Pilot Bearing Woes...

[DreamN]

I'm in the process of a 5 speed swap and the only thing keeping me from completing this shit is the pilot bearing/bushing. Two of the pilot bearing pullers from AutoZone already snapped on me. I'm on my third (brand new) puller and it's just not grabbing. I don't want to tighten it even further because I have a feeling it'll just snap like the others, but the sucker just slides out when using the slide hammer.

Anyone know another method or maybe tell me if I'm doing something wrong? Really want this car back on the road. I miss my car .

[EAT Motorsports]

grease gun style pilot bearing puller is what i use
http://www.matcotools.com/Catalog/to...&page=1&#36678

[smurfgcr]

i tried the bearing puller and all the home remedies including hydraulic pressure with grease and what not, and they all sorta worked, but not enough...so a few beers deep into the night a long time ago i came up with the idea to take a drillbit and work it over the inside of the bearing until it was worn down enough to be seperated with a flathead and pulled out in pieces. it was a messy job, not to mention extremely stupid, but it worked...
beer is a good last resort

[DreamN]

So you pump grease where the pilot bushing goes into? I'm not completely grasping how it works.

[EAT Motorsports]

hydralics... basicly the pressure of the grease behind the bearing pushes it out from behind.

[smurfgcr]

the ghetto way is stuffing grease in there where the bearing is and find a cylindrical object that fits in there snug and tapping it. the hydraulic pressure is very strong pushes out wherever it can so theoretically it pushes out the bearing. doesnt work too well IMO. theres some stuff floating around zilvia which can give you some more ideas on how/what to do.

[aznrib]

The pilot bearing puller from auto zone will not work with the pilot bearing on the auto trans. The pilot bearing on the auto trans is longer compared to a manual one so the puller does not reach. What I did was cut slits into the bearing with a dremel and then tap it out.

[nosajton]

Originally Posted by DreamN

I'm in the process of a 5 speed swap and the only thing keeping me from completing this shit is the pilot bearing/bushing. Two of the pilot bearing pullers from AutoZone already snapped on me. I'm on my third (brand new) puller and it's just not grabbing. I don't want to tighten it even further because I have a feeling it'll just snap like the others, but the sucker just slides out when using the slide hammer.

Anyone know another method or maybe tell me if I'm doing something wrong? Really want this car back on the road. I miss my car .

does it have the auto bushing in it right now? if so get a air chisel and hit it from both sides.. it will pop right out. take 5 seconds.

if it is the 5 speed bushing, i used the special snap on pilot puller.

[Infamax]

One method is using a thick grease and a bolt the same diameter as the inner diameter of the pilot bushing. You pack the crap out of the bushing with grease and then hammer in the bolt into the bushing hole. The pressure applied to the grease without a way to exist will push on the pilot bearing from the inside and force it out.

or

Method two is to get a drill and drill out or carve out the busing into 2 pieces. Drill across the top of bushing and across the bottom until both sides are worn down. The metal the bushing is made of is soft enough for you to be able to carve into. You don't necessarily need to carve through the whole pilot bushing, just enough to weaken its integrity.

[jhec23]

Times like this, Dremel is our best friend. I did mine differently though, I had to shaped the puller I rented from auto zone with my dremel to make it fit good into the pilot bushing before pulling it with the slide hammer.

[CSXTacy]

sounds like you are having a bad run with pilot bearing pullers. just last night i installed a clutch on my buddies sr and bought a puller from the local snap on truck. granted it was 150 bucks but within 1 minute that bearing was out in one solid piece. the price for the tool was high but definatally worth it in the headache i saved trying to fanaggle it out of there with any thing else. just keep trying i guess thats all i can say. sry im not much more help. GOOD LUCK!!!

[DreamN]

Originally Posted by aznrib

The pilot bearing puller from auto zone will not work with the pilot bearing on the auto trans. The pilot bearing on the auto trans is longer compared to a manual one so the puller does not reach. What I did was cut slits into the bearing with a dremel and then tap it out.

Well, I don't think length is the problem. I think the fact that the teeth on the puller just won't grab onto the edge/groove of the bushing. Either way they AutoZone pullers are shitty.

Originally Posted by nosajton

does it have the auto bushing in it right now? if so get a air chisel and hit it from both sides.. it will pop right out. take 5 seconds.

if it is the 5 speed bushing, i used the special snap on pilot puller.

Yes, it's the auto bushing that I'm having trouble with. An air chisel? I'll consider it, but I really wouldn't want to use any type of power tool on it.

Originally Posted by EAT Motorsports

hydralics... basicly the pressure of the grease behind the bearing pushes it out from behind.

Ahh, alright I get it. I think this might be doable then. Did a quick search and those grease guns aren't all that expensive plus it'd probably come in handy iin the future.

Originally Posted by CSXTacy

sounds like you are having a bad run with pilot bearing pullers. just last night i installed a clutch on my buddies sr and bought a puller from the local snap on truck. granted it was 150 bucks but within 1 minute that bearing was out in one solid piece. the price for the tool was high but definatally worth it in the headache i saved trying to fanaggle it out of there with any thing else. just keep trying i guess thats all i can say. sry im not much more help. GOOD LUCK!!!

Went onto the Snap-On site and only found the same kind of puller that AutoZone rents out.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

[5t341tH]

like they said, i used a dremel. cut it in pieces and then use a flathead and get it out

[DreamN]

Well, I was able to get it off. What we did was cut the bearing on two opposite sides using a dremel to create to flat surfaces. Using an adjustable wrench we broke the bearing loose and then used the same autozone puller we were using before. I understand now what aznrib was saying about how the puller is not for the A/T bearing. The groove on the A/T bearing doesn't allow for the puller's claws to get a proper hold of it because of the lack of lip. It's meant to be used on the M/T bearing.

[98s14inaz]

Those bushings are different for everyone. It also depends on where your car has been. High humidity environments will cause moisture to build up causing surface rust which effectively seals those bushings in. I used the three prong bushing puller from Harbor Freight. It has worked on the 3rd-5th try every time I have used it on the auto bushing. The handful of times it failed I bought a fresh puller, put the old one back in the box, and took it back. I've never had to cut one out. The 5spd bushings are nice and soft. A few well placed blows with a hammer and chisel gets those right out. Like it was mentioned earlier in the thread, you just need to ruin the integrity of the 5spd bushing.

[Dream240]

When I did my auto/manual swap, I had just as bad of a time.

I used my dremel and the larger of the two sanding wheel attachments. Just sand the bushing down from the inside until it's thin enough to grab with vice grips. The vice grips should crush the bearing by grabbing the portion that sticks out of the hole and just clamping it down nice and tight. Once the integrity of the bushing is compromised, it should come out pretty easily.

The crappy part is the time it takes to sand through the bushing. Took me about 45-60 min. You have to pay special attention to where the dremel is at while you're sanding. You don't want to accidently dremel the inside of the crank hole....cause that would be bad.

And yeah the puller I bought from harbor freight works wonders on the manual pilot bushing. Takes less than 5 minutes everytime, and only cost me 10 bucks!!

Gotta love Chinese importers.

[Saucy240]

Originally Posted by Dream240

Gotta love Chinese importers.

Wouldn't that be exporters?

[aznrib]

Originally Posted by DreamN

Well, I was able to get it off. What we did was cut the bearing on two opposite sides using a dremel to create to flat surfaces. Using an adjustable wrench we broke the bearing loose and then used the same autozone puller we were using before. I understand now what aznrib was saying about how the puller is not for the A/T bearing. The groove on the A/T bearing doesn't allow for the puller's claws to get a proper hold of it because of the lack of lip. It's meant to be used on the M/T bearing.

glad you got it off. Gl on your project

[Dream240]

Originally Posted by Saucy240

Wouldn't that be exporters?

No, importers. I'm referring to the companies over here that BUY the stuff.

[98koukile]

I couldnt get mine out so i tacked a nut to it and threaded a long bolt into it and used a slide hammer... I wouldn't suggest this as there is a seal you can render useless if done wrong but it was an exercise in precision welding

[georgesal]

iv'e use heat (torch) and a puller also i have very carefully welded a bolt to thethe bearing on motors that have that nasty pilot bearing

[LFOabuse]

Both Autozone and Pep Boys rent a higher end bearing puller that works extremely well. It's called a "blind hole puller". It is a set of 4 different sized attachments and a slide hammer. The two times I have used it the bearings have popped out on the second or third hit of the slide hammer, minimal effort. It rents for about $120 cause it's a really nice kit, but you get your money back when you return it of course.

The "bearing puller" on the Autozone "rental chart" is absolute garbage. Most AZ employees don't know about this kit because it isn't on their tool rental chart. Rest assured they will have it although you may have to go in the back and find it yourself, just like 90% of stuff in AZ.

[UNISA JECS]

Here what I use when im doing an auto to 5 speed swap I think some people will find this useful:

To remove the auto pilot bushing I use a 1/2" extension with a 9/16" socket that has been slightly (modified) grinded to fit snugly into the auto pilot bushing and then simple push down and and pull up repeaditly until it wiggles it self loose, this works good!

Next to install the manual pilot bushing without damaging it first I soak the pilot bushing in motor oil for about 15-20 minutes for godo measure, then from my auto transmission I jack the input shaft from it which pulls right out (which can also be seen in teh pictures) use this to install the pilot bushing by placing the manual pilot bushing over the shaft and gentle tap with a hammer or mallet.

[DreamN]

Thanks to all who replied. Good ideas if there's ever a next time or for others viewing the thread.

LFOabuse, good to know. I asked if there were others, but they said that was the only one they carried.

[motronic]

Originally Posted by UNISA JECS

Here what I use when im doing an auto to 5 speed swap I think some people will find this useful:

To remove the auto pilot bushing I use a 1/2" extension with a 9/16" socket that has been slightly (modified) grinded to fit snugly into the auto pilot bushing and then simple push down and and pull up repeaditly until it wiggles it self loose, this works good!

I did it just like UNISA on my auto SR. I actually was in the same boat after I couldnt pull the pilot bushing using 2 diffferent puller and slide hammer etc.
I searched here and found that someone managed to do it by inserting a pipe that fit snug on the bushing and start wiggle it up and down. When I saw that I thought it was impossible and ridiculous but decided to try it anyway since the only option left is cutting/drilling it out.
I used my craftsman jack handle and start wiggling it, after about 10 mins I can see it start to sticks out and finally in 20 mins it was out. I didnt believe my eyes but it works.

[UNISA JECS]

Awesome, I think it took me about 1-2 minutes I used a hammer to tap the 1/2" extension up and down to get it started and soem PB Blaster.

[lilredstiffy]

A dremmel should only take 5 minutes or so if its really stuck. I've done it a few times, cut a triangle into the inside of it and it will pretty much fall out.