DSG Gearbox casing help! :(

[moleskn1]

Hey Guys,

Looking for a bit of your advice/expertise.

The other day I hit a large pothole and have managed to shear my dogboune mount and part of the casing on the gearbox where the screw screws into.

So now my gearbox is swinging every time I move the car or go over a bump!

The gearbox and the car are working fine and no leakage of anything however this cannot be good

How do i go about repairing this as I don't want to splash out on a new gearbox.

I can easily get a new dogbone mount however a few friends have said you cannot weld cast aluminium so the screw hole to mount it is gone!

Any help appreciated!

 

[DJ_26]

Woah that's not great. Similar thing happened to my car, but it was that middle bush that was very worn, causing the engine/gearbox to rock forward and back, but the actual plate connected to the gearbox was fine. What if you can tap in some kind of cylindrical threaded insert into the hole (a bit like what you get in a typical suspension bush) and then use a smaller bolt to secure the metal plate to the gearbox? Not sure if that method exists or not, but worth a look.

 

[moleskn1]

Woah that's not great. Similar thing happened to my car, but it was that middle bush that was very worn, causing the engine/gearbox to rock forward and back, but the actual plate connected to the gearbox was fine. What if you can tap in some kind of cylindrical threaded insert into the hole (a bit like what you get in a typical suspension bush) and then use a smaller bolt to secure the metal plate to the gearbox? Not sure if that method exists or not, but worth a look.

Hey mate thanks for the reply!, what did you end up doing? it is a pain because there's nothing wrong with the box itself!

I will look into that but it does seem like I'm going to have to go into some specialist garage and get them to look at it!
Also won't be cheap

 

[kash_v]

a timesert might do it -

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=t...2rfQAhUI44MKHZMXDsoQ_AUICSgC&biw=1396&bih=690

Although id also leave it to someone with the balls/skill lol.

 

[DJ_26]

Hey mate thanks for the reply!, what did you end up doing? it is a pain because there's nothing wrong with the box itself!

I will look into that but it does seem like I'm going to have to go into some specialist garage and get them to look at it!
Also won't be cheap

That's ok. Well the gearbox hole in my car was fine, so all I needed was a new dogbone mount.

 

[moleskn1]

a timesert might do it -

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=t...2rfQAhUI44MKHZMXDsoQ_AUICSgC&biw=1396&bih=690

Although id also leave it to someone with the balls/skill lol.

Just looked at it and it certainly could be a possibility! this is the actual screw hole i need it to be repaired.

 

[-Ju-]

I used a timesert to repair my hpfp thread. it's a great bit if kit but they are quite thin by design, so looking at the damage I would say it would possibly pull out through the gap
I have used some other types though which are equally as good if you have enough thickness around the hole, which you do, something like this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330-10-EZ...584487?hash=item232dffa6e7:g:xVgAAOxynLhR~r33

 

[grainqey]

You may be able to use metal repair epoxy on that.. I filled a hole in my gearbox with it and has been ok since!

You can get it from Halfords etc - we use it at work to fill small gaps (if you put a very small amount of olive oil etc onto the bolt and put it in the hole then apply the metal repair epoxy and flatten it off flush with the rest of the top of the bolt hole, obviously remove the bolt once it has ad chance to set then should be ok) just make sure the surface is clean before applying it

 

[desertstorm]

You can TIG weld cast aluminium but I would check as a lot of VW gearbox cases are magnesium which can also be TIG welded. A specialist welder would be able to build up some material where it has broken away you could then drill and tap it again.
I think any kind of insert is likely to pull out as there is very little material on one side and the loads are primarily side to side.

Is the car lowered ? If not I would get some glasses as that must of been a hell of a pot hole.

 

[desertstorm]

You may be able to use metal repair epoxy on that.. I filled a hole in my gearbox with it and has been ok since!

One thing stopping oil leaking from a gearbox by filling a hole, It's not a fix that requires any strength at all. The loads on that dog bone mount are quite large it's basically resisting all the torsional twisting loads that the engine is generating.
That's why there is a bar connected across to another mounting point to try and spread the load. Any kind of half *** codge job isn't going to work. Even welding it may not be 100%.

 

[moleskn1]

Thank you very much for all your replies!!
everyone has been very helpful and giving me some hope!

You can TIG weld cast aluminium but I would check as a lot of VW gearbox cases are magnesium which can also be TIG welded. A specialist welder would be able to build up some material where it has broken away you could then drill and tap it again.
I think any kind of insert is likely to pull out as there is very little material on one side and the loads are primarily side to side.

Is the car lowered ? If not I would get some glasses as that must of been a hell of a pot hole.

the car has not been lowered haha, don't have a clue how on earth I managed that, Im rather weary about it because i took my car into the garage to get a new tyre on my car and then they phone me up saying I need a new gearbox!

 

[SootySport]

Nasty. Problem with tig welding on cast aluminium there is a chance it will shatter or crack the surrounding area, pre heating the metal helps prevent this. You're going to have to find a very competent welder to attempt a repair like the guy in the above video.
Hopefully there is a chance of helicoiling or other re-threading device depending on how deep the hole is.
If none of that works then it's the expensive box change, ouch!