# Bell housing

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Connects a vehicle transmission to the engine

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A bare [Buick](/source/Buick), [Olds](/source/Oldsmobile), [Pontiac](/source/Pontiac_(automobile)) pattern bellhousing viewed from the engine end

**Bellhousing** (also "bell-housing" or simply "bell") is a [colloquial](/source/Colloquialism) term for the component that aligns and connects the [transmission](/source/Transmission_(mechanics)) of a [vehicle](/source/Vehicle) to its [engine](/source/Engine), and which covers and protects the [flywheel](/source/Flywheel)/[clutch](/source/Clutch) or [flexplate](/source/Flexplate)/[torque converter](/source/Torque_converter).[1] It derives its name from the [bell-like shape](/source/Bell) that those internal components necessitate. The [starter motor](/source/Starter_motor) may mount to it, and it may support clutch and/or shifter [linkage](/source/Linkage_(mechanical)).[2]

A bellhousing may be a separate housing bolted to the [gearbox](/source/Gearbox), or it may be an integral portion of the transmission housing, particularly with [front wheel drive](/source/Front-wheel_drive) transmissions. An integral bell has a front bolt pattern that matches the engine to which it will be paired, and a divorced bell additionally has a rear bolt pattern that matches the gearbox to which it will be paired. The use of different bellhousings on a transmission allows the same transmission to be used on multiple engines in multiple applications.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Drive Train"](https://books.google.com/books?id=vHELyxT9VPEC). *Driver*. Vol. 5, no. 6. Department of the Air Force, Hq. Air Force Inspection and Safety Center. November 1971. p. 21. Retrieved 19 February 2024 – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Automotive, C. D. X. (2013). [*Fundamentals of Automotive Technology: Principles and Practice*](https://books.google.com/books?id=mJWAa-qbOQUC). Jones & Bartlett Publishers. pp. 290–291, 293. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4496-2411-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4496-2411-8). Retrieved 20 February 2024 – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books).

## See also

- [List of auto parts](/source/List_of_auto_parts)

- [List of Ford bellhousing patterns](/source/List_of_Ford_bellhousing_patterns)

- [List of GM bellhousing patterns](/source/List_of_GM_bellhousing_patterns)

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