H pulley leak

Sorry if my terminology is off but here is the question. My belt pulley leaks hydraulic fluid. It leaks were the spinning shaft(?) connects to the housing. So I figure I need to unbolt it and get a new gasket or seal, but it has been welded to the housing. is that common practice for some? What are my options to eliminate or reduce this leak problem?

Actually the belt pulley gears are splash lubricated from the transmission. But oil is spashed up there only when the pulley is actually spinning. So if the belt pulley clutch is currently engaged, disengaging it should diminish or may even stop the leaking.

Now if the leak is around the pulley shaft seal, the seal can be removed/replaced without removing the gearbox.

However if the gasket between gearbox and tranny is bad you may have a problem.

You might be lucky and find the guy who welded it was a hack (would have to be a hack to to have tried it in the first place!) And since welding cast iron is difficult even for a bood welder to accomplish successfully there's a good chance the welding is only "cosmetic". Ie. the parts can simply be knocked apart. Then it should be a simple matter to replace the gasket and put it back together.

Good luck - you got a weird one there!!