Dash 1 pilot bearing holder removal

John,

The old school idea on this is to pack the pilot bearing recess full of grease, totally full of grease.

Then slide a spare input shaft, or perhaps a clutch alignment tool, in the hole and start pounding.

With no place for the grease to escape, the theory is its compression from hammering will act as a hydraulic force to push out the only thing that will move - the pilot bearing - or in your case, the adapter.

I have not personally needed to try this out.

But have heard of it working for others.

Good luck.

Larry

The first time I did the grease 'hydraulic' method I was somewhat surprised, I had tried everything else prior with no success and low and behold it came out a doddle. The trick is in getting a shaft that is almost an interference fit in diameter so the grease can escape around it.

Good luck,
Julian

I did this once using a socket and it worked very well.

Terlet paper works very well and clean up/splatter is much better. Just get a bowl of it sopping wet and start stuffing it in, with the water running out. Use a tight fitting punch and it will push it right out....

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I was avoiding the grease method due to the potential mess. It is the method that I finally used (did this before seeing Paul's post re the terlet paper). I had also considered tapping the shoulder at the bottom of the bearing holder (see pic below) with a 5/8" tap, then using a 5/8" bolt that would bottom against the crankshaft. Like Julian, I too was amazed at how easily it came out.

To use the grease method, I had to find something that would just fit into the bore at the bottom of the bearing holder. I was unable to accurately measure this bore as it was recessed too far. I finally found a socket that fit the bore (sort of). I added metal tape (one wrap at a time) to the socket until I got a snug fit and then measured the final diameter.

Then I went to a friend's shop to use his lathe. I used a piece of 3/4" stock and turned one end to a slightly larger diameter than what I had determined to be the correct size.

I went home and tried the tool. It was just a little too small and wouldn't work. Crap!! So I drove back to where the lathe was and turned down the other end of the 3/4" stock to a slightly larger diameter than the first attempt.

I went back home and tried the tool. It fit perfectly! A little grease, a whack with the hammer, and the holder started to move!!

Here is a pic of the tool, bearing holder, bearing, and spacer(?).

Bearing holder showing recessed shoulder.

Marlin's pilot bushing installed.

Flywheel side of a dash 1 clutch disc.

As an added note, the pilot bearing had 40 years and 108k miles on it. While the grease was starting to solidify, the rollers were free and looked to be in good shape. The corresponding surface on the ZF input shaft appears to be in excellent shape.

John

Nice Work John. I did the exact same thing on my dash 1. I purchased a PIM clutch when I re-assembled mine and it works very well. I also used the Marlin bering. Good work

Hey John,

This wasn't from your car was it?

Scott

quote:

Nice Work John

Thanks AJ.

quote:

This wasn't from your car was it?

Scott,

Yes, it is. I didn't break anything. I just had some minor leaks and light clutch chatter. So I decided after 108k miles, it was time to do something about it. I was quite surprised at how much meat was still left on the clutch disc.

John

John,

What was that little spacer thingy? A cork seal of sorts????

I chose not to run the needle bearing as I had one seize up on my 68 Cougar. Caught it just as the grease was hardening up.... But that was a daily driver...stop-n-go...but you got GREAT life out of it if yours was original!

I used a bronze oilite verion and machined it down to fit. I would only get about 1/2 of the width of the bearing for engagement with the input shaft.... (Mangusta)

Are you running a block plate between the bellhousing and the engine block?

Steve

quote:

What was that little spacer thingy? A cork seal of sorts????

It is a seal for the pilot bearing. It has a metal housing with a rawhide?? seal, kind of like a miniature wheel grease seal.

quote:

but you got GREAT life out of it if yours was original!

Yes, it is the original.

quote:

Are you running a block plate between the bellhousing and the engine block?

Yes, and it is the original plate.

Are you going to make Monterey with or w/o your car?

John

John,

Never have seen that seal before! Were you able to source them? I found bearings locally for about $5!

I will be at Monterey with OR without!!! Love watching the old trans-am cars run!!!

Just picked up my mufflers from the welding shop! Getting too damned close!!!!

Steve

Steve,

I didn't need the seal, as I changed to the -2 ZF. Apparently, that seal is used with the -1 (-1 1/2) that has the steel adapter in the back of the crankshaft. It is used to seal the pilot bearing.

That seal has the same OD as the pilot bearing (ie the ID of the steel crankshaft adapter), and the ID or shaft size is...you guessed it...the same as the ZF input shaft snout. The seal measures ~.202" thick. Kind of hard to measure exactly, as the back side is a little rough. No Numbers.

I just looked on Wilkinson's website, and it shows that "seal" as two pieces...a cupped washer (bearing retainer) and a felt seal..hard to tell for sure without cutting into it. I guess that the felt was nicely polished after all those miles so that it looked like rawhide. Here's the link, #7 & 8.

http://www.panterasbywilkinson...s/catalog/ill9a.html

See you in Monterey!!!

John