I've not only seen them, but dealt with them.
I would mike the casting to see what the bearing O.D. is and compare to a new bearing.
Considering its going in the front, I would consider some of the "loc-tite" products made for that purpose. I have used a couple of them with good results.
But first, I would magnaflux the bare case/cover. I have posted this before and no one seems to care/understand, but I have 4 of those cases that are cracked at the bearing flange, and the one that I'm running was cryo-genicly treated to stress relieve it.
My guess is that you have a cracked case.
Kary