Roller pilot shaft bearings

[DanEC]

Just to stir the pot a little - those considering using a roller input shaft bearing instead of a bushing may want to check this thread out from the Corvette Forums. I'm pretty convinced these things are snake oil for all except maybe a competition engine that gets torn down often for inspection.

Pilot bearing vs bushing - Corvette Forum

[blykins]

Bearings fail, bushings wear....that's the short and skinny of it.

The OEM has been using bearings for years and years and I've seen 170k mile 5.0 Mustangs with the roller pilot bearings still intact.

One thing that will discern the use of a bearing vs bushing is the clutch disc material. The dust from a highly aggressive disc material can wreak a little havoc on bronze bushings.

[mreid]

As can failure to properly index the bellhousing. That's death to a bearing, but irregular wear to a bushing. I'll stick with the bearing.

[blykins]

I use/recommend both....it just depends on what the exact application is.

But as mreid said, there's a little more to it than just install and run. Even on a factory bellhousing setup, tolerances can be stacked to the point where the bellhousing is not aligned. Any angular misalignment can cause major issues on not only the pilot bearing/bushing but the input shaft seal/bearing as well.