Pilot Bearing OR Bushing

[final5-0]

I got a long time gear head friend who has a boy with a Fox notch.

The boy drives the little notch kinda hard which is certainly no surprise to me and my friend.

The t-5 in his notch has been rebuilt 3 or 4 times now.

My friend was talking to a guy at a local trans shop and was told to ditch the bearing and go with a bushing. He said the bushing would hold up to the abuse much better than the bearing.

That was over a year ago and the boy is still on the same rebuild.

Just thought I'd share that with everybody.

Grady

 

[urban96]

sry if this seems dumb... but what does the pilot bushing look like? ive onle dealt with bearing

 

[mo_dingo]

and what the hell would the pilot bearing have to do with the transmission syncros or gears

 

[final5-0]

and what the hell would the pilot bearing have to do with the transmission syncros or gears

As it wears more and more the shaft will wobble more and more.

That is what makes sense to me I guess.

Grady

 

[urban96]

kevlar bushing http://www.southbendclutch.com/kevlarbushing.html

 

[final5-0]

sry if this seems dumb... but what does the pilot bushing look like? ive onle dealt with bearing

Bushings from old school Stangs were made from solid brass.

Grady

 

[HISSIN50]

I guess I hadnt known of any real known reason with pilot bearings failing. Do they?

I always considered bearings better than bushings. My early cars had bushings and I guess they werent as solid tight as a bearing, but maybe they were not as likely to fail completely like a bearing could.

I have known of pilot bearings seizing and that aint too good if you are sitting at a red light behind a car.

 

[final5-0]

I guess I hadnt known of any real known reason with pilot bearings failing. Do they?

I always considered bearings better than bushings. My early cars had bushings and I guess they werent as solid tight as a bearing, but maybe they were not as likely to fail completely like a bearing could.

I have known of pilot bearings seizing and that aint too good if you are sitting at a red light behind a car.

I don't know if the bearing would be considered to be more weak than a bushing J T.

Just something I heard and thought I would pass it on.

Grady

 

[HISSIN50]

I hear ya Grady - I was wondering aloud with you.

 

[HISSIN50]

FWIW, I asked my buddy about it - he does R&D prototypes of seals and bearings and such for a huge manufacturer, and is a genius with this stuff. (Grady, you'd like his showcar '67 FB with a 428 CJ, 390 PI heads, etc).

Anyhow, he said (from my recollection, so let's see if I get it right) that there might have been an indexing issue with the centerline (indexing), and the stress was tearing the bearing up. But a bushing, being simpler, might have been able to deal with the additional stress of the indexing issues.

This sounded pretty reasonable to me.
Just info.

 

[Green 94 5.0]

i havent ever heard of a pilot bearing going bad. but then again, the way the bearing looks and the way the input shaft enters it, i could easily see a failure occuring if the input shaft wasnt going in perfectly straight.

 

[WhiteDevil]

i havent ever heard of a pilot bearing going bad. but then again, the way the bearing looks and the way the input shaft enters it, i could easily see a failure occuring if the input shaft wasnt going in perfectly straight.

Thats what i was thinkin too

 

[95CobraMike]

hummmmmmm i just installed a new clutch about 3 days ago.... i had the option of putting in a new pilot bearing or a new brass bushing.... i went witht the bearing....now i am second guessing my decision.......