[urq] Pilot bearing removal ?

[Ben Swann]

If the engine is from car with manual transmission then you will have an easier time.
Most of the pilots I’ve dealt with have a ridge and can easily be slide-hammered out
with standard Pilot bearing tool.  Some are smooth and can be quite trying, having no
real provision for a puller – why’d they do this!?!

For the cars with auto. Trans, the bearing/bushing is more of a solid piece than an
actual bearing.  I had to weld a threaded pipe onto/into it after partly screwing in –
tapered pipe thread let’s you do this, then tack weld it to the bearing.  Then put a 5
or 10 lb barbell weight onto the rod and a screw cap onto the end.  You now have a slide
hammer affixed to the pilot bushing.  

I think on the Manual Trans ones that are impossible to grab, I literally had to cut
them out – AFAIR I used the appropriate sized drill bit and cored it out – this was the
worst PITA of them all for a job that should have taken 30 sec.

I have never had any success using the grease, rod and hammer method.  The main result I
get with that is an eye full of grease and messy all over!

Good luck!

Ben

[Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 13:08:11 -0400
From: "Louis-Alain Richard" <laraa at sympatico.ca>
Subject: Pilot bearing removal ?
To: "Urq" <urq at audifans.com>,	"Quattro at Audifans. Com"
	<quattro at audifans.com>
Message-ID: <BAYC1-PASMTP07D7880994E7AA8EE425BECED10 at CEZ.ICE>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Tomorrow is the big day, engine swap. Last bit of work to do is the pilot bushing
replacement in the rear of the crankshaft. Any tips for us ? Didn't try anything yet.

Louis-Alain
:
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 10:56:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Kneale Brownson <knealeski at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [urq] Pilot bearing removal ?
To: Louis-Alain Richard <laraa at sympatico.ca>, Urq <urq at audifans.com>,
	"Quattro at Audifans. Com" <quattro at audifans.com>
Message-ID: <986346.73057.qm at web83107.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

When I R&R'd the clutch on my 200q20v avant, I found the pilot bearing was the
encapsulated style as opposed to the open-ended style.  That meant there was no opening
on the inside end of the bearing housing.  That meant the much-recommended removal
method of pumping the bearing full of grease and then smacking an inserted pilot bearing
tool would not work because the grease couldn't get behind the bearing to push.  I ended
up buying three different pullers to get one that had small enough arms to get inside
the bearing and pull it out.  Don't know if that would apply to older engines, but
apparently Audi used both types of bearing housings.

Louis-Alain Richard <laraa at sympatico.ca> wrote:  Tomorrow is the big day, engine swap.
Last bit of work to do is the pilot
bushing replacement in the rear of the crankshaft. Any tips for us ? Didn't
try anything yet.]