I'm going to be changing out the clutch/flywheel soon.

Should the throwout bearing, pilot bearing and seals be replaced while I'm at it? Car has about 80,000 miles.

Thanks,
Victor

 

Change pilot and throwout bearings. Reuse pilot bearing dust seal. Changing rear main oil seal and trans input shaft seal are optional but recommended

 

When I put my clutch in last summer I got a throw out & pilot bearing with the clutch kit, The only thing I didnt do was the pilot bearing becuz its a pain in the butt to get the old one out without the tool and I figure my pettit motor only has about 9k miles so that would probably include the pilot bearing anyway

 

I don't necessarily agree with that. It's about $2 part. Most of the dust (oil) seals I've seen come out have been trashed (including mine). IMO, order a new one to be used.

If you are ordering a clutch kit (something like an ACT clutch kit), you'll get a new pilot and throw-out bearing to use. You will not get a new dust (oil) seal for the pilot bearing though...

 

so anyone have info on an easy way to get the pilot bearing out?

lets hear how you did it......

 

Used the Pilot Bearing Puller. Worked like a charm.

 

used the pilot bearing tool as well, only took oh, maybe 30 SECONDS. Without it oh, like hours and hours.

 

Its just a seal to keep water and dust out. Seriously...how much water is gonna get in there? If you use the puller to take it out and don't **** it up, there is no reason not to reuse it.

 

where'd you guys get the pilot bearing tool? i'm gonna get the flywheel stopper from mazdatrix... but the pilot bearing tool is fricken 112 dollars!!! haha also, do you reccomend getting a flywheel puller? or just doing the wegde technnique?

 

Thanks, I know what it's for, which is why I recommend using a new one. The seal is made to be slightly smaller than the shaft so when new, it provides a good seal. It's the same principle as metal gaskets after they have been crushed. But I guess you never replace your gaskets either....

However, if you want to allow your pilot bearing to fail early over a $2 part, be my guest.

I purchased mine from Rotary Performance (RX-7.com). Have you asked around your local area to see if someone already has one that you can borrow? I'm sure there is someone around there with one. Someone mentioned a similar tool that could be borrowed from places like AutoZone but I had no such luck in my area.

As for the flywheel puller, I had a friend with a harmonic puller, so I was lucky there. I just need to buy some long bolts for it. I'm not a fan of wacking on the flywheel (or banging anything connected to the eccentric shaft). IMO, if you need a hammer, you aren't doing it right.

 

The seal is literally like $2 from Mazda. Do you really want to risk all the time and money spent now that you've dropped the tranny and removed the flywheel? I dunno about you ... my flywheel and clutch weren't cheap.

 

Replace them all. Most kits include them all. Mine did, including the pilot bearing seal.