Technical Removing pilot bearing

I am having a heck of a time removing the pilot bushing on a 350 chevy. I have a decent slide puller for the job but it wont come out. I heated it with a torch and even put slits in it with a micro saw to loosen the force but it wont budge. Any thoughts?

 

I’ve seen them pushed out with a grease gun but I don’t remember how….

 

Fill with grease and with a tight fitting dowel or steel rod that fits inside the bushing smack it with a BF hammer.

 

Have packed them with white bread as much as could go in. Put a bolt the size of the bearing ID in the hole and tap with a hammer. Keep packing with bread and it will force the bearing out.

 

If it is brass tap the hole for a bolt

 

I used the grease gun to pack it full of grease, then used clutch alignment tool or dowel etc and smack it with the hammer ... creates a hydraulic action and the grease pushes the bearing out.

 

I tried it and it worked for me. HRP

 

Here you go, HRP

 

Bearing chisel , good to simply “blow up the bronze bushing into bits “



pilot bearing puller , works great .



blind hole bearing puller used with a slide hammer works really well



pilot bearing puller for a slide hammer .


Ive be also used the grease and punch method to force a bushing out .

ive also mig welded on a bearing to “shrink it” and have it come out easier .

a bronze bushing will melt with a torch without damaging any thing around it .


Many many ways to skin a cat in this situation .

 

small pieces of wet paper will do the same thing as grease without the mess

 

I've done it with grease and something that just slips in the hole in the bushing a few times but usually use a puller attached to a slide hammer.
About 30 years ago when I didn't have access to a puller and was laying under the 48 in freezing weather I took my saber saw and cut a slot in the bushing to relieve the tension when I couldn't get it out with grease. I was too damned cold to have any patience that time though.

Heating the bushing hurt and hinder progress rather than help as that will expand the bushing out and put more pressure against the crank. Hitting it with a blast from a Co2 fire extinguisher or packing it with dry ice would probably be more effective as far as heat/cold goes.

 

So I got the bushing out with brute force but.....when I installed the clutch I remembered that I was suppose to ( or at least I think I should) put thread locker on the bolts to
the flywheel to the crank. I torqued them to 80ft lbs. I know the newer cars use thread locker on the bolts and you can see traces of it on the bolts but I didnt see anything on
these 40 year old bolts. Engine only has 180hp I think so I am not sure its necessary. What to you guys think?

 

Flywheels have been around a lot longer than thread locker, you'll be fine. Hope you had the crank flange and flywheel spotless clean to mate perfectly

 

350 Chevy with no Loctite on the flywheel bolts,,,,,,,,,what were you thinking !

Lol,,,,,you’ll be fine,,,,,don’t give it another thought,,,,,if everything is clean and tight,,,,,you did your duty .

Tommy

 

Desoto and Rusty valley are right. I have been building engines since 1960 and didn't use
thread locker on any of my builds until 2000. You'll be good.

 

this works. i've done it, to help i put a little wd40 around the edges and let it soak for a little while before i whacked it.

 

Grease, dowel, tap

 

I wonder who it was that came up with the idea of packing his pilot bearing with bread. Peanut butter might help too. But no jelly, too sticky.

 

That bearing was toast.....ha ha ...first time ive seen it removed with bread...

 

That video does a great job of showing this process. But now it's got me wondering if I should be wearing latex gloves when I'm eating a sammidge.

 

So my clutch kit came with a package of grease. Since the pilot bearing is impregnated bronze I am sure its not for that. Where else would you use grease around a clutch? I read somewhere a guy was talking about packing the throwout bearing. I think mine is sealed not that I want grease flying would the friction plate.

 

If you have tried the grease & bread method and you don't want to buy the pilot bearing removal tool, you can rent the tool for free (their rental - pay and return for money back within 60 days) from your local Autozone. That's what I did when I had to remove the brass bearing from my chevy 235.

 

You still need the grease in the new pilot bearing. Just don't pack it full of grease.

 

I read that you are never suppose to but anything on a sintered bronze bearing, it could gum it up as it has impregnated oil in the bronze.

 

I have tried the grease thing and it has never worked for me. But as @sunbeam says here ^^^^^ taping and screwing a bolt in does work. I use a bottom tap so that the bolt can go past the bottom of the busing and push against the crank.

 

Bread.

 

I had heard of the bread idea before but never used it .
I think the bread deal is the best overall idea,,,,,,it works,,,,,and is super easy to clean up .
Very good thinking whoever came up with that .

Tommy

 

I always smear some on the bearing support and a dab on the fork contact areas.

Removing pilot bearings? Gummies. Works perfect, not messy and much tastier than grease or bread

 

You should use a BMF hammer.

 

Did you guys quit reading the posts? He already has the bushing out.

I'd not do much more than wipe a little grease on the input shaft of the trans before sliding the trans into the bellhousing. But even that isn't necessary with a sintered bronze bushing.