Pilot bearing location

[sfwjesse]

93 Ranger 4.0L 4x4.

Just got the tranny bolted back on after replacing clutch and slave. I am a little concerned about the pilot location. When i pressed out the old bearing i didnt look at its location. I pressed the new one in flush with the face of the flywheel (clutch side), but was having difficulty getting the tranny in by myself....it just wouldnt go on the guide pins. I figured the pilot could go in further because it seems like it could be pressed all the way up against the crank (its just a straight through hole in the flywheel). So being conservative i pressed it in about 1/4" from the face, guessing that the tranny input shaft was bottoming out and that was causing my issues. So now i have it all together, but i am worried that if the bearing was too far back, the input shaft could have just banged into the edge of the bearing and pushed it back more, and is not even supported now. Everything seemed to go together without too much resistance but who knows when you are struggling by yourself under there with a stupid floor jack and some old boards.

So....is it possible to press the pilot back too far? Haynes just say "press it in" and doesn't give a depth

 

[AllanD]

Issue resolved?

AD

 

[sfwjesse]

I think so. I pulled the tranny off and the bearing was sitting 1/2" back from the face of the flywheel. I borrowed a pilot bearing puller from autozone and pulled it back flush with the face (had to pull the pressure plate to do this....so it was 50/50 to get the tool or just pull the flywheel and tap from the back.....and i was tired so i went with the easy option).

So i put the tranny back on with my last bit of energy.....i felt it go in with a "clunk"....but i just couldnt close up the last 1/4 of gap....i think the slave is pushing on the pressure plate. I threaded in 2 bolts and it easily pulled it closed....very easily so i am 99% sure it is just the slave fighting me and i just dont have the strength to compress that spring fully while bench pressing the tranny up there.

So yea...i think issue is resolved...thanks AllanD for the PM help. FYI to all...pilot bearing gets pressed flush with face of flywheel (clutch side), and seal in pilot bearing is closest to clutch. I have the transfer case and exhaust back on and all hooked up...just need to attach the drive shafts and cross member and bleed it......crossing fingers.

 

[LittleHorse]

I ran into that question last week...fortunately I was replacing the flywheel and the pilot bearing so I had my old flywheel to look at for the bearing depth.

I'll be shoving my transmission back in tomorrow, hope to have some luck with it.

 

[sfwjesse]

yea good luck........i used my knees to hold the tail weight and used my hands to kibby the bellhousing around and align it......im very sore