Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

Well if everyone went out and got a used trans they could use the transmission input shaft. The cheap plastic tools work just fine as long as you pay attention to the feel of the tool coming out of the splines and ensure that you have a good alignment.

As far as the $100.00 pilot bearing tool. Alot of these guys cannot afford a one time C-note expense. But I do recommend that you try and find one like the factory one that you can rent atleast. It is much better than the jaw style.

jarath

Mine siezed right to the input shaft and came out with the tranny... cutting that off and trying to fix the mess the bearing left wasn't easy.

DublyDurty

Blake,

Just a small "editorial" comment. I looked at the link you provided and the first paragraph of the tutorial says: "The pilot bearing should be changed when you rebuild your engine ideally. It is a fairly expensive part but is extremely important in supporting the transmission."

Actually, "It is a fairly inexpensive part" 'cause it's only like $12.50 for the pilot bearing and seal. But it does get expensive if you do it wrong!


DD

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Well, I bought the "wothless, cheap 2-jaw puller" for $25.00 and put it on my universal slap hammer and pulled it right out. I had to modify the ends of the puller to fit through the bearing with my dremel to make it work, but I just used the new bearing to verify the fit. I couldn't see spending the $100.00 unless I had to. This worked for me and I saved $75.00 in the process. If it would have failed then I would go get the expensive tool.

If I was doing this for a living, of course I would get the expensive tool because in the end it would pay for itself over time. Me, I might never pull that tranny again.

DublyDurty

I bought the even cheaper one from JC Whitney for $17 because it has 3 jaws instead of 2. I slightly tapered the inside legs of the jaws into a V shape and it fit and worked perfectly. But since the "brace" legs were too short I slipped on a couple of 13mm sockets. But I don't do this for a living either. We ARE a cheap bunch, aren't we?!!







DD

Blake

LOL. Yeah, I didn't write that. I think he was thinking of the tool, not the part.

Blake

Even I blind squirl finds a nut from time to time. Count yourself lucky. We usually only find them that loose if there is pre-existing damage to the bore from a previous failed bearing, but every once in a while you get really lucky. The falicy in your agument is that if the two-jaw puller didn't work you could then just use the factory tool...often the pilot bearing shell gets damaged and you will then your only recourse to cut the pieces out. Also keep in mind that you can buy the factory tool and then sell it when you are done. No different than renting if you consider that the deposit is equal to the cost.

Blake

That one looks like it might actually work pretty well. I would still be concerned about those cast jaws, but it certainly is about 100% better than the ordinary 2-jaw pullers we normally see.

t_g_farrell

iTrader: (1)

Interesting bit about the bore being munged. I bought this car back in 83 (80 GS) and in 84 the clutch went out. I had some shop in Jersey at the time fix it but I had to send it back within a month because the pilot bearing was making noise and it was hard to shift. Fast forward 20+ years and I pull the pilot bearing out and see the inside of the bore is all f$%#@ed up looking inside, like it was welded and then reground. I inspected it closely and it looks like it will support the bearing ok. The old bearing actually looked fine and this was after 50K of use on it. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping the new bearing works out ok. If not I'll finally have an excuse to build a new motor from scratch :-)

bliffle

What to do if the ID is munged? I guess it's easy if the engine is out: get the oversize PB and take the engine to a machinist to have the ID bored out. The adventurous might try contriving his own press and boring with a few disposable twist drills. Hmmm. At the least he'll have to hone out the ID to make it nice.

But if the engine is in the car and you absolutely need a decent ghetto fix to get home or back over the border, I suppose you'd drop under in that 32 degree weather with the rain pouring down and clean up the ID with the Dreml so the bore is clear to accept the new PB, and then improvise something to fill the remaining pits in the ID so as to keep the PB from rocking and yawing. Maybe something like filling the pits with JB or high-temp epoxy (I think heat is the enemy of epoxy) and inserting a cheap clutch centering tool with mold-release to form the ID so it's close to the OD of the PB. Then after curing hone the ID and insert the PB. Might work.

Blake

What it takes to do the job right is an expensive reamer jig with a bronze bushing threaded onto the end of the eccentric shaft and three stages of check reamers to bore it out a little at a time. It can be done in the car and costs just a fraction of the cost of an engine rebuild (to replace the shaft), which would otherwise be the only real solution. As far as I am aware, we bought up the entire North American supply of Mazda oversized pilot bearings (there weren't that many left in the system).

bliffle

Well there's the answer to one question: all the OEM O'size PBs are gone. A guy might try to find an interchangeable part from another car or another supplier, I suppose. For a ghetto fix you could try fitting an Oilite bearing, having it machined from sintered bronze if necessary. That would be enough to get you home OK. Lots of old cars had oilite bearings before needle bearings became common.



Nice that the reamer can be run with the engine in place.

OZZYINCALI

iTrader: (4)

Blake,
I know this thread is old as hell but how much does that reamor cost? My shaft has been abused by some mickey mouse tech/backyarder. Is there a way to rent? How much is the over sized pb? thanks

gsl-se addict

iTrader: (3)

It is sad to say, but Blake is no longer with us. He took his own life some time ago. Very sad.

Perhaps someone else will have some ideas for you.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

Not knowing of alternatives at the time, I invested many years back in the Mazdatrix pilot bearing tool.

Kind of glad I did, as it turns out that it doubles as a dowel pin puller when the pilot-bearing nose is removed - - exact same thread on the slide shaft as the internals of the engine dowel pins.

I've used the slide hammer portion to pull axles, too.