Hey guys,

I will be putting my new clutch in Saturday and I need to pull out the old Pilot Bearing. What is the easiest way to get that sucker out of there?

It's a bearing not a bushing so the "hydraulic" methods of packing with grease or wet TP, etc. won't work.

TIA

 

My advice is dont mess with it. Put your clutch aligment tool in the pilot bearing and wiggle it around. If it is a tight fit...leave it. It took me a dremel and two hours to finally break it and get mine out.

 

I know, I know but sometimes I gotta think there's a real way ;-) I'm quite proficient with the hammer & chissel. I'm one of those guys who turns the water faucet off too hard and I'm concerned if I go at this with my hammer and chissel I might damage the something.

 

I went to my local Checker and rented (free) a clutch pilot bearing puller. It was not the best tool (looked like someone else bent one end) and took several tries before it caught the back of the bearing and pulled it out. some liquid wrench helped too. I've also done the hammer and chissel but usually only enough to "convince" the bearing it would like to come out with the puller (much less effort).

 

go rent a tool and whack that sumbytch out

 

Well when i did my clutch i rented a tool from autozone and it didn't even fit. But my neighbor gave me a great way to do it. What you do is fill the hole up with grease. Lots of it so there isn't any room. Then what you have to do is find something that fits into the pilot bearing hole real snug. What i used is a bolt that i grinded down on to make fit. Then what you do is stick the bolt in the hole and get a hammer and gently start hitting the bolt in the hole. What will happen is when you hit the bolt in futher the grease will have nowhere to go. The pressure will cause the grease to push on the outside of the pilot bearing. Which will push it right out. Worked like a charm for me. Thats how i did it but i grinded a bolt down for it to work for me. But i read a thread the other day about how you can use i believe a 1/16 socket with a bolt in it and that would fit right around the pilot bearing. You still use grease with that though. Just do a search on pilot bearing you will find it.

 

cant believe nobody's mentioned this yet. Get some toilet paper(yes, t/p) and a cup of water and a 3/8 long ext. Get the t/p wet and stuff it in where the shaft goes and then take the ext. and bang on it with a hammer. It take quite a bit (he he) of t/p, but keep on "packing" it in and hammer some more. I know it sounds crazy, put I've taken out 3 of em like this and it works like a charm. Trust me on this, i'm not kidding

 

im tryin the TP trick tomorrow or saturday when i replace my clutch

somethin else for you guys... how hard it is to get to those bolts at the top of the bellhousing? is it done from the top behind the motor or from the bottom?

 

Actually, I mentioned it in my first post. This "hydraulic" method, whether using water soaked TP or grease, will not work on a bearing. At least with my experience. It should work fine with a solid bushing, which is what comes stock in these things, but not a bearing. With a bearing the hydraulic medium (water or grease) just squeezes up into and between the bearings and out past the "plunger". I know because I tried. I packed all the wet TP in there that could fit and the water would just ooze on through the bearing gaps and out and the bearing never budged.

That's just my experience and YMMV.

BTW, I got it out last night with a combination of hammer & chisel and the dremel. It took a couple of hours but I got it.

 

I find it easiest to get them from above .... a long extension slipped in through the shifter hole with someone down below just to help guide it on has worked very well for me. I like it because it's a straight shot and there is no need for a universal or anything so you get full torque on it.

 

Once u get your trans out get a hammer and dent the tunnel where the bellhousing bolts are. I've had mine out several times, and u cant get em all from the bottom easily after u give yourself alittle room for the socket and swivel. I doesnt take much, and u cant see it, so whack away