A bad pilot bearing will let out a nice grind sound when the clutch
is released.  I was having difficulty shifting especially into
reverse well before the sound showed up.  The minute it starting
making noise I knew what was causing it.  The labor required to
replace is just a little more than a typical clutch job and a great
time to replace the clutch, rear main seal, flywheel seal, felt
washer and that pesky fuel line running through the firewall.  Best
done with a friend as the transmission is heavy and akward to
position around by yourself.  You may want to rent an electric impact
wrench to remove the flywheel bolts, other than that typical hand
tools will do the job

On Oct 15, 2006, at 2:33 PM, Dennis Haynes wrote:

> Bad pilot bearing can make noise, catch and grab the main shift
> causing
> difficult shifting, and cause the tranny to leak as the main shift
> becomes
> unsupported and run out of center in the seal and of course cause
> clutch
> chatter. If the bearing did fail, it almost always damages the main
> shaft.
> If it did fail in only two years, you have ask what was done wrong?
> Lubricant, felt seal, etc. There could be another problem such as a
> bad
> pressure plate or disc. Real test is getting into reverse. Does the
> pedal
> feel normal?
>
> Anyway, this requires tranny, not engine removal.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On
> Behalf Of
> Matthew
> Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2006 3:01 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: pilot bearing symptoms if bad??
>
> volks,
> after a 100mile stretch of driving, i had issues
> getting out of 4th and into 3rd or any gear for that
> matter. I checked the clutch 'system' and the little
> clutch arm fully moves. Am i to assume it is a pilot
> bearing? tranny has 2 years on a AA rebuild.
>
> i really don't have the time to pull this engine...
>
> Thanks
> matthew
>
> "Racing with the wind and flirting with death
> So have a cup of coffee and catch your breath"
>
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