Currently have the clutch out, my current pilot bushing has maybe 1000 miles. I am not a fan of the roller bearing, but I was wanting to know what you guys think of the Zoom Kevlar bearing.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...B&autoview=sku

Worth it or not?

 

for $50, hell no. Go ahead and try it and report your results though.

 

When you can get a bronze bushing for $10, it hardly seems worth it.

 

Never used one but it might be worth it if it actually works .

 

You money would be better spent on 3 pizzas and a bronze bushing.

 

Thanks guys, they claim the things lasts forever and will not wear or score the input shaft. Thats a pretty bold statement.

 

Hell if it saves the tip on the input shaft , that alone would be worth the $50.00 but I've never used one so I can't say one way or the other .

 

Hmm think get me one of those and install it when change out my engine.

 

Ok, everybody who ever had a problem caused by the pilot bearing please raise your hand now. You may put it down if you neglected to change the bearing with the last clutch. Same for you guys who packed it full of dirt.

 

mine was tost. i went with a solid bronze, t56 rebuilds sugested it

 

all my needle bearings were busted at 40k..

 

And that will cause issues with the transmission like poor shifting and will tear up the tip of the input shaft . Like I said , if it works , thats not a bad price to pay .

 

the tip of the input shaft was fine and i put a pro 5.0 and all new hydraulics when i did the clutch so it shifted a lot better. I just went with the GM diesel truck pilot bearing...i believe it is the same thing that moroso makes.

 

I was/am real interested in this kevlar bushing so I asked a mechanical engineer friend who is currently working in satellite construction. He has his masters in strength of materials and is a car guy, well sort of ... WRX's

Some food for thought:

"Well, nothing’s for free. The sliding friction energy’s gotta go some where (heat). That energy’s gotta do something to the toopart’s it’s mated to. If the bushing’s not going to wear out then the shaft that it’s mated to or the bore it’s housed in will wear out.

Never heard of hyglar. Kevlar in itself is very abrasion resistant (not proof). It has a tendancy to ball up when abrasion forces and temp get high. Nylon is good in tension like Kevlar but not as strong as Kevlar. It’s more susceptible to high temps than Kevlar. For something like a pilot bearing, I’d stay w/ something that has a roller element like the GM bearing.....Or replace the GM unit w/ a similar Timken unit.

http://www.timken.com/products/bearings/products/

we use Timken stuff at work all the time. They have cheaper consumer stuff off the shelf.

Hope this helps. I personally would stay w/ a bearing."

 

I tried one and it lasted for 300 miles..

 

Pilot bearing failures are Common in performance cars that are run hard, once they go you get bad chatter, shaking, noise or worse. Yes they should be replaced every clutch job.I am keeping the bronze bushing.

 

Its kind of ironic that even as technology gets better , sometimes going backwards works better . There is nothing new about a bronze bushing , the automakers used them all the time before the roller bearing was even introduced . There are plus and minus with each design and the thought process with going back to the bronze bushing is its cheaper to replace than the input shaft . I tend to agree with that theory as well .

 

i dragged this up from the past to say that i was suckered into getting one. i used the proper tool to install the bushing but the I.D. shrunk after putting it in and not even the alignment tool would fit into it. i had to drill it out as i couldn't get it out with a good blind hole puller. total waste of time and money.

 

Wish you would have posted this a month ago, the exact same thing happened to me.

 

interesting... mine seemed to go in fine. no binding on the input shaft. I have the LT1 though, not LS1... is this predominantly a LS1 problem?