I was finishing up replacing the crankshaft position sensor on my 99 D2 and looked up and saw a hole where I feel very strongly some sort of plug or access panel should be, I can see the ring gear teeth through the port. This is on the driver side looking back at the bell housing attaches to the block. I’ve attached a picture. Can anyone confirm what should be there and any ideas of how I might get ahold of a cover. I’ve taken a look at the RAVE manual but couldn’t find it.

 

Part number ERR7229. There is one on the P side as well.

 

Thanks! Sure enough, the one on the passenger side is missing too. I just bought the truck and it’s kind of scary to think how long it may have gone without those in getting dust, grime, and god knows what else in there. I just changed the oil and hopefully that will mitigate some of it.

 

If you concerned remove the circular plate on the bottom of the bellhousing anything in there will drain out, the one with the 3 bolts in your image

 

The bell housing should be (nominally) empty, right? Is there anything I can/should pour in to that grommet opening to flush out any sediment which may have accumulated?

 

@greisinb Just water

• on a warm or hot dry day
• remove the plate
• put a bucket underneath
• if you want mix up a bit of dishwashing soap and hot water in a spray bottle and spray it in both sides - a squirt of dishwashing soap and the rest hot water will do
• If you spray give it 5 - 10 minutes
• Then just water from a garden hose both sides, or hot water form a spray bottle a bit at time you do not need to fill it
• empty your catch bucket between flushes
• Once it flushes clear leave everything open for at least 12 hours in the heat to dry out, then take for a short drive on pavement just to push some air through
• Seal it all up

 

Just wanted to report back that I’ve installed the two missing grommets, it took longer to jack the truck up than it took to actually pop them in, that was a nice change! I also removed that access panel- there wasn’t anything of note up there so I didn’t clean it out. Thanks for all of your help!