Esoteric[TG]

Help me out guys.

I was hearing a grinding kind of noise when the clutch pedal was pressed down and experiencing difficulty shifting. So, I figured likely pilot bearing. Well, sorry to say I was right. The pilot bearing is gone, just the outer race is in the crank, the rollers are nowhere to be found.

This leads me to my picture that I have (hopefully) attached. As you can see, the area on the input shaft where the pilot bearing rides is a little chewed/galled. It feels slightly rough to the touch, not sharp, but a little bumpy.

I wanted to get some second (or third or fourth) opinions on it. Do you think it will be okay to just clean it up with some emery cloth or similar material, or do I need to seek the help of a transmission shop for more extensive work (new input shaft?)

TIA,
David.

Also, if anyone wants to see higher res, I can email the full ~8 megapixel image...

thesource

iTrader: (60)

Change it or have it retipped by a machine shop familiar with the process. If you don't use the right material and proceedure, the repair will not last.

dgcustomz

iTrader: (127)

Very true^^
Pull the midplate off and send the input shaft to Jason@TDP and he will fix it for you.

calhoon

iTrader: (6)

You will also want to look at the bearing between the mainshaft and the input when you get tha shaft out. Called the pocket bearing. This bearing generally goes out when the pilot is bad/ not there.

wrd1972

iTrader: (12)

Contact Jason at TDP, he can repair the stub on the input shaft.

In the future, dont run a bearing. Use a bronze bushing and this will likely never happen again. Always better to have to replace a worn out bushing than repair the input shaft when the bearing takes it out.

Esoteric[TG]

Thanks so much for the opinions everyone.

I'm going to take the transmission to a shop tomorrow for an in-person opinion. Looks like I'm going to be spending even more money...Joy.

David.

Hans Grüber

iTrader: (2)

What is involved in the re-tipping procedure? Does it get machined down and a sleeve put over?

thesource

iTrader: (60)

Yes. The tip is cut down and a sleeve is pressed on to it. If you do not use the proper material, it will not last very long at all. Trust me, I've been there!

chevroletfreak

iTrader: (6)

I went through the same thing as you. I no longer use a bearing....bushing only for me. When I had mine retipped, I sent it off to a place in dallas.....total was about $75 including shipping.

thesource

iTrader: (60)

If the repair is done properly, there is no problem running it against a new pilot bearing. A bushing will not tear up the shaft like that but it also won't last as long as a pilot bearing will especially in applications making a lot of torque or in heavy vehicles.

chevroletfreak

iTrader: (6)

I am not questioning the quality of a repair.....my belief is the use of a 1 piece bushing in comparison to a many-piece bearing will have a much better chance of life and cause much less damage (if any) upon wear.

thesource

iTrader: (60)

The bushing is made of a softer material thus the reason it wears instead of the input shaft itself. When you use them in applications that produce a lot of torque, heavy vehicles or when towing heavy loads, it causes the input shaft to put more load on the bushing/bearing surface. This can result in either accelerated wear or actually spinning the bushing in the crankshaft and allowing it to destroy itself.

We ran into this back in the 90' when trying to go from a pilot bearing to a bronze bushing in the Ford Power Stroke Diesels to keep the input shafts from tearing up so quickly. Instead of tearing up the tip on the shaft, the pilot bearing would fail resulting in having to replace them sooner. Some of those 4wd units with after market down pipes or PTO drives on them weren't the easiest transmissions to pull out and having to do it every 10-15K really sucked!

Hans Grüber

iTrader: (2)

What is the proper material for the sleeve?