pilot bearing installation?

B

B-nut

Senior Member
1935 engine is rebuilt clutch ready to bolt on.The old pilot bearing must come out and the new one put in. Any tips appreciated. Would love to install this weekend and get the old pheaton back on the road.
 
I made a puller of 3/8" thick steel plate 1.5" wide X 3.5" long. Through the center hole is a 3/8" carriage bolt 3" long, grind the square section round and remove 2/3 of the head so that the head can be inserted in the center hole of the bearing and then straightened out perpendicular to the bearing face. The two sides of the steel plate a 3/8" hole for the insertion of 1 1/2" long 3/8 bolts These bolts act to space the plate away from the bearing so that when the carriage bolt is inserted through the center hole and it`s nut tightened the bearing has room to be removed
 

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This is an old trick and it works! Pack the hole full of peanut butter (or grease if you prefer), make a dowel that fits the id perfectly, tap it in with a hammer and it will push the bearing out. Ahh, the power of hydraulics! :cool:
 
An old time mechanics trick was to pack the pliot bearing hole tightly with heavy grease, then put a shaft in the hole and tap with a hammer, the grease will force the bronze pilot bushing out.I used the clutch plate alignment tool as a driver. It worked for me
Jim
 
I put a bolt thru the center, then put something next to it that holds the bolt off center- to hook it- Then either take a slide hammer or a large socket and a few washers and use a nut on the bolt to pull it... Karl
 
I have always used the hydraulic method and have never had a problem. No sense having to make a special tool for this method. Just fill it with gun grease and use the clutch line up tool to drive it out!
 
Ross in East Texas said:
I have always used the hydraulic method and have never had a problem. No sense having to make a special tool for this method. Just fill it with gun grease and use the clutch line up tool to drive it out!
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We used the same method in the ford dealership for years it works there were guys with hi dollar snap on pullers that could not get them Out.
 
Here is one of those high-dollar Snap-on pullers. I inherited this one from my Grandfather. He wasn't a mechanic by trade but he would buy the best tool available just to do one job. This is what one looks like incase you run across one at a garage sale, they’re fairly common. The u-shaped part rests against the flywheel, the fingers go in the pilot bearing and grab the back side of it. Turning the handle spreads the fingers and locks them into place. Turning the nut pulls the bearing right out, its a slick tool. I used one at GTE/Verizon for 30 years and it never failed to pull a pilot bearing out. Some of those gorillas would only get 2000 miles out of a clutch. I replaced a couple of clutches a week for years until they finally wised up and started buying automatics.

Jerry
 

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I recently had the worst time ever removiing a pilot bearing that the previous owner had loctited and staked to the crank. I have a slide hammer type puller that would not get the job done. Even the peanut butter trick didn't work. I ended up running a 3/4 by 16 tap thru the bearing and then threading in a bolt that bottomed on the crank internals. Tightening the bolt pulled the bearing real easy. Just make sure the bottom of the machine pilot bearing hole in the crank is solid and not a plug. Hope this helps.
 
Bill

Drop a large ball bearing in the hole before the bolt goes in works like a charm.

Ronnie;)
 
Flathead Fever said:
Here is one of those high-dollar Snap-on pullers. I inherited this one from my Grandfather. He wasn't a mechanic by trade but he would buy the best tool available just to do one job. This is what one looks like incase you run across one at a garage sale, they’re fairly common. The u-shaped part rests against the flywheel, the fingers go in the pilot bearing and grab the back side of it. Turning the handle spreads the fingers and locks them into place. Turning the nut pulls the bearing right out, its a slick tool. I used one at GTE/Verizon for 30 years and it never failed to pull a pilot bearing out. Some of those gorillas would only get 2000 miles out of a clutch. I replaced a couple of clutches a week for years until they finally wised up and started buying automatics.

Jerry
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On bronze bushings that type some times the fingers would rip through the bronze or if it was in to far you could not grab it we also had a large tap to screw in to. With the bearing type at times we had to revert to the good ole cutten torch. Also on the small needle bearing type the fingers wont fit to grab behind bearing.
 
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Bearing broke! But not the outer ring. Peanut butter pushed the face plate off the bearing. Terry.Oh's great little bearing puller removed the inner part,now the hardened outer ring is stuck fast . Cutting torches scare the #!@*%! out of me. Don't want to hurt the new engine. Thanks to all of you for your earlier suggestions.Any ideas eagerly sought.
 
Problem solved with hammer& chisel. Just watch out for flying shrapnel. One question, ten helpful responses !! That to me is what FordBarn is all about gentlemen. Thank you for your help.
 
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