Pilot and Throwout Bearing Question

[Devin]

I have my trans out and the "new" one ready to go in. While it is out I heard it is a good idea to do the clutch and rear main seal. In the new clutch kit there are two bearings, a small and large one. I take it the big one is the throwout and the small one is the pilot bearing? My question is how do I get the throwout pressed into that housing thing that holds it onto the imput shaft on the trans? Also how do I replace the pilot bearing? Should I take them to a machine shop? Thanks!

[xirdneh]

you can separate the throwout yourself
find something round like a large socket that is just a little bit smaller than the inside diameter of the bearing
and use it to knock the thing out.
i do it on a vise
the pilot can be removed with a small slide puller made for the job
or you can force it out by packing grease in the hole and using a metal rod that just fits in the bearing hole
(just a hair under .47 dia if i remember right)
hammer the metal rod into the hole and the pressure forces the bearing out
water and toilet paper stuffed in there is supposed to work too

[Petros]

if your old pilot and t/o bearing are good (smooth without grinding or noise) I would reuse them. The aftermarket ones are junk. I replaced mine with the ones from the clutch kit, and in under a year they both started making racket. I had to pull the engine later so I put the old ones back in and there they still are with almost 300k miles on them.

[Highlander]

When I replaced the pilot bearing in mine, I used the alignment tool as the compression rod for the grease-packed hydraulic-the-pilot-bearing-out move. I'd never tried it before, and other than being gooey, it worked great. Just use a hammer to tap on the end of the alignment tool after you have the hole filled.
AS far as the throw-out bearing goes, Xirdneh has it right, after its off, use the vise to press the new one on. Make sure to clean out the inside of the carrier and then put some new grease into the small indent inside. Along the same lines, don't forget to clean off the tube that the carrier runs on as well.

[Devin]

Thanks for all the helpful tips. The throwout from the newer trans is in good condition so I will reuse it. Right now I am replacing the rear main seal and have just finished scraping off all old gasket material off the rear main seal holder. Where the holder meets the oil pan on the bottom there is no gasket but some silcone. Can I just scrape that off and use gasket sealer? If not, what product should I use? Thanks in advance.

[Highlander]

Devin- I'd replace the throwout bearing just as a matter of course. You have a new one from the kit, I wouldn't want to have to pull the trans or engine just to replace something that could have been done in a few minutes when I was there-just my .02 - BTDT.
Take a look at the FSM in the LU section (pg 7-8) to see where to place the silicone gasket maker around the bolt holes on the rear seal. There should have been a pan gasket there as well, AFAIK.
Good to see its coming back together.

[Petros]

I would not have removed the seal holder at all, just pulled the seal and installed the new one with the holder in place. You always risk it leaking around the pan no matter what you do. The best thing to do now is to remove the pan and install the rear seal holder and than put either a new pan gasket or new sealer all the way around the pan. This is not a good answer I know, but the best you can do at this point without removing the pan is to clean the contact surfaces well, and find motor oil resistant sealant, and install it thick enough so it seals the corners and around the pan bolts and hope it holds. You want enough so it will squeeze out of the joint, but DO NOT over tighten the bolts (it will squeeze out too much sealant). The torque spec on the 10mm pan bolts is too high, it will warp the pan and cause a leak. You will just have to tighten them down snug by feel and hope it all holds together good enough so it will not leak.

The FSM I think instructs you to remove the seal holder to install the new seal, the guy who wrote has never had to deal with it. I have worked in several potions for large companies writing repair and service instructions, almost all of the staff writing the instructions have seldom if ever actually handled tools, or even change their own oil on their own cars. One place found at least 50 percent of the procedures they write are riddled with errors (there was an internal study at one of my employers that found this to be the case). I look at a "factory" repair manual with a lot of suspicion, because I know how they got written. I once owed an old Mercedes-Benz diesel sedan and I had a genuine M-B factory service manual to go with it. IT was one of the most irresponsible repair document I have ever seen, it appeared the guy writing it did not even know what equipment was in the car, the instructions seldom matched what was in the car. I only use the manual to get torque spec, clearances, etc. and even than I use the information with caution.

[Devin]

Thanks for the advice Petros. I should have taken the FSM with a grain of salt and asked you guys first. Well from this point I am thinking I will try to put gasket maker where the seal holder sits against the pan because I can always replace the oil pan gasket later if it leaks, right?

[dlb]

oil pan gaskets are a b*tch to do without pulling the engine. you have to support the engine from above and remove the cross member to access the oil pan.