pilot bearing.......

[bosco]

Never done this before.......I have a rebuilt engine (69/70) im getting ready to install....and a new pilot bearing to put in. There was not one in there when I got the engine.....are there any tricks to installing these? Do they just press in or must they be coaxed? Is there a depth for them?

Thanks

[baz]

pack it with grease then push it in till its all the way home

[kwilford]

One end of the new needle bearing should have writing on it, and if you look closely inside, you will see a small internal "seal". That end goes "out" (as in towards the rear of the car) to help contain the grease inside. Drive the new bearing in so that the outer end is just a bit inside the hole in the crank, leaving a space between the inside edge and the end of the crank hole. I usually use a socket just a bit smaller than the outside diameter of the bearing, and use either a brass or plastic headed hammer, or at least a smaller steel hammer. You do need to "coax" it in, but it shouldn't take too hard a blow.

If there wasn't a pilot bearing to start with, the crank may have been mated to an automatic tranny (no pilot bearing). If you ever need to remove an old pilot bearing, I found that a small slide hammer with a "hook" on the end works very well. I have also removed pilot "bushings" (rather than a bearing that is used in an Opel) by packing the inside of the bearing with heavy grease and then using an old tranny input shaft and tapping the end into the bushing. The grease, being incompressible, forces the bushing out around the shaft. This only works if the bushing is a fairly tight fit to the shaft, so that the grease doesn't just push out between the bushing and shaft. I haven't tried this trick with a needle bearing, but it should work so long as the bearing is fairly intact. A damaged bearing (and why else would you be removing it?) probably has too much clearance for this to work.

Don't pack too much grease in when you install the new bearing, as it will be thrown out and foul the clutch disk. Just a light coating around the needles is sufficient.

HTH

[GopelT]

Kwil, Heres an old trick. When removing an old pilot bearing all you need is wet toilet paper. Stuff pieces of wet toilet paper in just as you would the grease and keep ramming it in with the old input shaft or any close fitting steel or brass bar. Presto! The pilot bearing will pop right out.

[opeldean]

i have looked online and every shop in town.

I cannt find a pressure plate and clutch at a decent price.

OGTS is about $260 for a Sachs and one shop wanted $230 special order.

S-10 are around $75 but what will machining costs and drilling new holes add on?

i thought there was a generic replacement around..but I cant seem to find it.

thanks

[Mach1Tom]

Bucky,

I think GreenSmurf (Jared) posted recently about getting complete clutch assemblies for under $150 somewhere near him. I don't know if they are Remanufactured or new.

I also got your email. I just sold a complete clutch set-up to a fellow Opeler. But I have one more NOS 1.9 clutch set here if you can't find one cheap enough.

The S-10 conversion will cost probably about $200 since they have to machine the step from the flywheel & then redrill the holes to accept the S-10 bolt pattern.

~ Tom C.

[denny71gt]

I realize this is an old thread, but...... I am trying to remove the pilot bearing from a '71 GT. It appears that someone (factor or PO) was overzealous when installing it, the bearing is so far in that I am unable to get a "hook" (on a slide hammer) on the back of the bearing. I tried the toilet paper trick to no avail. It would not move. I thought that if I removed the roller bearings and the "mesh" holder that I could get to the front edge of the bearing with a hook. Nope, the hook broke off the front edge of the bearing. Not!!!! So now I have a sleeve with a very narrow edge. How do I get it out? All suggestions are welcomed.

Denny

[kwilford]

I had a similar problem repairing Kat McCoy's old GT, which the pilot bearing had completely piled up and all that was left was the outer shell. I used a small metal chisel, but a centre punch ground to a chisel face would work, no larger than 1/4" across. Split the outer shell into the centre, and then grab the pushed in piece with a pair of needle nose pliers. Be careful not to damage the crank itself, but the shell should be much softer metal than the crank, so it worked quite well when I did it.

HTH

[heimue]

When I took a pilot bearing out a while ago, I fabricated a puller tool. PM me your address and I'll send it to you.

Dieter

[denny71gt]

Finally got the pilot bearing out. Had to use a diamond ball tip Dremel to cut the sleeve. One of the technics I tried when removing it was using a new Loctite product that freezes the bearing (or whatever) to -45 degrees F. This didn't work for the removal, but I was wondering if freezing the pilot bearing prior to installation would make this a much easier task. Anyone had experience with this? If so did you grease the outside of the bearing?

Denny