lt77 gearbox, hole in bell housing?

got a 1991 defender 90 , been doing some work on it at the moment, neatening everything up and went onto the gearbox today to start getting all the old gunk off it, i have found a hole in the bell housing area and don't know if it is standard of something which is damaged/cracked, i can poke a screwdriver up into it. any suggestions?




where my finger is it can go all the way into the gap that is there

many thanks if anyone can help

its where the flywheel housing joins the ladder frame ,theres a thick gasket that has become brittle and holed were your finger is , it doesnt matter

is it normal for there to be such a big hole there though? its probably 1/2" wide

if you look at the rear of the ladder frame you can see how its design has large spaces ,gasket normally covers these ,as long as gasket is sealing rear of engine block any failings to the ladder frame arent a problem

ok will check, is that part off a different vehicle or is it something off the lt77? just can't see what area it is off?

its not part of the box its the ladder frame secured to your engine block sump is bolted to its underneath you can see it in your pic between the tin sump pan and flywheel housing it has the 2 bolts going up into rear of engine block

thanks jamesmartin, so I'm guessing its not a good idea to go poking any further up while cleaning? would it be a good idea to change the gasket or is it safe for a while yet?

until you get a very noticeable leak between flywheel housing and ladder frame its ok

isn't that clutch area dry though? so shouldn't see any leaks there?

harry44 said:

isn't that clutch area dry though? so shouldn't see any leaks there?

Click to expand...

if it leaks between flywheel housing and clutch bellhousing its likely a poor rear main oil seal if it leaks between flywheel housing and ladder frame its the gasket

ah get what your saying, thanks for the info

this is a good picture for anyone who finds themselves in my situation in the future

I had exactly the same "oh crap" moment the other night poking around under mine until I looked at it and convinced myself it's meant to be like that....