Ok, I'm in bearing hell! Doing a simple clutch job, big mistake, I should know by now that nothing is ever simple. Anyway, there was nothing left of the pilot bearing. All the needle bearings were chewed up and gone. My delima is how to get the race(spelling) out. Tried bearing extractor tool, no good. Packed with grease and took an extension and beat it, no good. Thought about a dremal, and actually started to use it. Thank goodness it broke, I would really hate to mess the shaft up. Also was suggested something about a washer on an all thread bolt. From what was described the bolt would be to big to go through the hole with a washer on it. PITA!

So, any suggestions would be greatly welcomed. Was doing this at somebody elses place, but after the second day I no longer wanted to impose on them, so I pulled the car home. 2 days! Frustrated is not the word for it.

 

What extractor tool did you try? I rented one (the small one)from autozone, just needed a little grinding to make it fit. Ill give you the part number if you wanna try that. I never returned it LOL. Figured its worth its weight in gold.

 

Ok wait. I got that one from the zone too, the small one. So, you are telling me that if I grind it down to make it fit it will jerk it out? Damn, if that's it I should have kept it. Just grind the ends down a bit?

 

I have removed the race twice from shafts where that was all that was left. Take your trusty old Dremel tool with a small grinder bit and CAREFULLY grind a groove on the inside of the race, being careful not to grind completely through it. Then take a small sharp chisel and you should be able to split it where you ground it out. Take some emery cloth and smooth out any scratches you may have put on the inside of the shaft. I put my new bearing in the freezer for a bit before installing it and it tapped in pretty easy. Don't forget to install a new seal. There wasn't a seal on either of the bearings that I replaced, so I suppose this is what caused the bearing failure. Good luck.
Todd

 

Yup, OEM# 27059. They probably wont even notice its ground down when you return it. Its still hard to yank out, but its do-able with that tool.

 

Great! gives me hope now. I don't need matches and gas.

To bad it's raining or I would climb under it and do it now. Thanks !

 

Tell Frances I said hi!

 

Yep, these guys are spot-on.

I also had to use the Autozone 'loaner' tools, and found that by grinding away at the needle bearing race with my Dremel tool, I could create 2 indentations in the race that allowed the head of the puller to just barely fit in. Once in, I rotated the head of the puller with a 22mm wrench so that it 'bit' into the race, and then slammed it with the slam-hammer handle until it came out.

This is not an easy job, but once you get the new pilot bearing in there, it is SOOOOO quiet! You'll be glad you did. Stick with it,

 

::still drooling over longducks car and trying to act coherant:: Yea what they said

 

You can avoid this problem in the future by obtaining a pilot tool that is attached to a slide hammer, it expands all the way out and locks in place, it has never failed me, i have done at least 30 clutches. rx7doctor

 

i used one i got from a schucks (checker or kragen is the same thing), worked on the first try, and trust me this thing was a bitch

i fought with the mother effer for two days as well, tried packing it with grease... tried splitting it...grinding it out. Who would have thought the puller made for it worked?? lol

i was skeptical on the fit of it after reading everyone elses experiences but it fit....its a powerbuilt brand puller (kit #8) so if you have any access to that you might try it out

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate your help, and will let you know the outcome this weekend.

Longduck, I had read your earlier write up on this awhile back and was thinking, " I am sure glad I don't have this problem!" I guess I jinxed myself.