Ended up destroying the pilot bearing when trying to remove it - the autozone puller apparently is not a good thing.

Whole inside of it is out, but the outside "shell" or race is left.

A member recommended going the dremel route - is there any alternative options to removing it now?

 

The dremel will probably be a good choice right now, just be careful so you dont dig into the shaft during cutting.

Ive ruined at least 2 pilot bearings using the crap autozone/advance auto pullers, time to invest in the mazda pilot bearing removal tool. IIRC mazdatrix sells them for about 120 plus shipping, and is about the only thing to remove the bearing without too much effort.

 

Pilot bearing removal
If you carefully drag the dremel stone fore and aft making a trench you will notice as it gets very thin it will turn blue from the heat. A small screwdriver can then lift the edge and a pair of needle nose pliers can spiral it out without any damage.

The best trick for removing the old pilot bearing is to fill the cavity with grease and hit an aluminum drift (the same size as the transmission shaft end) sharply. It will hydraulic it out without any damage.

Barry

 

I used a straight head screwdriver, knocked the race out, and it all fell out inside the shaft, removed all of it with a q-tip with grease on the end.

 

Yup, took me about five minutes with the Mazda one; and the inside broke apart since the bearing was screwed anyway and about two mintues of more hammering and the outer case came out no prob. But it's better to borrow one from a friend who's got it.

 

Smooth any high spots on the bore before installing the new bearing. Low spots are OK.
Barry

 

Barry is Right on the Dremel Advice..If you just give the Outer Part of the Pilot bearing Weakened,it will fold into itself and you can twist it out with a Pair of Pliers.
I used the Puller Tool for this job.Once.It worked.,then I tried it again and it Failed.
The Claws of the tools would bend,and not Grab the bearing.
I got all pissed and took my Dremel and carefully Went at it.Success!!..
So now instead of Traveling 100 km(60 miles) to Rent the damn tool,I pull out the Fabulous Dremel,and I have them out in Five Minutes
I did try the "hydraulic method",But to no avail.It just wouldn't move the bearing at all.

 

OH..and don't worry about destroying the bearing when you pull it out.You should be More worried about Installing the bearing without Harming it.Also,keep in mind that you should be careful about Damaging the hole in the shaft when installing the bearing,Making sure that the bearing is installed Straight,and in a Clean hole.
Cheers,STYX.

 

Same case... Advanced Auto removal tool sucks ***. Didn't have access to a Mazda specific tool and we used a Dremel. It worked fantastic! It's what you used first off last time I needed transmission work.

We just ground down the inside until it got weak and then pulled everything out. Cleaned out the E-shaft w/ a Q-tip covered w/ grease like above.

 

i also had to use a dremel when the pilot bearing broke on my clutch job. POS harbor freight puller. but yea it'll crack and jus fold on to itself jus like the guy above said then jus pull it out with a pair of needle nose pliers. jus be extremely careful itll prolly be alot easier if the car was lifted as high as possible from the ground.

 

i have heard of a trice of packing the hole ith grase and then using a peice of metal that like a round dowl that is almost the same size and hit it with a hammer. suposivle the grase is susposted to go behind the bearing and force it out. just something i saw.

 

yea those pullers are crap i tried the dremil a chisel a screw driver when the easest route was just a tap and dye set i came out easy i was pissed i wasted 3 days worken on getting it out

 

You said you heard, and then you saw. Which one is it?! Did you see it work? Or did you hear about it?

 

Yes this works perfectly. I've done this 3 times and it always works well. It can get a bit messy though haven't done it on an FC but I am sure it will work also