jeffstar

iTrader: (6)

I just got my LS7 clutch assembly in from Fred Beans. They tossed in a pilot bearing (which looks like the one I upgraded to when I did my T-56 conversion on my LT1 car)

However, at 20k miles why would I mess with this? Is there something I don't know about the LS1 pilot bearing?

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

Are we talking about the pilot bearing or the throwout bearing (you mention both)? The pilot bearing (which sits in the end of the crankshaft) isn't a bad idea to replace while you're in there, but if it looks fine, you don't HAVE to. It would just suck to have it go out on you and have to pull everything back out to get to it...most people replace them to keep from having to do twice the labor should it fail.

The throwout bearing (which sits on the end of the slave cylinder and rides against the clutch's pressure plate) is in the same category. Most people replace it just in case. I come from the school of thought that a throwout bearing should be replaced every time you swap to a new clutch (I also believe the same for the pilot bearing).

If you end up doing the labor (and have never done a clutch swap), you'll understand why I go ahead and replace them. It is a lengthy job no matter how you look at it.

slammedchevy

iTrader: (13)

i would do both because your in there, it would suck like he said if it went out on you after you did all that work

jeffstar

iTrader: (6)

Yeah, corrected myself there I did type both! I do all my own labor and always have. This won't be my first rodeo, just my first on an LS1. I always replace the TB actually. However, the pilot bearing at 20k miles and really maybe even the TB at 20k miles is just a little over the top. I mean, let's be frank....I doubt this clutch will make past 10k miles with my power/driving style

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

I think you'll be fine then...you obviously have the experience to be able to tell whether or not the bearing is in good enough shape to leave it in or not.

jeffstar

iTrader: (6)

Ok, just checking to see if there was something 'special' I didn't know about As usual, it's all just nuts, bolts and Miller Lite

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

Well...there are some rules to that. Ususally, nuts-off should = nuts-on. Same for bolts (bolts-off = bolts-on). That is known as the conservation of nuts and bolts. There should be twice as many beer cans as there are total nuts and bolts. I would have had way more fun working on my car sometimes if I had been a little drunk...

connexion2005

iTrader: (49)

Personally I wouldn't think twice about replacing the $15 pilot while I was inside. It would be a shame to have to drop the t56 down again.

Just my .02.

Josh

Rob Hood

Well, lucky me, I'm replacing pilot bushing because the shop that installed the new clutch apparently didn't see fit to either do it or tell me it needed replacing, even as a preventive measure.

bigdsz

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine and I have both gone to a bronze bushing, $2 locally, after seeing a number of the needle bearing pilots wiped out.My friend is the shop forman at a Chevy dealer.

Casem1

May I ask how you have determined the pilot bearing is bad? I think I may be in the same boat. I bought a new pilot bearing for the clutch install and when the installer had finished I found the new pilot bearing still sealed in the package...

Rob Hood

I wasn't sure where the rattling noise was coming from, and when the hydraulics started acting up (hard to shift, car moving under its own power with clutch pedal on the floor) I felt I got taken for a ride on the clutch install. So, the trans is out, and the trans repair shop said to look at the pilot bushing if none of the pp bolts or flywheel bolts were loose/under-torqued. All of those bolts were torqued to spec so I'm looking at the pilot bushing as the guilty party now. That and the fact that the input shaft had some abnormal wear on the very end.

According to the trans shop, the input shaft can/does have some radial play designed into it. The pilot bushing is supposed to carry the shaft at its end, and if the bushing wears, then the shaft will start to try and rotate out of its axis. He showed me how much play the shaft had in it on his workbench, and that just by rotating the input shaft by hand I could hear the rattling sound (or very very VERY similar sound) that I was hearing while driving the car. I don't know if the shop that installed the clutch installed a new pilot bushing (first time I'd ever dealt with a clutch replacement) so if the bushing wasn't in the kit, it may not have gotten replaced.

Casem1

Let me know how it works out for you. I, too, am dealing with a rattling sound and suspect it may be the pilot bearing.

Rob Hood

well, if it's the original, then I've got 93k on it. If not, around 20k.

Casem1

Any updates?

Rob Hood

waiting on the transmission to come back. Supposed to get it back by Saturday.

Rob Hood

nevermind on the transmission - it was the pilot bushing. Found multiple roller bearings inside after pulling out the bushing itself.

Unless the transmission comes back with another issue found, I say my noise came from the bad pilot bushing.

Casem1

Good to know. Looks like I have a new pilot bearing in my future...