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Re: pilot bearing replacement[140-160/73] posted by Leonard on
Tuesday, 31 August 1999, at 10:54 a.m.
A trick that works every time is to fill the hole and behind the bearing with grease. Pack it in as tightly as you can. Now take a drift pin, a bolt the right diameter, sometimes even a hardwood dowel rod will work(whatever you use must be as close to the center diameter as possible. It can't be more than a few thousandths bigger or the grease will squirt out instead of pushing the bearing out.), and place it in the hole and take the largest hammer you have and smack the the drift pin. The grease will be forced to go somewhere, and since the hole is plugged, it will push the bearing out. You might have to do it in two stages, refilling the grease after the first smack. I promise it will work, and it isn't nearly as messy as it might sound. The entire project should take about 2 minutes.
You didn't say why you are changing the pilot bearing, but if you are going that deep, I am suggesting that you replace the clutch and the throwout bearing while you are there. If the pilot is worn substantially, check the input shaft bearing too. They normally don't go bad unless the pilot is bad. The pilot holds up one end of the shaft, the input bearing the other end.
The only other suggestion is that you look around the rear main seal of the engine. If it shows any sign of leakage, now is the time to replace it. If you do it later, you have to take it all apart to this very same point.
Good luck.
Leonard
Re: pilot bearing replacement[140-160/73] posted by Dan B on
Tuesday, 31 August 1999, at 12:46 p.m.
Neat trick!!!! I never heard that one-Ive had some good times, and some real bad times(dremel tools-cold chisesl-hammers, custom "ground" wrenches) getting pilot bearings out-especially after they have gone bad. Thanks!
--Dan B - 62 P-1800 - Jerry isnt dead you know...just missing.
Re: pilot bearing replacement[200/85] posted by Dan Kasha on
Wednesday, 1 September 1999, at 1:25 p.m.
DON'T ASSUME THIS GREASE TRICK IS GOING TO WORK.
IT certainly did not for me, all it did was waste time and make a
mess. The bearing was in tightly. I also recomend against trying
to do this with random tools, use the right tools, especially when
they are FREE.
Pep boy's rents the slide hammer puller, and the attachment for pulling
inside bearings (as the pilot). I want to say I had to put down a
$130 deposit, fully refunded when I brought the tool back within one
week. The tool, which is very powerful, took a few good hits to get
the bearing out, explaining why the grease method did not work. In
case you want more details:
If the drift pin is not the right diameter, grease ozes past it on
each hit, and you have to keep filling it up - a never win situation.
also, the area of the drift is significantly less than the bearing
itself, so you have a divider between your hits force and the force
on the bearing. Why bother when the right tool is free!
Lastly, I regret ever messing with that bearing. It only spins when
the clutch pedal is depressed. My old one was clean and smooth, and
I should have left it alone. It's often not worth messing with
stuff that is fine.
dan
Re: pilot bearing replacement[200/85] posted by Dan B on
Wednesday, 1 September 1999, at 1:52 p.m.
Ill have to say-Ive never tried it-but-there are lots of folks who dont have easy access to tool rental, let alone free tool rental-and...lots of us find ourselves fixing these cars with the only tools available!(half a cheap socket set, pair of pliers-crescent wrench etc)-beauty of an old volvo-is you can fix almost everything that way if you HAVE to-especially if you throw a grinder into the picture! This meathod of forcing a bearing out sounds good-but I have no doubt that one would want a pretty tight fit on the drift! Of course-if you have have an old front shaft-which I normally use for an alignment tool-you definitly have the perfect drift pin. The area of the bearing being twice as big as the hole actually multiplies the force-doesnt divide. If you force the drift in 2mm, the bearing would come out 1-which is exactly the way you'd want it. As far as leaving it alone...Ive done that-usually with lots of success, but-if these bearings only cost about $2, and when you consider the hassle of tearing out the tranny-just to replace it someday-its definitly worth doing in my opinion! When they fail, it could damage the front tranny bearing-and-they get hot. 1st thing to happen when they get hot, is the inner race will sieze onto the nose of the transmission, and the outer race will sieze into the crankshaft. That can make it a super big pain to pull the transmission out. Once you do get it out, youd most likely have broken the bearing, and then, all youll have left in the crank, is the outer race-which will not come out easily with any tool I know of-short of a dremel, and cutoff wheels-and some custom ground pry-tools. Ive been there enough times to routinely replace pilot bearings now days. Thankyou for sharing your experience though-and I think its great to take advantage of free tool rental, and spread the word about follks who offer it. Its also good for us all to know more "tricks" for our baggies of "tricks" that we all must know to fix these things under less than ideal circumstances! I still think this grease Idea is a good one-It seems to have worked for other folks, especially when the perfect drift(plunger) is used-which is probably the nose from an old tranny.
--Dan B - 62 P-1800 -We have all the right tools....somewhere in town.