I have some oil leakage also, I replaced the rear main seal, the input shaft looked good, but i may go ahead and look into relacing the seal in that too.

Thanks
josh

 

DO NOT GET THE BRASS BUSHING....

(TRY USING BRASS BUSHINGS AS WHEEL BEARINGS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS)

ROLLER BEARING MAY WEAR OUT... SO WHAT.. PARTS DO THAT..

FOR SOMETHING THAT COSTS $5 I WOULD JUST BE REPLACING IT WHEN I DO A CLUTCH, OR A REAR MAIN, INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR IT TO GO BAD..

OPINION:

(GM PN#) 14061685 CRANKSHAFT STEEL ROLLER PILOT BUSHING

ALSO WHILE YOU ARE IN THERE...

(GM PN#) 12554314 REVISED LT4 REAR MAIN SEAL DOUBLE LIP

(ARP PN#) 100-2801 ARP FLY WHEEL BOLTS (12pt 7/16" X 1")

 

WHA Wha What!?

For something that sucks in design why would you pay $5? No flame intended here 385LT1, but my pilot bearing from a brand new crate engine gernaded at 20,000 miles maybe sooner, but that is about my guess at the mileage that it started to go. When you put the brass one down and then the roller one beside it, there is no difference in size. The brass one comes fluted and in my opinion is quite more reliable in strength and durabilty than the flimsy roller bearing. The instant he has any drive trainproblems, the rollerbearing will suffer, by drive train, I mean with in the perameters of the tranny. Mine disenegrated when it went. I am surprised as bad as it was, that it didnt mess up the crank. As for the numbers on the rear main and flywheel bolts, I couldnt agree more. But I definitly stand by my opinion in regards to the Brass Bushing.

 

Well,
Everyone had their own little quirks...

I happen to feel that a shaft spinning over bearings is smoother and sounds more reliable than constantly grinding away at a hard piece of steel....

Not trying to start an argument.... because i am quite sure there are many who have succeded to both ends of this one.....

Just voicing my opinion based on my experiences over the years.

 

Trust me, I intended no flame and I totally respect peoples opinion and would expect the same in return. But as for the Pilot bushing versus bearing, I do agree that a part that rolls is superior, unfortunately in GM's case it is not. The brass bushing is just that. It is fluted in the center where the input shaft goes through, is made of solid brass, cost about the same, and is only one solid part that could go wrong. As opposed to the needle bearings being scattered throughout the bell housing. I installed mine earlier this summer when I did an extensive driveline replacement, and put just a little grease on the input shaft end for some lube. Well I have had the tranny out one time after that and the bushing hardly looks used with 4000 miles on it. Brass is a non-scoring alloy used for many applications, i.e. brass punches used to knock out bearings or parts that could be damaged by steel on steel contact. But to each their own.

 

Chevroletfreak,
Where do you get that tool to pop the pilot needle bearing

 

Autozone rents a slide hammer and a pilot bushing removal tool for free. You pay like $40 to rent the tools, and when you bring them back you get your money back. I've used their stuff twice now with no problems.

The best way to get it out though is just buy a 5/8" tap and crank it in the hole. When the tap bottoms out on the crank it will push the bushing/bearing right out.

 

Try this:
Take an 11 mm (I think, but you'll want to make sure it just fits) 1/4 drive socket and put it backwards on a 1/4 drive extension. This will just fit inside the bushing/bearing and make the socket end almost flush and sealed. Then take a bunch of toilet paper and soak it in water. It has to be dripping wet. Pack the hole with the soaked paper. Insert the socket and hit the end of the extension a couple of times with a hammer. When you pack it some, add some more paper. Each time you hit it a few times, you'll feel it pack down and the bushing will start to back out. Keep doing that until you've got enough showing that you can get some pliers on it. It took me only a few minutes to get my bushing out and there was no cleanup. The paper left in the hole is compacted and almost dry. Just dig it out and the hole will be totally clean.

 

I have never been able to get that grease/TP trick to work.

Of course, I broke the puller Autozone loaned me when I tried to pull the one out on my car the first time.

 

Skip Glide - I could not get any of the other methods or the AutoZone slide hammer. I did a lot of searching and finally found it at a local cheapie tool store similiar to harbor Freight only smaller. I bought it for a bout $35. It is meant just for pulling that bushing and works easily and perfectly.

 

I just pulled mine yesterday.

IMO, the BEST way to pull a pilot bearing OR bushing is to use a slide hammer w/ a pilot bearing attachment. We had one, but the damn thing broke yesterday. Went to Auto Zone and rented one; took about 30 seconds to pop it out.

My pilot bushing looked pretty worn, so I replaced it with a pilot bearing. Just had to hammer the **** out of it to get it in. Hopefully it will work well (I had the tranny out to replace a leaky rear-main seal....stupid Felpro Teflon rear main), and the tranny gasket; I'm sick of oil leaks. In the process discovered my Star Stage III Ceramic clutch was on its way out.