I purchased a FS-302 Clutch Pilot Bushing from The Filling Station. I had read in my '29 Repair Manual that the original bushing should not be greased but soaked in oil prior to installation. The new bushing did not look like an oil impregnated sintered bronze type bushing to me, but I'm no expert! So I called TFS. They could not immediately confirm the material, but suggested that I test it by soaking it in oil, wiping it clean, and letting it sit to see if a significant amount of oil seeped out. I soaked it in 600W oil for 24 hrs, removed, wiped dry and let sit for 8 hrs on a sheet of cardboard. As a result, I had about a third ?of a faint 'oil ring' on the cardboard. This looked insignificant to me, so I installed the bushing with plans to grease it. But what grease to use? If any? Or was my test faulty? Should I have soaked longer? Different oil?
I am of the opinion that 600 weight is too viscous for the bushing. I suggest soaking in 10-w30, 20 or 30 weight oil. Don't think enough 600 will penetrate the passages.
But... Chevrolet in the early years used to say never use grease in drive shaft universal joints and other chassis lube points. Only oil. But later on, no mention of oil. Only grease. Does anyone out there actually still put oil in universal joints?
Now, regarding pilot bushings, I've always packed the blind hole behind the pilot bushing with NLGI 2 lithium complex grease. Soaking the bushing in oil beforehand is a great idea. But why not have grease (which is just oil held in place by lithium soap) behind the bushing and slowly bleeding oil into the bushing as well? Seems like cheap easy insurance against having to do a tear down just for a dry pilot bearing to me. And it's worked well for me to this point. :-)
Chipper, I thought about the 600W being an issue, but only after I installed the bushing! And it has a pretty snug fit. The old bushing would not budge with the 'hydraulic' removal technique and had to be hack sawed into pieces. I'm thinking I will try to soak the bushing 'in place'. Flood it, plug it and generally make a mess! What are my chances of success? Do you have another removal technique?
Stovblt, I like 'cheap easy insurance'! And your suggestion sounds reasonable to this newbie. I'm looking forward to hearing if anyone has reasons to avoid this insurance.
Just an update... To soak the bushing in place, I found a rubber plug to plug the counter bore in the crank flange, cut a fill hole in its top edge and filled the cavity with 10W-30 oil. I will soak the bushing in this fashion for 2 days.
Regarding the grease insurance, I contacted Valvoline tech support and they assured me that their lithium complex, multi-vehicle, high temp grease (red tube), which I've been using for other applications, was fully compatible with 10W-30 motor oil. So I plan on putting a film on the spline shaft and a small amount in the cavity behind the bushing. I won't fill the cavity because with my luck the 'hydraulic bushing removal technique' will kick in when I don't want it to!
The easiest way I’ve found to remove pilot bushings is to thread a fine thread tap into them. The tap I use is a 9/16” if I remember correctly but I could be wrong on the diameter. Once the tap bottoms in the crank, you keep turning the tap and the bushing comes right out. It’s like a reverse puller so to speak.
Thanks, Christech, for the removal technique. I chose to re-soak the new bushing 'in-place' because, in addition to avoiding the delay and cost of getting another new one, I thought it would be easier to 'plug and soak' than to remove it. Looking back, I was not entirely correct. It took a few various approaches before I was a successful in keeping the soaking oil contained. And since the soaking surface area of the installed bushing is less than it would be for an uninstalled bushing, I'm doubling or tripling the soak time...and adding a judicious amount of grease. Hopefully my plan will not come back to haunt me.
Thanks, Christech, for the removal technique. I chose to re-soak the new bushing 'in-place' because, in addition to avoiding the delay and cost of getting another new one, I thought it would be easier to 'plug and soak' than to remove it. Looking back, I was not entirely correct. It took a few various approaches before I was a successful in keeping the soaking oil contained. And since the soaking surface area of the installed bushing is less than it would be for an uninstalled bushing, I'm doubling or tripling the soak time...and adding a judicious amount of grease. Hopefully my plan will not come back to haunt me.
