Removing Piot bearing

[jinesz32]

I googled it and found some stuff on it on nicoforums, but i was just wondering what was the best way to remove the pilot bearing from an s14 auto tranny, im doing a 5 speed swap and im stuck trying to get the pilot bearing out, me and my friend been at it for hours and hours now, using the drill, chisel, etc. over and over taking turns and it wont break, we got it to crack but it won't come out, any one have any good solutions? tomorrow im going to buy a puller and see how that works.

any help appreciated.
thanks.

[hashiriya13]

tomorrow im going to buy a puller and see how that works.



Thats the key right there. Or you can do what I did last time. use a battery hold down (the long threaded part). cut/bend to fit in and then use a nut, washer and a part of or something smiler to a slap hammer. so you can slide and hit it against the washer. It will come out. Hope you have not drilled/chiseled to much already. good luck.

[sac]

Some shops in mexico shove paper in there. They pound the paper in very tight. get it wet to go in there first, then shove it in, get more paper, more paper, more paper, eventually put more paper. till you can start rolling up the paper thick and pound it with a hammer. The air inside will pull the bearing. This takes a long time, but it works.

BUY the puller. DONT CHEAP OUT. BUY THE MAC, SNAP ON, CORNWELL, MATCO, TOOL!! the slide hammer style. BUY THE SLIDE HAMMER STYLE!! you will not regret the slide hammer style, it works 10 times faster, is stronger, and looks cooler. You can use a recripcating air saw to put in there and cut the actual bearing out. But once you crack it, it will come out VERY easy with a slide hammer stlye pilot bearing puller.

any other questions?

[IIIXziuR]

Yeah Slide Hammer does the trick.

[Dream240]

That Mexico method sounds waaay to complicated and messy.

Just go to Harbor Freight, they have a slide hammer set for 15 bucks. I bought it, used it, makes the job take about 2 mins. Save some money, you don't need Matco, MAC, Snap-On, etc. That just the common commerical propaganda. As long as you don't abuse your tools they will last. I still use mine today. So far I've used it 4 times still works fine.

[blueshark123]

i think autozone rents them out also so u can get it their for free

[Dream240]

i think autozone rents them out also so u can get it their for free

If you can find ANYTHING in their "rent" stock that's actually not broken or missing pieces to it by all means, use it. The chances of finding anything there worth using is next to none.

Unfortunately the whole rent tools idea was great about 7 years ago when they started do it. Unfortunately they haven't updated their stock, replaced broken items, or expanded the existing tools to accomodate the ever growing number of various imports.

IMO, Autozone still doesn't know what the metric system is. But good luck!

[91silvia]

If you have an air hammer, one thing i've always done is turned it pretty far down and started stuffing a shop rag soaked with oil into the hole. Take your air hammer and keep pushing the rag in gently until it gradually pops the pilot bearing out. Takes about 5 minutes tops.

[s14alex]

Fill the hole with grease

find a bolt or something round that fits snugly inside the pilot bushing

Hit it with a hammer

The grease has nowhere to go, and eventually will push the bushing out.

It might take a few swings, but this method works

I've done this on a couple different motors, but orginally saw the trick on Extreme 4x4

[rican_nick]

That Mexico method sounds waaay to complicated and messy.

Just go to Harbor Freight, they have a slide hammer set for 15 bucks. I bought it, used it, makes the job take about 2 mins. Save some money, you don't need Matco, MAC, Snap-On, etc. That just the common commerical propaganda. As long as you don't abuse your tools they will last. I still use mine today. So far I've used it 4 times still works fine.


x2....

i've replaced 5 or 6 with my HF slide hammer.......like with all my harbor freight tools.. i usually get my moneys worth if it works one time.

everything after that is just bonus points.

[projectRDM]

x2....

i've replaced 5 or 6 with my HF slide hammer.......like with all my harbor freight tools.. i usually get my moneys worth if it works one time.

everything after that is just bonus points.

Agreed. HF makes great tools to last one time only. Anything after that is gold.

[shade]

Yes, I broke one. Do not rent from Autozone! Just go buy your own, its not that expensive.

If you can find ANYTHING in their "rent" stock that's actually not broken or missing pieces to it by all means, use it. The chances of finding anything there worth using is next to none.

Unfortunately the whole rent tools idea was great about 7 years ago when they started do it. Unfortunately they haven't updated their stock, replaced broken items, or expanded the existing tools to accomodate the ever growing number of various imports.

IMO, Autozone still doesn't know what the metric system is. But good luck!

[sac]

That Mexico method sounds waaay to complicated and messy.

Just go to Harbor Freight, they have a slide hammer set for 15 bucks. I bought it, used it, makes the job take about 2 mins. Save some money, you don't need Matco, MAC, Snap-On, etc. That just the common commerical propaganda. As long as you don't abuse your tools they will last. I still use mine today. So far I've used it 4 times still works fine.The mexico method is kinda messy and complicated but it works. I recomend the slide hammer style pilot bearing puller however. IF you plan on being able to buy a tool one time and have it last you dont buy harbor freight. I buy some things from harbor freight but this is one i would buy from a HIGH quality tool vendor. It is not just a rumor that their tools are stronger and better made. My craftsman and harbor freight open ended wrenches flex and bend when i use them to "break a bolt free" so i can pull it out with my fingers. If you are just trying to fix your car, cheap tools. If your trying to build it, spend on quality. Remember those tools keep your car running.

i think autozone rents them out also so u can get it their for freeYa but autozone's tool is NOT a slide hammer style.
If you can find ANYTHING in their "rent" stock that's actually not broken or missing pieces to it by all means, use it. The chances of finding anything there worth using is next to none.

Unfortunately the whole rent tools idea was great about 7 years ago when they started do it. Unfortunately they haven't updated their stock, replaced broken items, or expanded the existing tools to accomodate the ever growing number of various imports.

IMO, Autozone still doesn't know what the metric system is. But good luck!SO TRUE! but i refuse to rent from autozone. I dont want ghetto abused tools that are prone to breaking on me or slipping. I dont like busted knuckles or cuts on my hands. Sure i dont mind cuts and sores on my hands from working on my car. But ones that were caused from cheap tools are not for me.
If you have an air hammer, one thing i've always done is turned it pretty far down and started stuffing a shop rag soaked with oil into the hole. Take your air hammer and keep pushing the rag in gently until it gradually pops the pilot bearing out. Takes about 5 minutes tops.haha this is the "high tech" mexican style.. They dont have alot of air tools in mexico.

Fill the hole with grease

find a bolt or something round that fits snugly inside the pilot bushing

Hit it with a hammer

The grease has nowhere to go, and eventually will push the bushing out.

It might take a few swings, but this method works

I've done this on a couple different motors, but orginally saw the trick on Extreme 4x4There are so many types of this trick, basically you force something that can hold air and is durable Put pressure on. You apply pressure (pound on it) and the force causes the air (or grease) to push the object out. Its physics.

x2....

i've replaced 5 or 6 with my HF slide hammer.......like with all my harbor freight tools.. i usually get my moneys worth if it works one time.Everything after that is just bonus points.

haha i agree. If harbor freight stuff works one time thank god!
Most times you can get 2-3 out of them though. I change clutches frequently though.
i dont know bout you guys, but i can pull a car into a bay with a hoist lift it up, change the clutch disc, clutch cover, pilot bearing, and the fluid in the trans on a s13 or s14 w/ ka or sr, drop it down, and take it for a test drive in about a hour. By myself, with no help. I think the book calls for 3.4 hours for this. But keep in mind, i have done between 200-300 of these on my cars, friends, and customers cars. i use a transmission jack, air ratchet, impact gun, alignment tool, various wrenches, screwdrivers, extensions, and sockets.. Not trying to brag here, just saying that if you use the proper tools, the job will go really fast if you pay attention, work quick, and are familiar with what your doing.

Spend less time working on your car and spend more time driving!!:2f2f:

[jinesz32]

thanks guys, i'll go grab those tools and see how the outcome is, then we can see how we wasted hours trying to get that damn piolet bearing out.

thank you for everyone that replied.

i really appreciate it :)

i cant wait to get this 5 speed in! its gonna be real fun!

[jinesz32]

--

alright, so we tried the grease, and use a socket piece and smashed the crap out of it, then we stuck a flathead in and played around with it, and we saw the damn thing MOVE, so we used a vice grip and it came right out! wow, hours of work the previous day over nothing.

right now, we just put the 10lb fidanza lightweight flywheel on, stage 2 masterclutch, and the pressure plate. we also drilled the hole for the clutch. right now were stuck on getting the tranny on. hopefully we'll have better luck tomrorow.

[Baron Fel]

is it really necessary to replace the pilot bushing each time you replace your clutch? Or is this one of those things you can let slide?

[Modrified]

is it really necessary to replace the pilot bushing each time you replace your clutch? Or is this one of those things you can let slide?

it's really up to you, but it's recommended. i know some people who didn't replace it and they didn't have any problem.

i've done it twice and both times, I changed the pilot bushing.

it's not that hard to remove any way. take the time to go to your local parts store and rent a pilot bushing puller. with it, it takes not even five minutes to remove. pilot bushings aren't the expensive and some kits comes with one.

[DreamN]

Just so people know, the one that autozone rents out for $18-$20 is worthless if you're trying to take out an automatic pilot bearing on our cars. It will not work because it's unable to get a good enough grasp onto the pilot bearing. What we did to make it work was loosening the pilot bearing with an adjustable wrench after using a dremel to cut two flat regions opposite of each other on the exposed edge of the pilot bearing. Once loose the bearing puller and slide hammer did the job.

[Baron Fel]

what would fail if the bushing wasn't changed? could it break apart and screw up the input shaft?

[Modrified]

what would fail if the bushing wasn't changed? could it break apart and screw up the input shaft?

if bushing wasn't changed and it was bad, you would have vibrations. the pilot bushing is there to make the end of the driveshaft snug so it won't have any play. i remember awhile back, a friend put a wrong pilot bushing and his car was scary to be in because it was shaking/vibrating a lot.

i rented my tool at checkers and the brand that i rented was the pilot bushing remover by powerbuilt.

[ManoNegra]

Rebuilt an auto KA over the weekend. Bought a cheap $20 puller from HF for the bushing but the damn thing didn't work. The auto bushing was just on too tight. Finally, friend machined an aluminum rod to the size of the bearing, packed some grease and presto:

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/5277/removedautopilotbushingrr0.jpg

[Jung918]

^ you got splooge all over yourself

[lilredstiffy]

i always just dremmel them out these days.
The Harbor freight tool does work if its not 'stuck'.

I've tried the grease method everytime. Never works for me. :(