[Tintop55]

Howdy alls... well ,,I am having my trans rebuilt, (M20),and was told that I should replace the pilot bushing while the trans ,, Cluch were out of the car. Is this a fairly easy task? Also I was told that I could use either a (roller type bushing) or a (Oil Light brass bushing) the car is equipped with a scatter proof bellhousing (lakewood}, Hays, flywheel,anlong with centerforce clutch, Any tips or comments are Appreciated .... Thanks Tintop55

 

[66rat]

I recommend the oil impregnated bushing. a friend of mine experienced a burnt thrust bearing in his 427 that we suspected was the result of a roller type pilot bearing. The roller type fit extremely tight on the input shaft and we think it took all the end play out of the crank and smoked the thrust bearing (the thrust clearance checked good during build-up). Of course he was using a 3200lb pressure plate that could have contributed to this as well. We reasonably sure but not positive that we got a good fix because he lost the engine shortly afterwards. He missed a gear and winged the motor to 8200. Jerked the wrist pin out the bottom of the piston. Something I did learn....Stop and assess the situation when the tranny will not butt up to the bell housing on installation. If you have to wrench the tranny into place the last 3/4 inch the pilot bearing is probably too tight. If you suspect a problem, grab a hold of the harmonic balancer and see if you have any back and forth play on the crank. The end play will be very small, you may have to use a dial indiactor to be sure. Hope this helps. Rob

 

[Keith Tedford]

I just ordered a replacement pilot bearing for a 454 from GM and it was a roller bearing that came. I would think that you would have to be extra careful installing the transmission so as not to damage the seal or rollers in the bearing.

 

[RickinNC]

I have a roller bearing in mine and have had no trouble with it. Just take your time with installation of all the parts.

Rick
67ss bb
TC #326

 

[Gene Chas]

Check out my post on Z bar upgrade while you;re at it.

 

[Cam Sweet]

Getting the old one out is so easy, it's almost fun. Pack the cavity with wheel bearing grease and keep mashing it in with an old input shaft or an alignment tool. A piece of dowel will work if just slightly smaller than the ID of the bearing. Once full of grease a few good raps with a hammer and it will start to come out. The hydraulic action will press the bushing out. I had heard of this trick once and was pleasantly amused the first time I did it (I'm easily amused). Clean up the cavity before reinstalling the new one. Hope this helps.

Cam

 

[Wes V]

I agree with Cam about how much fun that method of removing the bearing is!!

I got a call from some friends that were stumped on how to remove the bearing and they wanted to know if I had the "special tool". I went over to their place with my special "bearing removal / axle bearing grease" and showed them how it's done.

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Wes. Vann
Technical Reference section
Gold Member #5

 

[TH]

We used a puller to get ours out, just because I happened to have one laying around. Nothing wrong with the other method. We put a roller bearing in our crank, have put over 1K miles on it with some full throttle blasts and hard starts and it is fine so far.

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Tom H.
Member #259
Indianapolis,IN www.iquest.net/~bharold/chevelle/

 

[Tintop55]

Thank You Guys!!! OK I will try the wheel bearing grease method,,as I also like anything thats fun,and easy Also I was reading in the manual, about indexing the cluch cover,,needles to say Im a bit confused on this part. Like I said before the car does have a Lakewood bellhousing and centerforce clutch. I even read somewhere that You should use a dial indicator to make sure that the bellhousing is indexed properly.I really want to try and do the best job I can,,but am in the dark on all the indexing of the clutch componants. I dont suppose anyone would like to try to walk me through this end of the job ,, is there?? I apoligise for My ignorance on this subgect,,, but I really want to try and do as good of a job as possible! P.S. The main reason for Me having the trans rebuilt all stems from a pretty bad vibration at the shifter at higher speeds,, so I want to do things right on the reassembally... Thanks Again... Tintop55

 

[DZAUTO]

Everyone,
If you use the roller bearing type pilot bearing rather than the bushing type, PACK IT GOOD WITH BEARING GREASE. The only failure I have seen with the roller bearing was one that was not well greased. That's in the same catagory as boat drain plugs.

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Tom Parsons

 

[Carl Brune]

Went by the dealer a few days ago, he told me that GM has discontinued the bushing, and they only offer the roller bearing now. Is this BS? I'm sure they'd rather sell a $12 part instead a $3 one. --- Carl

 

[DUANE OCHS]

Any parts supply place has the bronze bushing. Also i have a lakewood scatter shield on my 70 ss and you can not get it on wrong. If memory serves me right there are 2 dowels on each side of the block to guide your bellhousing on. You can leave the bellhousing bolts a little loose till you have the trans. in place and sitting on the rear trans mount. Then tighten everything up.