I have seen quite a few post on the club asking how to remove the pilot bearing, so i'm going to post this bit. It is magic.

You will need:
Toilet paper
Bowl of water
3/8 socket extension
Hammer

You should find that the extension fits inside the pilot bearing quite nicely.
Soak some TP in water and pack it inside the pilot bearing until it is full. Use the extension and hammer to pack the wet TP into the bearing whole. Not too hard, but snug. Fill it again with wet TP and hammer it in again. Keep at it (as many times as it takes) and the pressure of the TP in the bearing will force the bearing out. I have used this method on a number of cars and it has never failed. It is also way easier than the Dremel method.

Sometimes the extension doesn't fit right but and bar or rod that fits will work. It only takes a few minutes. I was amazed when i first tried this. The nice thing about this method is that everyone has TP and a Hammer, and if it doesn't work, (never seen it fail), then TP isn't exactly hard to get out and you can go and rent the expensive puller.

Hope this helps some folks

Dave

 

pip, that is actually a good idea, about the same as the grease method. However, I tried this as well as verious different methods on mine to no avail. Thus the dremel as a last resort. I don't believe in cutting it out but if all else fails it leaves one no other choice.

 

or if u can manage to get past all the retards transfering you from guy to guy at peopboys you can rent a puller in about an hour if your lucky

 

I've found that the pullers at Pep-Boys and AutoZone are usually too big for the rotary pilot bearing. I usually just file the ends down enough so it fits, then it works like a charm...

 

you just need the mazda pilot bearing tool.... its PIMP i got 1 with a large item buy i got from a local shop.... a 2nd comp tester, oil "jig", lots of papers with cool *** info, a "rotor seal"box, and a pilot bearing remover tool, all the mazda tools even have metal plates with mazda part #'s and such on them.... a well spent 125$

 

you suck...

man, using TP is a damn good idea. Something I never would have come up with.

 

I too think the TP method is a good idea. I'll have to try it some day.

 

Aha! That explains the cryptic "I remove pilot bushings the easy way: with paper" that I got from an oldtime mechanic a few years ago. He just smiled and didn't offer to explain.

B

 

If the auto parts place doesn't have a puller you can rent, or if they're not the right size, and you don't feel like spending a fortune on the Mazda-branded tool, go to harbor freight, or their website, and buy their cheapest slide hammer. The smaller set of jaws that comes with that tool (the brand name is "Pittsburgh") fits the pilot bearing perfectly.

And, plus, when you're done -- you've got a slidehammer in your toolbox. I can't tell you how many uses I've found for that thing now that I have it laying about.

 

I tried that one from harbor frieght. Not to knock it or anything, but my bearing was frozen so bad that the dremel was my only choice.

 

Would it be alright to use this on a Subaru? Anyone else tried this with success?

 

Okay, you might want to check the following link before trying to replace your pilot bearing. Seems to make sense. Unless you know for a fact that the bearing is bad, Felix recommends that you DO NOT REPLACE IT. His reasoning is listed in the article so check it out.....

http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/btraps.html#CLUTCHPILOT

Ah, screw it. It's a short section so I'll just past the whole damn thing here for you... Here you go:


Clutch Pilot Bearing - Most professional mechanics won't do a clutch job without replacing the pilot bearing. The part is cheap, they've spread their cost of the removal tool over many jobs, inspecting and cleaning the old bearing takes more time than replacement, the new part is comeback insurance, and a new bearing means additional profit. There really is no good reason for them not to.

That said, if you are doing the job yourself, you don't have ready access to a proper removal tool, and the bearing isn't damaged, don't disturb it. Clean it, lube it & install new a seal.

Here's why:

An undamaged used needle bearing is no more likely to fail than a new one, which is subject to installation damage. If anything, the old one is less likely to fail, because it has already been installed and tested.
Replacing the bearing is only cheap if you have the puller and/or the time to hunt one down or the extra hour (minimum if you know how) to do it the hard way. Someone without experience in correct bearing or transmission installation is more likely to have one fail from improper installation than to have the existing undamaged one fail. Do-it-yourselfers are precisely the people most likely to create more trouble than they solve trying to replace a perfectly good bearing.
The pilot bearing is used only when the clutch is disengaged, so extremely few "miles" are ever put on that bearing. Failure is usually due to transmission misinstallation, causing seal failure, resulting in eventual inadequate lubrication; or lubricant failure itself, either undone, inadequate, or wrong type. These are no more likely to occur with a used bearing than with a new bearing.
The main caveat is determining whether the bearing in place is suitable for reuse. To make that determination, you must be able to get it thoroughly clean, you must be able to visually inspect it carefully, and you must be able to feel that there is no damage that you can't see.

Another caveat is in parts supply. Independent parts houses commonly sell clutch kits that include the disk, a pressure plate, a throwout bearing, an alignment tool, and a pilot bearing. Usually a pilot bearing seal is omitted from kits sold by non-Mazda specialists. This happens because most boingers use a bronze pilot bearing that requires no seal, instead of a needle bearing. The parts catalogers as a group are simply not up to speed on this exception.

Last caveat is the clean & lube process. This is difficult unless you have compressed air. With compressed air, you can preclean with the air jet, then use a solvent, then remove the solvent and any debris with the air jet. Without the air jet, you risk leaving behind both contaminants and solvent, both of which will accelerate failure of the new grease and/or the bearing.

 

Okay, you might want to check the following link before trying to replace your pilot bearing. Seems to make sense. Unless you know for a fact that the bearing is bad, Felix recommends that you DO NOT REPLACE IT. His reasoning is listed in the article so check it out.....

http://members.ij.net/mrmazda/btraps.html#CLUTCHPILOT

Ah, screw it. It's a short section so I'll just past the whole damn thing here for you... Here you go:


Clutch Pilot Bearing - Most professional mechanics won't do a clutch job without replacing the pilot bearing. The part is cheap, they've spread their cost of the removal tool over many jobs, inspecting and cleaning the old bearing takes more time than replacement, the new part is comeback insurance, and a new bearing means additional profit. There really is no good reason for them not to.

That said, if you are doing the job yourself, you don't have ready access to a proper removal tool, and the bearing isn't damaged, don't disturb it. Clean it, lube it & install new a seal.

Here's why:

An undamaged used needle bearing is no more likely to fail than a new one, which is subject to installation damage. If anything, the old one is less likely to fail, because it has already been installed and tested.
Replacing the bearing is only cheap if you have the puller and/or the time to hunt one down or the extra hour (minimum if you know how) to do it the hard way. Someone without experience in correct bearing or transmission installation is more likely to have one fail from improper installation than to have the existing undamaged one fail. Do-it-yourselfers are precisely the people most likely to create more trouble than they solve trying to replace a perfectly good bearing.
The pilot bearing is used only when the clutch is disengaged, so extremely few "miles" are ever put on that bearing. Failure is usually due to transmission misinstallation, causing seal failure, resulting in eventual inadequate lubrication; or lubricant failure itself, either undone, inadequate, or wrong type. These are no more likely to occur with a used bearing than with a new bearing.
The main caveat is determining whether the bearing in place is suitable for reuse. To make that determination, you must be able to get it thoroughly clean, you must be able to visually inspect it carefully, and you must be able to feel that there is no damage that you can't see.

Another caveat is in parts supply. Independent parts houses commonly sell clutch kits that include the disk, a pressure plate, a throwout bearing, an alignment tool, and a pilot bearing. Usually a pilot bearing seal is omitted from kits sold by non-Mazda specialists. This happens because most boingers use a bronze pilot bearing that requires no seal, instead of a needle bearing. The parts catalogers as a group are simply not up to speed on this exception.

Last caveat is the clean & lube process. This is difficult unless you have compressed air. With compressed air, you can preclean with the air jet, then use a solvent, then remove the solvent and any debris with the air jet. Without the air jet, you risk leaving behind both contaminants and solvent, both of which will accelerate failure of the new grease and/or the bearing.