I am repairing my 2007 Classic LBZ Duramax after a u-joint failure caused the bell housing to break. The motor and transmission are both original with 297000+ miles. I drove the truck home a mile or so before the u-joint came completely apart and the shaft came loose. Prior to this breakdown, the transmission was operating perfectly and now that its its out of the vehicle, I see no visible damage. Am I crazy for thinking about replacing the bell housing and reinstalling the transmission without rebuilding it? Time and money is a small issue but if the consensus is to rebuild, it will no doubt push me towards that.
To rebuild or not to rebuild
- Thread starter Mixxter61
- Start date
Here's how I'd look at it. Are you going to ever throw a tune on it? Do you work it hard? Do you plan on keeping the truck for years to come? Do you have another vehicle incase the trans does fail at the worst time?
If it were me, and I had the cash (I'm doing a rebuild now on my LB7 because the motor is coming out at 270k), I would rebuild it with good parts and a good billet triple disk to ensure you won't have to worry about it again. That is my opinion. If you're just going to leave it stock and not really do anything to it then you would be fine leaving it alone as long as you make sure to take care of fluid maintenance and filter changes.
