time and they definitely hold up well. I've only got 520 to the wheels on the race car so I didn't think I was taxing the OEM one very much...especially as I'm not launching hard.

 

[DrumrBoy]

Sorry, that should have been "almost 270" not over 270 degrees. Definitely more than 180 though.

 

[pauls]

I'd look for something else loose or moving that stressed the bellhousing? That's crazy.

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

I've never heard of that happening. I would guess it was a flawed housing to begin with or maybe some bolts were torqued.

 

[Dom426h]

Holy ****, It looks like someone sabotaged you with a cutting wheel or plasma cutter...

Seriously, my guess would be a bad cast

 

[1TONY1]

They're pricey, about $900. Drag cars use 'em all the time and they definitely hold up well. I've only got 520 to the wheels on the race car so I didn't think I was taxing the OEM one very much...especially as I'm not launching hard.

Who's steel bellhousing ? That sound a lot higher $$ than the one I have looked at.

$563 list price.
Quick Time Performance Products
I talked to them about becoming a dealer once...I'll check again. They wanted quite a few purchased to become a dealer/get dealer pricing.

P.S. I have cracked a stock one too.

 

[1TONY1]

How much would it cost for a new forged steel scattershield? I have several stock ones, have never seen one crack yet.

Obviously you are down on power

 

[CCBrian]

We run a stock bell housing in our Comp Coupes (gen 3) and I have never heard of one failing...but for safety we run a blanket.

 

[Camfab]

If you run a scattershield, make sure you check it for parallelism on a surface plate then run a dial indicator check for centerline runout. Don't ask me how I know this, but do not assume it's on the money.

 

[RT/ED]

Using a transmission blanket seems like a great safety precausion. Any issues with overheating the transmission or clutch area when using a blanket for daily drivers and occasional track use?

 

[treesnake]

I have an almost new "Quiktime" scattershield off of my Gen 2 that I won't need anymore.. (Using two speed now) Has SFI rating etc.
Don't remember what I paid but if they are $900 now...
$700 and its yours....

 

[DrumrBoy]

Thanks for the input. It is a weird crack but good to know its not the first time anyone's ever heard of it. Thanks Tony and Tree for ideas on better pricing, and thanks Camfab for the square-surfaces tip.....I probably would have assumed it was true.

 

[1TONY1]

Who's steel bellhousing ? That sound a lot higher $$ than the one I have looked at.

$563 list price.
Quick Time Performance Products

If you run a scattershield, make sure you check it for parallelism on a surface plate then run a dial indicator check for centerline runout. Don't ask me how I know this, but do not assume it's on the money.

Who made the one you had issues with and what did the manufacturer say when you reported the issue back to them ?

I have an almost new "Quiktime" scattershield off of my Gen 2 that I won't need anymore.. (Using two speed now) Has SFI rating etc.
Don't remember what I paid but if they are $900 now...
$700 and its yours....

I just quoted the list price from their website at $563 and you want $700 for your used one ? It's always good to see a fellow Viper owner help another out

 

[MTGTS]

Wow, never heard of that happening

 

[treesnake]

They're pricey, about $900. Drag cars use 'em all the time and they definitely hold up well. I've only got 520 to the wheels on the race car so I didn't think I was taxing the OEM one very much...especially as I'm not launching hard.

I have an almost new "Quiktime" scattershield off of my Gen 2 that I won't need anymore.. (Using two speed now) Has SFI rating etc.
Don't remember what I paid but if they are $900 now...
$700 and its yours....[/quote]



I just quoted the list price from their website at $563 and you want $700 for your used one ? It's always good to see a fellow Viper owner help another out

Hmmmmm... You read my post, quoted it and still don't have a clue as to what I said....

DRUMRBOY had a quote for a SINGLE scattershield at $900...
I very clearly stated that I "Don't remember what I paid but if they are $900 now,$700 and its yours"...
(In other words, I don't remember what I paid for it...)
Im pretty sure that would be a discount of $200 on a "like new" scattershield....

Again, my price of $700 was discounted based on a RECENT quote from DRUMRBOY...

If your price is accurate, I would sell it to a fellow "Viper Owner" for $450 or so.

Not the full list price you offered to sell it for

With that being said, " It's always good to see a fellow Viper owner help another out "

 

[DrumrBoy]

No sweat on the pricing. I imagine the one Tony quoted (same as yours) was a different unit than the one I was looking at for $920-something. I had another Borg Warner Gen 2 housing in the garage so I decided to put that back on....on the assumption that it was either a bad casting or an extremely rare other problem.

Tony, thanks for suggesting a much ore reasonable alternative to the one I was quoted, for now I;ll leave the big-time shields to you drag guys!

 

[1TONY1]

Hmmmmm... You read my post, quoted it and still don't have a clue as to what I said....

DRUMRBOY had a quote for a SINGLE scattershield at $900...
I very clearly stated that I "Don't remember what I paid but if they are $900 now,$700 and its yours"...
(In other words, I don't remember what I paid for it...)
Im pretty sure that would be a discount of $200 on a "like new" scattershield....

Again, my price of $700 was discounted based on a RECENT quote from DRUMRBOY...

If your price is accurate, I would sell it to a fellow "Viper Owner" for $450 or so.

Not the full list price you offered to sell it for

With that being said, " It's always good to see a fellow Viper owner help another out "

I know exactly what you said but if you want to discuss it that's fine.
Could the reason you don't remember what you paid be that you were looking to double your money on a used part (BTW, "like new" is still USED) You didn't know what manufacturer he was quoting a price for...however, you did know that I quoted the list price from their website for the same one you have and you still thought you could **** him.

Also, maybe before you start correcting someone on their post comprehension you should take second read yourself. I never offered to sell him anything.....I gave him the link and quoted the list price from their website. My post plainly says this....read it again when your blood pressure drops.
Why did I bother ? Because DrumrBoy is a fellow Ga. VCA member, a friend and a customer and I have been to the depths of this engine and will do the best by him and any other that fits the above criteria.

 

[1TONY1]

No sweat on the pricing. I imagine the one Tony quoted (same as yours) was a different unit than the one I was looking at for $920-something. I had another Borg Warner Gen 2 housing in the garage so I decided to put that back on....on the assumption that it was either a bad casting or an extremely rare other problem.

Tony, thanks for suggesting a much ore reasonable alternative to the one I was quoted, for now I;ll leave the big-time shields to you drag guys!

I need one myself for safety !!
Seems like they wanted an order of 20 to become a dealer
I didn't feel like dropping 10 grand on a bunch of Viper bell housings to save myself $60 on one

 

[treesnake]

Have you had a chance to see if you have a broken engine or trans. mount?

A broken mount could put your driveline in a bind.

Good luck with the new bell housing....

 

[treesnake]

I know exactly what you said but if you want to discuss it that's fine.
Could the reason you don't remember what you paid be that you were looking to double your money on a used part (BTW, "like new" is still USED) You didn't know what manufacturer he was quoting a price for...however, you did know that I quoted the list price from their website for the same one you have and you still thought you could **** him.

Also, maybe before you start correcting someone on their post comprehension you should take second read yourself. I never offered to sell him anything.....I gave him the link and quoted the list price from their website. My post plainly says this....read it again when your blood pressure drops.
Why did I bother ? Because DrumrBoy is a fellow Ga. VCA member, a friend and a customer and I have been to the depths of this engine and will do the best by him and any other that fits the above criteria.

OMG.... Rough day? Take a couple deep breaths man...

 

[Camfab]

Who made the one you had issues with and what did the manufacturer say when you reported the issue back to them ?


Just to make it clear, this was NOT a Viper scattershield, but it really does not matter. It was a Lakewood scattershield, and I really don't remember the exact details, except it destroyed the nose of the input shaft as well as the input shaft bearing on a brand new tranny. Lakewood to their credit or discredit does/did sell a kit that would allow you to overbore the dowel pin holes on the scattershield. The kit supplied new extra long dowel pins as well a set of precision machined collars that you slipped onto the dowels and tig welded onto the shield. The welding was done after dial indicating the centerline of the crankshaft, with regards to the shield. The crappy part was that the face and the block flange side were not dead parallel either. I had the faces blanchard ground as well as indicating for centerline. Bottom line............................factory parts are rarely problematic. Aftermarket components are usually never perfect, though something tells me that you have more than enough experience to know this already.

As a side note, I ditched the block side plate that sandwhiched between the shield and the block. It was just another point of potential error, though doing so eliminated the containment of a clutch /flywheel explosion. Read, not NHRA/SFI approved.

Unless I had a really serious track car that was eating up factory bellhousings, I personally would use a blanket instead. That's just me though, because frankly I've learned every lesson the hard way.

 

[DrumrBoy]

OK, so I can tell you it wasn't the bellhousing's fault. (Blanket for protection is probably still a good idea) but this one seems to be the crank's fault. Just posting so folks with OEM bellhousings don't worry that they won't hold up. They're fine, except when the crank and trans are at entirely different angles.....

 

[99 R/T 10]

Is the cranks broke? Billet caps too?