It's not about the money I don't think. The whole trans has to come out to replace that $30 part, I think welding it and buying time until the clutch needs replaced is good option. Worst case you pull the trans anyway and replace it if the weld doesn't work out.
Welding done right are strong and usually harder than the sheet metal thats being welded. Repro parts are not necessarily as good a quallity as the orignal Ford Parts, just because they are new and shiny. The asian factorys likes to use softer steel to sheet metal parts because it makes the tools used for manufacturing last longer, or they can be done with less powerful machines. They have less focus on the durability of the parts, than they have on manufacturing the parts as cheap as absolutly possible. Ford also wanted cheap parts, but they also got all the problems it the parts they used didn't last or worked correctly.
Exactly! Like you said, worst case, I pull the trans to replace the clutch anyway. I dont know the history of this clutch, how old it is, how hard it was used. For all I know, its at the end of its life anyway although, it works fine now with the exception of a slight shutter on take-off.
