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Old 02-05-2009, 11:24 AM   #270
jhargis
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 110304
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Crestline, CA
Vehicle:
2004 Volvo S60R
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rexer06 View Post
call me a sceptic but doesn't the blue metal brace looks rather insignificant compared to that entire chunk of gearbox casing?
You'd be surprized how hollow that case is when you crack it open... The part of the case that the center bolt location fastens to is pretty thin in some spots actually. So flex (in this case, expansion) at that fairly weak point in the case exerts a load on that solid steel brace, and that load is spread to stronger parts of the case... At the front, the brace is botled to both the bellhousing and the engine block, and at the rear it ties into a large 10mm bolt that holds the bearings in place.

True, compared to the size of the case as a whole, it doesn't seem like a gigantic change... But take for example, that the webbing on the case (the thin vertical structures in the case that spread out from the axle stubs) look fairly insignifcant as well, but they add a lot of stregnth to a case because they are located strategically at just the right spots. Notice that my brace bolts to a location that does not have much external webbing, and just to left of where the brace fastens in that picture is where the case tends to crack
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Last edited by jhargis; 02-05-2009 at 11:29 AM.
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