John,

Had the same problem a few years ago with the pilot bearing from a Sachs clutch kit. Turned out the pilot bearing was closed on the backside. As I later found out the correct part allows the input shaft to pass completely through it. What a P.I.A. it was replacing that clutch!

Gary

John Philcox <jphilcox@COX.NET> wrote:

>I had the exact same problem nearly a year ago. I thought I was doing
>something wrong, and went back to the FLAPS for another bearing to try
>again. I had the original bearing and discovered that the new bearing was in
>fact too big. Went back to FLAPS, with the original as a sample, and we
>found that some of the pilot bearings in the bin, with the correct stock
>number, were the wrong bearing. He had some others with a different brand
>name, same stock number, that were the right size. So somewhere in the
>supply system there are some incorrectly labeled pilot bearings!
>
>John Philcox
>'85 GL, Newport, RI
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
>> Of Eric Zeno
>> Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 11:09 AM
>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> Subject: flywheel pilot bearing will not fit!
>>
>>
>> Here is one for the record books.
>> I'm helping  a friend put in a new
>> clutch in his 1.9L  / 2.L mixture.
>> The engine and crank are 1.9L.  We installed
>> the pilot bearing as far as it would go. This
>> leaves it sticks out of the crank about 1/16".
>> When installing the flywheel, the hole in its
>> center, is not big enough to fit the pilot bearing.
>> Therefore as you tighten up the flywheel
>> you crush down the end of the pilot bearing
>> making it impossible to install the input
>> shaft of the transmission, without major
>> force.  This is exactly what the DPO did.
>> The pilot bear did not last, and then the
>> clutch went.  Now we have to fix this mess.
>> Any have any insight?
>>                                   Eric
>

--
Gary McEachern
Reading, Ma
'90 Westy Subavanagon
'86 Wolfy Subavanagon
'87 Syncro (Son's van)

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