Browell Bellhousing Runout and alignment kit. 100% reliable

[biomedtechguy]

I've dealt with the magnetic base dial indicator, the arm(s) and coupler(s) and joint(s) that "hold" the pointer positioned on the diameter of the hole in the bellhousing that the transmission mounts through...
Even if you have a solid mount, no magnet, you're dealing with .010 total runout?!?
I appreciate the guys who made suggestions, and who have success doing a bellhousing runout check and alignment some other way...
BUT
For my peace of mind, for me to be able to irrevocably state as FACT that my bellhousing is within less than .010 of dead center, I bought TWO Browell bellhousing runout and alignment kits, one for MOPAR and one for PONTIAC (GM)...
It's a VERY nice chunk of billet aluminum, the black and aluminum colored ring that goes around the red "bowling pin" is the piece that Browell machines to fit just a teeny bit smaller in diameter than the hole in the bellhousing.
Bolt the red part to the crankshaft and position the bellhousing in place. If the "ring" doesn't slide through the hole, use whatever offset dowl(s) are required to make that happen. Put a light in the bellhousing to make any gap easy to see.
Once the proper dowels are in position, if need be to assure they don't budge, use a little LocTite. The RobbMc dowels should not require any LocTite because of the allen bolt that spreads them to tighten them into place.
At around $175 each, well worth KNOWING vs the frustration, cost, and possible warranty rejection due to an out of spec runout alignment.
The Browell tool is basically a GO/NO GO tool. Quick turnaround and good tech support.

 

[69Bee]

This is fine, but Mopar has 3 bearing retainer sizes depending on application:
4.354", 4.807", and 5.125". Do they offer more sizes? Is the one in your pic the Mopar tool? My assumption from their website is that these might be more geared to their bellhousings.

 

[Sascha]

Very nice, used it last. Comes with adapters for different sizes.

Soon I will dial in my Qicktime bellhousing with it;)

 

[biomedtechguy]

This is fine, but Mopar has 3 bearing retainer sizes depending on application:
4.354", 4.807", and 5.125". Do they offer more sizes? Is the one in your pic the Mopar tool? My assumption from their website is that these might be more geared to their bellhousings.

The one in my pic is my "standard" 4.807"
Mopar tool. They asked me to measure the crankshaft "register" but I wanted to roll the dice on the Pontiac/GM and my Roadrunner, and they made that easy by saying that if the measurements were different they would remachine the parts for me.
As long as you know the size of the bellhousing hole and the crankshaft register, even if you have to measure them, they will tool up whatever you need. I guess that when I switch to a scatter shield bellhousing, I'll have to get another ring.
I'm 100% satisfied with this investment.

 

[493 Mike]

So. Rent this tool out to other members (with deposit of course) to recoup your investment.
Mike

 

[biomedtechguy]

So. Rent this tool out to other members (with deposit of course) to recoup your investment.
Mike

I thought about that Mike.
I'm so "funny" about my stuff...
It would probably have to be someone I know, or felt comfortable with.
It's a personality flaw, but I'll own up to it. Got it from my LEO dad.
Unfortunately we are right more often than not.
My wife decided to loan our contractor out 8K watt portable generator so he could start working on our tiny house by the Mississippi Gulf coast. I got it back when Cristobal was enroute. He had almost a week heads up.
I get there to pick it up and the air filter box that is integrated into the carburetor hold down bolts is off the unit, the filter cover bolts are missing, and it's got almost zero oil in it.
I asked why it was like that (not knowing about the really low oil) and he claimed they were "cleaning the air filter"...
BULLSHIT
What probably happened was the low oil sensor cut off the engine (it's for idiots who ignore the GIANT label that says "oil level MUST be checked every 8 hours") and the FOOLS thought something in the carb or fuel system was wrong.
Yeah, I have trust issues, but it's mainly because there's too many people who have disappointed me.
Anyway, the 2 kits I bought make it well worth the peace of mind I'll have KNOWING my bellhousing on the Roadrunner and GTO are well within spec. A Passon 855 and TKO600 are major investments, and I've learned how detrimental a misaligned bellhousing can be.
Well worth the money, and pretty much impossible to F up using it to check runout.
I couldn't find my leftover RobbMc dowels so I just ordered all 3 pair of the 3 different offsets they have for GM (GTO) and Mopar, and they will credit me for the ones I send back. I got a pair of new zero offset dowels for each car too.
I'll probably keep the Mopar ones for the scatter shield bellhousing I'll install with the 541 stroker motor.

 

[fratzog lover]

A big WOW on your contractor story. SMH.

 

[biomedtechguy]

A big WOW on your contractor story. SMH.

Yeah, and he's building the tiny house for "us" (my wife's idea).
Previous contractor (before the "generator guy") was a couple of days away from being indicted for theft/fraud when he gave me a certified check for ALL of the money my wife had spent as a "deposit". He also had someone meet me so I could retrieve ALL 3 of our major appliances that we paid Lowes for and he was "storing" until the house was finished. I wanted to kneecap the motherfucker, but instead I got the Mississippi AG office on him, and by my tenacity and God's blessing they put an investigator on him, a man of integrity and old school values, and they were a couple of days away from presenting their case to a grand jury. That was all it took, and he coughed up the $$ and our property. It's still in his best interest that our paths don't cross.
So...at least our new contractor hasn't stolen anything..yet...

 

[fratzog lover]

Man, you have some stories the weak kneed could not handle. I would have wanted my pound of flesh too.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Man, you have some stories the weak kneed could not handle. I would have wanted my pound of flesh too.

I'd be less tolerant if not for my wife and her involvement in what got us in a position to be taken advantage of. I told her not to write the check to the 1st contractor, and had problems with loaning the generator to the 2nd. Unfortunately I was right on both occasions. That actually makes it worse, because what happened wouldn't have if she would listen to me. As far as the current contractor "generator guy" goes, I'm observing from a distance, don't like what I have seen, but I'm sick of being ignored and then having to clean up the shitstorm afterwards. Life is too short to put up with stuff like that, but I've made it clear that I have problems with this guy and specifically for what reasons, and also said I wasn't going through the trouble of running him down for shoddy work or anything else that goes wrong. Not my choice, not my problem.
This time I'm watching this from the outside, instead of the inside, and that makes what would be stressful, kinda funny instead:

 

[Dipstick]

Bolt the red part to the crankshaft and position the bellhousing in place. If the "ring" doesn't slide through the hole, use whatever offset dowl(s) are required to make that happen. Put a light in the bellhousing to make any gap easy to see.

So, it's trial-and-error with no specific clue as to which offset dowel to use? No thanks, I'll still rely on my dial indicator to tell me how much runout and in which direction..

 

[biomedtechguy]

So, it's trial-and-error with no specific clue as to which offset dowel to use? No thanks, I'll still rely on my dial indicator to tell me how much runout and in which direction..

And that's fine.
For me, having gone the magnetic base dial indicator route with pivot points and couplers and a magnet rather than a solid mount, all that can move fractions of an inch, for me and for someone who I may use to do the job I am much more confident in the results the Browell tool brings.
As far as what offset to use, there are 3 different offsets RobbMc has, and which ones to "try" would be a matter of being off by a little, a lot, or somewhere in between, or possibly not at all.

 

[ChargerST]

Very nice, used it last. Comes with adapters for different sizes.

Soon I will dial in my Qicktime bellhousing with it;)

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Hi Sascha,

tried to PM you but your inbox was full...
Would you rent out the tool?
Thanks

 

[moparmarks]

Very nice, used it last. Comes with adapters for different sizes.

Soon I will dial in my Qicktime bellhousing with it;)

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Please let us know how the Quicktime works out. Everyone that I've use said that they didn't need to be dialed in.

 

[Sascha]

Hello!
Did everything fit with the original dowel pins used.
The bell is extremely high quality.
I only had to work on the inside of the mount for the starter, it was too close to the flywheel.

 

[Sascha]

Hi Sascha,

tried to PM you but your inbox was full...
Would you rent out the tool?
Thanks

Hello!
Unfortunately I no longer have the tool, otherwise gladly.

 

[AR67GTX]

I have heard unanimous praise for this tool here and on the Corvette forum, but I’ve also never had an issue getting reliable results with a dial indicator and magnetic base and you do have exact tolerances and orientation.

 

[Fran Blacker]

I used this type of dial indicator, work fine on a magnetic base. Your Browell is nice but pricey for me.

 

[biomedtechguy]

Your Browell is nice but pricey for me

I don't disagree that my Brownell bellhousing runout adjustment tool was pricey, especially since I had to buy 2, one for Mopar and one for GM, but I have ZERO doubt that the bellhousing is aligned properly, and given the cost and moreso problems that being off can cause, and the cost of my Passon 855 and the TKO600 for the GTO, it is great peace of mind. I don't trust a magnetic base to remain in place when dealing with measurements as fine as .010
To each their own.