sspazm

i pulled my old pilot bushing, and it came out quite east, maybe it was pretty warn. so i bought a new one at autozone and tapped the damn thing in, it was a pretty tight fit. then i pick up my gearbox and line up the shaft with the center of the crank where the bushing is that it slides into, and it doesn't fit... so immediately i think that autozone gave me the wrong bearing. so i go to try and take it out, and find out that it isn't going anywhere. its jammed in there a lot tigher than the stock one that i took out was. anway, i ended up cutting the stupid thing out with a dremel tool. so then i picked up another bushing from a different place. This time i checked it on the transmission to make sure it fitted on the pilot shaft, it was all set. so then i go to put it into the crank, and the bushing seems to fit too tight, much like the other one did that i had to cut out of the crank. so now i'm thinking, right now it fits onto the transmission fine, but if i hammer it in like i did the other one, maybe that will distort the hole in it and make it a little smaller. (?) and maybe the one i cut out would have fit on the transmission shaft too, if i had checked to see if it did. but in the proccess of pounding it in, made hole in it too small. but i want some second opinions before i put it in, because this is ridiculous, i'm letting the bushing sit in the freezer overnight, to see if that helps in putting it in. so i guess my final question is what is going on here? why am i using the correct bushings, putting them in the correct way, and nothing seems to be fitting right?

scorp508

Some of hte guys here told me to do the freezer trick when I did mine. It worked like a charm. I was able to tap it in with a socket very easily. Also take something like 1500 grit sandpaper and sand the inside of the crank to get rid of any possible anomolies.

Hendej

i ended up cutting the stupid thing out with a dremel tool

Heh, that's how I got mine out, along with a carbide tipped drill bit and a chisel. Anyway, I got a pilot bearing from the dealer, pounded it in using a socket sized to the outside race. It is supposed to be a tight interference fit so it doesn't spin. Maybe you need to use a bigger socket that contacts more on the outer edge. That and the freezer trick and deburring the pilot shaft and crank opening should do it.

scorp508

Hey I just noticed you're from Taunton. If you still have trouble let me know and I might be able to swing by and help you out. I will be away in NJ for this weekend.

Where did you get your bushing from? I ordered one from GM and when it got to me it was a bearing. The P/N was for an '87 bushing, and the package said that..... but it was a bearing. :)

sspazm

Thanks guys. Yeah Scorp, your from Raynham right? That would be cool, i could probably use a lot of help with some of the upcoming stuff i have to do.


[Modified by sspazm, 3:34 PM 7/25/2002]

scorp508

Yup, let me know. I just finished heads/cam/tranny/clutch/exhaust/intake on my car a couple months ago, so it is still fresh in my head. :D

vettmech

UHM .......... I show my students to pull the bushing out by packing the hole with wheel bearing grease and finding an old pilot shaft the same size and driving it into the hole. that forces the bushing out ................ :crazy:

scorp508

As a side note I learned that you cannot do that on the LT5 engine in the ZR1s because their crankshaft is drilled.

sspazm

Thats how did get the old one out, it was very easy, but the second one i put in fitted too tight and that method didn't work... maybe i tapped it in too far.

anyway, i put the one in the freezer in this morning and the shaft fits into it fine so i guess i'm all set with that :)

jmr302

I finally broke down and bought a special slide hammer that's small enough to reach inside the I.D. of a pilot bearing. No greasy mess and it's faster.