vlad0691

iTrader: (1)

I couldnt find any pullers like that at my harbor freight... But very nice job making it work!! Im sure itll help many people that try to get the worlds smallest pilot bearing out haha.

Eric Rosenberg

Thanks for the photo of the second Harbor Freight puller. I was going to buy that one today when I saw your post. Could you please tell me what sort of "adjustment" you had to make for this new tool to work?

Thank you.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Not sure who you are asking...

If you can get the one in the red box, get it. Lots easier than the grinding I had to do on mine. My adjustments were to grind off all the steel that got in the way of pulling the bearing. If you look at the pictures, you can get a bit of a feel for the modifications. I reduced the overall length, the thickness of the prongs, so the diameter would be smaller, and the length of the prongs, so they would reach the back of the bearing.

willnordacgreen1211

iTrader: (3)

sub'd

fals13b8

any body would recommend a clutch and flywheel off ebay??? whats with the counterbalance weight for ??

04Green

iTrader: (1)

I would get one from one of the vendors here. I got mine from BHR, price was good, and I got technical and spiritual support when I had problems.. I would also suggest getting the clutch and flywheel (with counter weight) from the same vendor, as well as read up on all the install threads. There are some I wish existed before I did mine.

You need a counterweight if you switch the flywheel. It is built into the factor one.

NO_PSTNS

Rubbing a little bit of soap around the black part of the shifter makes the rubber boot slide on and off like butter, and pre-spray the nuts and bolts on the exhaust system with penetrating fluid may even need to apply torch heat to the nut..., just my two cents so far....

Harlan

iTrader: (3)

One thing about the writeup, after you loosen the flywheel nut leave it on a couple threads then wallop on the non contact surface of the flywheel with a hammer. If you remove the nut completely the flywheel will probably break free and fall on you. It's a mistake you only make once.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

I posted this up in another thread too. Works perfect. There are four tool end pieces. Labeling the smallest #1 and the largest #4 you will want to use tool end #2 on the RX8 pilot bearing. I've pulled out several with it. Some came out with a few pops. Others took quite a few whacks before they finally came out. Just keep at it and it will eventually come out.

myrotor05

So I am replacing my clutch and as of today i am half way through. Two things my flywheel was the biggest pain in my *** but it came off after a day of running around trying to get the right tool to do cause a hammer just wasnt gonna do the trick, second the pilot bearing not so bad modded the tool from autozone thing came right out no problem. All thats left resurface my flywheel and put it all back together.

Phildough StaTik

awsome diy bout to start on mine. One thing i was curios bout though is what makes a pilot bearing go bad prematurely? I did full clutch change at mazda dealer ship 25k miles ago clutch fine but throwoutbearing making annoying noise. I'm assuming they jus didnt change the pilot bearing even though i bought one and had to pay 575 in labor. But what happends if they dont put counterweight on? on a side note my clutch cylinder jus went bad and swaped that out if that effects bearing

Carbon8

iTrader: (4)

If the don't put on the counter weight their is no way to put on the flywheel!.

IDK what makes a pilot bearing go bad, lots of parameters. I do know that the pilot bearing only matters when you are in neutral or the clutch is not engaged as it allows the crank to spin independently from the input shaft. You may experience some rough vibration and grinding noises when first shifting into a gear.

As long as the clutch pedal is adjusted properly replacing the cylinder will not cause bearing damage

Phildough StaTik

damn you guys reply quick on here thanks!!! good to know I don't have to buy another counter weight.

I did notice a couple k miles back that 8 was kinda jumpy going to first but only if id try n baby it round. That was also before new clutch cylinder so guess thats the culprit to throwout dying unless they didn't change at last clutch change. btw for some reason it took them 3 days to change my clutch why ive decided to do everthing myself from here out

Signal 2

Necro-bump on a couple things.....
*I may have missed it, but a 2 1/8" socket from Sears works for the 54mm FW nut. It only comes in 1" drive, but you can get an adaptor. I strongly recommend a big impact here. The FW nut can be tough and quick application of torque usually makes it a cake job. Otherwise, I've seen people stress stock motor-mounts trying to break them loose. Regardless, if you're using a big cheater-bar be sure the car is really stable on the jack-stands.

*Probably everyone already knows...but DON'T use a regular hammer to strike the flywheel anywhere. Preferably a cheap dead-blow hammer from Harbor Frieght or a hammer and a block of wood/2x4.

*Assuming you don't have the SST for it, when re-installing the pilot bearing, lightly grease the outer sleeve and use something like a sheet metal hammer with a big flat head. Tap carefully and gradually increase the force until it starts going in. Be careful to start it evenly because the sleeve will distort if you don't, and the bearing could fail prematurely. Once it goes in nearly flush, you can use the old bearing to counter-sink it just enough to make room for the seal. Don't over-grease the new bearing or you could have trouble re-installing the transmission input shaft completely due to the hydraulic pressure.

*If you're in that far, re-torque the engine tension bolts and consider rear main seal and 'O' Ring. They don't cost much.

Mr. Pockets

I have my car up on stands to replace a bad transmission. I have a couple questions.

1. My engine was replaced less than 15k miles ago. While I suspect the flywheel was not part of the new engine assembly, I do assume that the old pilot bearing wasn't removed from the old engine and put in the new one. I know nobody on these forums was present for the installation of my new engine, but if you're familiar with the dealer procedure, I'd be interested to hear from you.

2. I don't see any recommendation to support the engine when I remove the transmission. I find that strange, because I've had to support every other engine I've pulled a transmission from. Do I really not need to support the engine?

Thanks!

Mr. Pockets

I have my transmission out and can answer my own question from a couple days ago. Support the engine. The mounts will hold the engine, but they're pretty far forward. I put a couple 2x4s in between the oil pan flange and the subframe under it.

Signal 2

Not familiar with dealership procedures, but I can't imagine anyone would remove a used pilot bearing and re-use it. First, you typically destroy them getting them out, and they're not that expensive anyway. If the engine was replaced with a re-man you likely got a new pilot bearing with it.

Mr. Pockets

As a matter of fact, that's exactly what the dealership said they did. I talked to the service manager, who asked the techs about the procedure. They said they most likely removed the pilot bearing from the old engine and put it back in the new one. I'm with you on that one - I can't imagine doing that, but it's what they said they did. I'm glad I asked, because it means there's a possibility my pilot bearing has been in three engines.

Either way, the clutch kit came with a new bearing and seal, so I'll be replacing it.

Thanks!

Signal 2

That makes as much sense as draining the oil out of the old engine and putting it in the new one. Last I knew it was about a $25 bearing retail. IF they did indeed do that, they're dipshits. Hopefully you'll get it sorted out without too much trouble.

Mr. Pockets

I agree with you. It's actually about a $5 part, so I just replaced the thing. I borrowed the cheaper HF puller from a friend. He has an RX8 and had modified the puller already. My bearing seemed to be set too far in, though, so I had to go buy the more expensive 'blind hole' bearing puller. I used the Mazdatrix tool to set the new bearing and seal in place.

Phildough StaTik

Hey so finally got to doing mine but I'm having a problem dropping the ppf... Got all bolts out transmission side goes down fine but the diff side seems to be stuck up or something? Any advice or if there's something else I'm suppose to disconnect not mentioned here help would be appreciated. has been easy thanks to you all up to here

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Did you get the hidden side bolt?

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

^ either that or sometimes its just been on there so long it seems stuck or is binding some, a whack or two with a mallet should knock it loose, but make sure you have the 9th side bolt out as 04Green mentioned and also that someone is holding the PPF so it doesn't drop (very heavy)


.

Phildough StaTik

Yeah I got 5th side bolt. Slides down the bolts almost all the way but then gets stuck with 1/4 cm left max. already Probly spent at least 3 hours wiggling it trying to break it loose been getting so frantic and aggressive with it decided give myself break before I break something. Well night time here now wait till morning to start beating on it Probly won't be able to sleep so frustrated lol and I thought I was doing good only took like hour n half to get to this point @@

Slidin8

Mine needed a good whack to get the diff end of the ppf to finally come free.

Its not that heavy lol