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  1. #1

    Default Pilot bearing woes

    I’m sure this has been discussed a million times but I could just use a little reassurance that I’m not destroying my crankshaft. The photo shows my pilot bearing after attacking it with the rented Advance Auto Parts tool. The tool just keeps sliding past the guts in the bearing and isn’t pulling anything out. In the back of the bearing in my pic you see something that is beaten up and oblonged. That is just part of the bearing correct? I’m not damaging some crucial part of the crankshaft I don’t think, but I just want to be sure before I start going psycho beast mode on this thing. I believe what I have to do is start chiseling away the inner guts of the bearing until I have nothing left but the outer casing, right? Then I need to either try the removal tool again and catch the two notches at the back of the bearing casing, or it’s going to be the bread and socket trick. I have some Kroil I’m going to try and seep into the outer edges of the bearing where it contacts the crankshaft.
    Am I doing anything wrong? I’ve never removed a pilot bearing before.
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    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  2. #2
    FEP Power Member gmatt's Avatar
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    Do the bread and socket thing first. It'll come out. Maybe use a deep socket though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PunIehO_ch0

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by gmatt View Post
    Do the bread and socket thing first. It'll come out. Maybe use a deep socket though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PunIehO_ch0
    I will be trying that but just wanted to make sure that the oblonged/ damaged part at the center of the bearing (see my pic above) is just part of the bearing that'll be replaced, and not something that needs to survive. I'm guessing I don't need to be gentle with that little piece, but I know I don't want to go putting a gouge in the end of the crankshaft.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  4. #4

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    Grease is good for the hydraulic action. anything will obviously be messy but grease is all but incompressible.

  5. #5
    FEP Senior Member Dave9052's Avatar
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    It is just a part of bearing. I agree with gmatt use a deep socket, you do not want to get a socket stuck in there sideways. You should tap that bearing shoulder round again before doing the bread thing. You don't have to worry about putting a gouge in the end of the crankshaft. Watch your fingers when swinging that hammer! lol

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by 4eyedblind View Post
    Grease is good for the hydraulic action. anything will obviously be messy but grease is all but incompressible.
    I have read that the bread trick works just as well as the grease trick, but way less messy. I've squirted a little Kroil around the bearing this morning so I'll let that sit all day and attack this again after work.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave9052 View Post
    It is just a part of bearing. I agree with gmatt use a deep socket, you do not want to get a socket stuck in there sideways. You should tap that bearing shoulder round again before doing the bread thing. You don't have to worry about putting a gouge in the end of the crankshaft. Watch your fingers when swinging that hammer! lol
    Thanks. I have tons of sockets so I'm sure I can find a deep that will work.

    By the way the reason for doing all this is I had to have my T5 rebuilt. When I restored this car years back I never bothered to have the tranny done. Stupid move. The engine, and everything else for that matter was overhauled.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  8. #8
    FEP Senior Member
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    Sounds like the pilot bearing in my '89 XR-7. No slide hammer, grease trick, or bread trick was getting that thing out. We wound up using various cutting implements to finally remove it. If you have a new bearing you can compare it to what is in there so you know when you are destroying bearing versus crankshaft, but for the most part you are pretty safe.
    '89 XR-7 5 Speed
    '95 SC 5 Speed
    '91 Crown Vic P72 351W
    '97 Thunderbird
    '85 Ford LTD Squire

  9. #9
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Buy a good name brand new bearing, bolt, and loaf of bread on the way home from work to save time.
    Having the new part on hand helps size up the job.

    Never knew about the bread trick. Pretty slick.
    When i did mine, the flywheel was already off, so took it to a old time auto parts store.
    A slide hammer with pilot hook adapter end popped it out in less than a minute.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=slid...w=1152&bih=693

    Utube always has video how to's. Invaluable to see a task done, usually several ways, and decide.
    Not when using a little bitty cellphone screen and kb.
    Are hard to operate to do anything online quickly or view in detail compared to desktop pc or even a laptop.
    They suck as a phone because its fragile to hold or hear anything normally with any background noise.

    Use locking pliers to hold the socket. extension, or bolt so the hammer cant hurt fingers or hand.
    The bread trick https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00OlG5E8vLk

    Pics to show bearing.
    https://www.google.com/search?q=pilo...hrome&ie=UTF-8

  10. #10

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    Bearing is from National. I have that, a new throwout bearing (although I know that was replaced in '14 but I'm putting a new one in regardless, and that's a Timken), an entire loaf of Martin's Potato bread, a nice brand new chisel, a big can of Kroil, the car is up on my lift and I have tons of air and hand tools. This friggin' thing is coming out no matter what.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  11. #11

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    Just my two penny’s. Heat the crank around the pilot before attempting. Heat helps in certain situations only


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  12. #12
    FEP Super Member gr79's Avatar
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    Default “Like a Slice from a Cloud”

    Plus leftover for lunch. Ha ha potato bread.

    Many times took hours of prep, tools. Job took 2 seconds. Good. Turning the hard part into the easy one.
    Like when i did cab brackets on the Ranger.
    After grinding off the rivet head, pound pound pound. Nothing. Rivet still stuck in frame.
    Got out the air hammer and pointed bit. Zip. The others took a fraction of the time of the first one.

    I save parts like that in a pickle jar. The stubborn, caused grief, or pita parts. Most of them are little ones.
    Just for the heck of it, id slide the bearing onto the trans shaft just to make sure. Never know.
    -If you have not already.
    We work the same way. Like new t/o brg while trans is out no matter what. Regrease the fork pivot ball too.
    When possible, knowing it was done 100% right is piece of mind later.
    Pilot brg is one of those parts that is often ignored, but can, needs to, and will be 100%.

  13. #13
    FEP Super Member erratic50's Avatar
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    See if you can hook the needle bearing carrier and get it out of there

    look at the new bearing. They have a shape designed for a puller to hook into

    Good luck!

  14. #14

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    I have had no time to get to it (2yr old and a 6 month old at home) but I’m hoping by tomorrow I can sneak in a few hours on it.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  15. #15

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    That was a pain but I got it done. No bread or grease involved. Die grinder very carefully and then split it with a small chisel. I put a few tiny marks in the end of the crank but it’ll be fine.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

  16. #16
    FEP Senior Member Tigger's Avatar
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    Been there, done that. Years ago I was putting another engine in my cruising wagon. Engine came out of a manual car and my wagon was an auto so I had to remove the bearing. Figured it would be easier to get it out on the floor than from under the car. 4 hours later at ~2 am I had it out and the engine was in the car. That following weekend I went to harbor freight and bought the puller kit for under $30 with coupon. A month later I did the clutch in another of my pintos. Bearing was out in less than a minute. I’ve done 5+ clutch jobs since. Tool has paid for itself. Glad you got it out.
    67 Mustang Coupe
    96 Tangerine GT
    86 Saleen #179

  17. #17

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    WooHoo! All mechanical stuff is done. Just need to put all the interior stuff back together, and put the rear bumper back on. Yeah, forgot to mention that this car has a custom one-piece exhaust which is a real pain in the ass to deal with and can't be removed without dropping the rear end. To drop the front of the pipe down far enough to do the tranny, I had to remove the rear bumper cover otherwise the exhaust tips would crush the underside of the bumper. Fun stuff.

    But I just took it for a drive and it shifts nicely.

    Finally home 10/26
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    Last edited by Johnate0; 10-26-2019 at 08:05 PM.
    1983 5.0 GT convertible. Restored 2011 - 2014

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