Has anybody used a solid bushing in place of the Pilot bearing? I bought a clutch kit and it came with a solid bushing. It is a LUK kit made for Car Quest.

JMC

 

I thought the pilot bearing on these trucks was just a bushing that wore over time. When I did a friends clutch it was an early 97 and we bulled the bushing and replaced with a new one and shoved some grease in there....that was 4 years ago.

 

I don't think I can help much but when I bought the Centerforce it didn't come with a pilot bearing. I picked up an OE one at the dealership. I didn't do the clutch install myself, but my mechanic opted not to change the pilot bearing.

If you need some spare parts, I'll sell you the OE bearing cheap. I also have a throw out bearing that I got from Centerforce that didn't get used because it was part of the slave cylinder assembley.

 

Wittom,

Thanks for the offer. My buddy at carquest here in town can get me one for $15.00. It is an OEM style bearing. I called LUK Clutches and their help line informed me that they supply needle bearings with their kit. CarQuest uses a LUK pressure plate and clutch disk but not their bearing. They buy a bushing and include that in the kit. I am just fishing for a reason not to use the bushing.

JMC

 

we use a bushing on the race car with the lenco in it...when a pilot "bearing" fails @ 8500..it makes a mess(been there done that)..so stay away from bearings...bush it!...zap!

 

The bushings are usually a hard bronze OILITE bushing. I am partial to the self lubricating oil impregnated bushings myself. They are zero maintanence and have no moving parts.

Good luck.