<VV> Dreaded snout crack

[Clark Hartzel]

Since there should be two sides to every story I'll dissent and say go ahead
and break the small chunk out of the snout and see how deep the crack goes.
if the crack goes into the seal bore junk it and put a new snout in.  If the
crack falls short of the seal just file the burrs off and use it!  Remember
the crack isn't caused by driving the car, it was caused by sloppy assembly
techniques.  If you use guide pins, and be gentle when assembling, the crack
will not get worse!  I've used cracked snouts many times and they were
satisfactory for many years.  Just be sure to put the snap ring back into
the snout as it protects the seal from damage when assembling the engine
back onto the diff.
Clark Hartzel