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Roller Clutch Pilot Bearing, 70-96 Z/ZX


Careless

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http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/21-2082

 

Anyone ever use one of these? I found that my input shaft has virtually no play. It's definitely not the problem starter from the previous owner's clutch job on my 87 z31t. It seems like the bearing wasn't driven in far enough and was catching on the hilt of the input shaft (grind marks, abnormal brazing and wear on the input shaft).

 

Just read on another site for SBC's that have a shorter service life. I'm curious it that's true or not, or just a "save our ass" gimmick.

 

Anyone use these for prolonged periods?

 

I'm thinking of putting one of them in cause of the cheap price and the "i'm there now, might as well" aspect.

 

it's going to be my spring/summer/fall daily, with some track days in the new year. :confused:

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Don't go with the bearing. There is no benefit in my opinion and the bushing is way more reliable. The bearing style has a tendency to wear and freeze up. There were threads on this years ago, but good luck finding them now.

 

My fear is that the same thing that happened with the last bushing will happen this time if I use the bronze bushing. and If that's the case, the roller bearings would help the input shaft mozie along it's twirly little ways.

 

jerry's input about running it for years without problem sold me, as we live in the same city/climate and his transmission would probably weather as much as any other z around here with worn shift-fork boots and moisture filled bell housings.

 

I'll just pack the bearing with some good grease. I'd bet that the bearings that wore badly were due to sloppy input shafts that would hammer on them when abused. My input shaft has little to no play at all.

 

The part number is 32202-09500 if anyone is interested.

 

sgpracing-store_2012_35529154

 

It's around 25 bucks, said and done.

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Had a b!tch of a time getting a worn roller bearing out last year. When time to change and the bearings come out in your hand and then the outer bearing race sticks you often need to dremel cut the race out. Not as easy to change as the bushing type. Too tight for bearing pullers & hooks, grease & pressure method fails. It was stuck good! After the one episode with the previous owner installed pilot bearing... never again. :icon55:

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All good points, Gents.

 

I'll be using some high-performance race-bearing grease.

 

I figure the clutch I got isn't the greatest of quality, so if it happens to go, I'll be doing the pilot again anyways.

 

Chino that sucks that it was stuck, but rather than the "Grease and Pressure" Method, you should look into the "Toilet Paper + Soapy Water and Pressure" method. It's worked for me on a honda and a toyota thus far. Haven't tried it on the Z but I'm sure it would work as well :D

 

Also, you said the previous owner pilot was an "episode"... Was that the reason for the roller bearing install, or was that the actual roller bearing install itself.

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All good points, Gents.

 

Chino that sucks that it was stuck, but rather than the "Grease and Pressure" Method, you should look into the "Toilet Paper + Soapy Water and Pressure" method. It's worked for me on a honda and a toyota thus far. Haven't tried it on the Z but I'm sure it would work as well :D

 

Also, you said the previous owner pilot was an "episode"... Was that the reason for the roller bearing install, or was that the actual roller bearing install itself.

 

Once the bearing cage is worn, it becomes very thin and brittle. While trying to remove it, the cage just crumbled into pieces except the outer race ring. The outer race is to thin to grab and to tight to pull. Now it becomes this super tight, hard steel liner inside the crank end. When the cage and bearings all fall to pieces the is nothing for grease or TP and pressure to push against out of the hole. No lip edge or ring to pry against. To thin and tight for heat & ice to work. But a tiny dremel bit did score the race enough to snap in half and pull out. The race metal is a very hard metal and ate up several bits while trying to score or cut it. I was very surprized with the hardness of it.

 

I've seen these nice looking roller bearings before but never installed them only the solid type. Not sure how long they last, since this car is a track only car and is out 7 or 8 weekends a year for the past 4 years. I'm sure they install simple and often remove easily too. Maybe I just had bad luck that night but was wishing the po had gone with the solid type. I just remember the crazy words and foreign tongue I spoke as I spent hours working on such a simple item under the car. :eek2:

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These were designed for racing apps, when you have the engine out all the time. Some have had good luck with them, but I've replaced 3 that seized up on street cars. No advantage over the stock bushing IMHO, just some mental masturbation. Fuggetaboutit would be my recommendation, even for a race car.

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Also...good luck finding one. Here is a reply from Motorsport Auto to my enquiry.

 

"We are currently out of stock on the Nissan Competition roller pilot bearing. The roller pilot bearings currently on national backorder from Nissan Competition. We could be receiving the Nissan Competition roller pilot bearing tomorrow, 6 months from now or Nissan Competition could decide never to offer the roller pilot bearing again. There is no way for us to receive an accurate estimated time of arrival from Nissan Competition. The Nissan Competition roller pilot bearing may not even be what you are looking for. It is intended to be a race only part because every so often you will need to remove the transmission and re grease the roller pilot bearing":

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good luck finding one. Here is a reply from Motorsport Auto to my enquiry.

 

I did mention in this thread (with the picture and the part number) that I did in fact order one. My dealership orders direct from japan, and it cost me 28 dollars. It will be here in 10 to 15 days from order.

The Parts Manager at my local Nissan can order anything as long as I supply the number, and if it's No Longer Available, he'll tell me it's NLA. Garret from MSA did help me with the order to begin with, and told me it would be out of stock, so I found the partnumber and ordered it from my dealer.

 

I've ordered it so I will try it. If I find that I like it, I will continue to use them because I've had two cases of pilot bushings failing from 2 previous installs on 2 cars. But this time it was weird how it happened.

 

Soooooooo. thanks for all the input. This thread might steer someone into or out of the direction of buying the part. My intention for this thread was neither a deal breaker or maker. Everyone has their own experiences.

 

I'm going to be installing it, and I'll be on HZ long enough to report any failures, I assure you :D

 

Thanks everyone =)

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I ran a few on my racing 240Z and gave up on them. As Keith posted they are designed for high rpm (above 7,500 rpm) racing applications and are a required maintenance item. They often need to be replaced as often as a race clutch is replaced (at least annually). I've still got two or three around the shop somewhere if anyone wants one - Nissan part number 32202-09500 Bearing Needle.

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A lot of toyotas come with them and I replaced them every time I did a clutch as most won't last two clutches worth of usage.

 

If you look closely at the nissan bushing parts bag, it says "oil impregnated bearing" meaning that any wear will cause the oil that is impregnated within the bushing to lubricate whatever "liberated" it.

 

I've never had a factory bushing fail but once did see one that was visibly worn after 280,000 miles of usage.

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