hatefull pilot bearing in LS1

**nath** · 05-31-2012, 06:50 AM

Embarrassed to say, I put a new pilot bearing in when I did my build and it is in backwards.

Well, now that I am putting my rebuilt T56 back in I need to change the PB. I have slamed on this thing a hundred times with a puller and slide hammer and it has not budged.

Any tricks from you guys on what I might try?

I hate the thought of having to pull the engine. Oh, forgot to say, bell housing won't come out with out removing headers and that can't be done with engine in the car. This is a 3rd gen RX7 LS1 conversion.

Any help appreciated

**az gt eater** · 05-31-2012, 10:41 AM

Hose it down good w pb blaster and let it soak. Then try your slide hammer again. If it still won't budge, find a socket.that barely fits inside the bearing. Fill the bearing hole w grease,and pound the socket in. make sure the socket has an extension to plug the hole on the back of the socket. You will be creating hydraulic tension to pound "out" the bearing. Good luck.

**Knight** · 05-31-2012, 06:00 PM

You could also use a small dremel to cut the bearing off, if you have the room and axcess. Be extremely careful if you decide to do this. You don't need to cut all the way through it. Just enough so you can split it.

**Smittro** · 05-31-2012, 07:03 PM

What knight said..

Oh and be carefull how much you push, or mess around in there using brute force tools.

There is a plug in the end of your crank just behind the pilot bearing.

Shove that into the cranks oil galley or damage it and you'll be looking @ a whole new set of problems.

**Mr_Rich** · 05-31-2012, 09:08 PM

Yikes! The last thing you want to do is attempt the "hydraulic method" on an LS engine. You do that, you're f###ed, to put it plainly. There's a plug in the end of the crank that would pop in to the bottom of the oil pan if you follow those instructions. I've tried and completed the Dremel method to remove a stubborn bearing race in the end of a diff. Unless you have superb control I wouldn't attempt it. It's too small of a space to try it, IMO.
Perhaps you can find a bigger slide hammer. Maybe a slide hammer that's sized to remove axle bearings will work for you. It shouldn't take more than a couple of taps to remove it. How the heck did you install the pilot bearing?

**SStrokeME00** · 06-01-2012, 07:33 AM

I've had to do this twice. I wound up driving a nail-set in where the bearing meets the crank. The bearing is soft and you'll essentially make a hole in the outside of the bearing. Then use a chisel to split the pilot bearing. A friend of mine told me he used a slide hammer and it was a piece of cake. Next time that's definitely what I'll do. Idk about factory cranks, but my Eagle crank has a little lip that keeps the oil galley plug from being pushed in. Worst case scenario you'll punch a hole in it (like I did) and have to go to your dealer to get another one.

**Mr_Rich** · 06-01-2012, 09:05 AM

Back in the days when we used brass pilot bearings you could actually force thread a coarse bolt in the pilot hole and bottom out the bolt on the crank to force the bearing out. It doesn't work that way on the newer roller bearing pilot bearings.

**az gt eater** · 06-01-2012, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Mr_Rich

Yikes! The last thing you want to do is attempt the "hydraulic method" on an LS engine. You do that, you're f###ed, to put it plainly. There's a plug in the end of the crank that would pop in to the bottom of the oil pan if you follow those instructions. I've tried and completed the Dremel method to remove a stubborn bearing race in the end of a diff. Unless you have superb control I wouldn't attempt it. It's too small of a space to try it, IMO.
Perhaps you can find a bigger slide hammer. Maybe a slide hammer that's sized to remove axle bearings will work for you. It shouldn't take more than a couple of taps to remove it. How the heck did you install the pilot bearing?

Thanks for the info, I did not know that one.