Pilot bushing or bearing?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 781
Likes: 1
From: Buffalo Grove IL
Pilot bushing or bearing?
Which is the preferred one?
What comes in the car stock?
Replacing the clutch on Saturday with a Monster, and it came with a bearing.
If all is running good now, does it need to be changed? I know, since its all opened up, its a good idea to change it.
Thanks
Steve
What comes in the car stock?
Replacing the clutch on Saturday with a Monster, and it came with a bearing.
If all is running good now, does it need to be changed? I know, since its all opened up, its a good idea to change it.
Thanks
Steve
Safety Car
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 4,812
Likes: 46
From: Taylorsville North Carolina
I bought the kevlar bushing to put in mine then changed my mind. But if I had to do it all over again, I would have put it in. From what little is out there now, it seems to be a little more durable than the bearing. Plus I think the brass bushing is less than the bearing itself. Either way, it is good to replace it while all is out. Cheap insurance. If you do the bushing, post a thread about how it does. HTH.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 3,315
Likes: 17
From: Near Jacksonville Fl.
OK, I've seen other threads in the past asking this same question so I will answer it from a transmission design engineer point of view.
The bronze bushing was used for many years with great success mainly because it was replaced with every clutch change ~25-50,000 miles.
It also tolerated misalignment very well between the bell housing and block at lower RPM levels.
Now we get up to 1997 and machining tolerances are greatly improved and so are the materials used in clutches so the alignment issue goes away and life span of the clutch improves greatly and the ability to sustain higher RPMs.
So the need for a better pilot bearing is created and thus the introduction of the roller/ball bearing.
So now my question is why would you replace a more durable bearing with a bushing that will wear out before the clutch?
The bronze bushing was used for many years with great success mainly because it was replaced with every clutch change ~25-50,000 miles.
It also tolerated misalignment very well between the bell housing and block at lower RPM levels.
Now we get up to 1997 and machining tolerances are greatly improved and so are the materials used in clutches so the alignment issue goes away and life span of the clutch improves greatly and the ability to sustain higher RPMs.
So the need for a better pilot bearing is created and thus the introduction of the roller/ball bearing.
So now my question is why would you replace a more durable bearing with a bushing that will wear out before the clutch?
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,843
Likes: 16
From: Howell Michigan
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
Stick with what is known to work. The only other thing I would add, be careful removing the old one and take note as to how far in the current bearing is and get the new one in the same depth. Hope your clutch change goes well for you. 
