A bellhousing holds your flywheel, clutch and often the starter motor. It is important that a strong casing surrounds these parts, and prevents any fluid from leaking out, or debris from getting in. If your Mercury Cougar bellhousing is cracked, it is crucial to replace it before it leads to major transmission issues.

Bellhousings, though often replaceable on transmissions for rear-wheel drive cars, are much harder, and sometimes impossible, to remove from a front-wheel drive transmission. This is because there is far less space available in the front-wheel-drive circumstance and the transmission must be made much shorter.

Q: What is a bellhousing? Why buy one?
A: Your bellhousing has the crucial job of attaching your transmission to your engine. In addition it surrounds the torque converter/flex plate or flywheel/clutch to give the driver an added level of safety. If you have built up your engine for added power, your stock bellhousing may not be up to the task. All the rotational force from the motor can cause bellhousings to crack or even shatter which could have catastrophic results for both the car and driver. High performance bellhousings were developed to fill this need. Made from rugged high-strength materials they have been designed and tested to withstand the rigors of racing and big-power engines. There is a reason that the NHRA requires S.F.I . approved bellhousings for cars running the quarter mile in 11.49 seconds or less. A lesser bellhousing would be a safety risk, and you should never gamble when it comes to safety.