New Pilot bearing at 20k miles???
#1
TECH Resident
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: May 2006
Location: ATX
Posts: 788
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
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?
However, at 20k miles why would I mess with this? Is there something I don't know about the LS1 pilot bearing?
Last edited by jeffstar; 11-22-2006 at 05:16 PM.
#2
Kleeborp the Moderator™
iTrader: (11)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
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.
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.
#4
TECH Resident
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: May 2006
Location: ATX
Posts: 788
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
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
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
#5
Kleeborp the Moderator™
iTrader: (11)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by jeffstar
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 ![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
#6
TECH Resident
Thread Starter
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: May 2006
Location: ATX
Posts: 788
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by MeentSS02
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.
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
#7
Kleeborp the Moderator™
iTrader: (11)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by jeffstar
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 ![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
![Happy](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_stretch.gif)
Trending Topics
#9
Launching!
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
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.
![Sad](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_sad.gif)
#11
Teching In
Join Date: May 2006
Location: League City, TX
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/ranks/ls1tech10year.png)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by 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. ![Sad](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_sad.gif)
![Sad](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/smilies/LS1Tech/gr_sad.gif)
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...
#12
Launching!
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by 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...
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.
Last edited by Rob Hood; 11-27-2006 at 03:15 PM. Reason: update info
#15
Teching In
Join Date: May 2006
Location: League City, TX
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/ranks/ls1tech10year.png)
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Originally Posted by 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.
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.
Any updates?
#17
Launching!
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 214
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
![Default](https://ls1tech.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
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.
Unless the transmission comes back with another issue found, I say my noise came from the bad pilot bushing.