Hi Don..
if you are using a diesel vanagon flywheel..
then you use a Diesel Vanagon pilot bearing.

Those have a rubber lip seal built into the pilot brg.  Very nice.

the will fit in a waterboxer ...diameter wise..
depth wise they are a skosh tall, and the wbxr flywheel won't fit over
it properly..
but ..enlarging, my machinin g at a machine shop, the hole in the center
of the wbxr flywheel ..
or just to a depth of about 1/8th inch ..
makes a 'proper' diesel vanagon pilot brg with a 'real' seal in it work
perfectly in a waterboxer engine.

and yes, Front Wheel drive jettas/Rabbits with the goofy 'inside out
clutch' do not use a pilot bearing ..
and as you later found out ..
there's an empty hole in your crankshaft for a pilot brg.

'Usually' on vanagon rear wheel bearings they just get loose ..
like a fat 1/8th inch ( or more ) vertical play at the tire with the van
jack up ..
I have seldom seen them get rough or noisy.
They would have to be driven a long, long time, in my opinion/experience
for them to get noisy.
They'll be 'too lose' for 25K miles before they get noisy , I think.

the outer bearing is under a lot of load.
With the inner and outer brgs only a few inches apart...the stub axle
with tire and brake drum mounted on the end of it makes a fine lever to
load the outer bearing with.  Amazing how well they do last.

By 150K on them ...I'd say they are due.
I just go by vertical wheel play ...at 1/8th inch they are getting due.
Anything like 1/4 inch ...they are way, way due.

scott
turbovans

On 4/15/2012 7:08 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
>    The clutch I got when I swapped in the ABA block in my van, diesel size
> Sachs, it came with the felt washer already lubed.   I pinched it and my
> fingers got greasy, so it went in like it came, pre-lubed.   You do not
> want to get anything on the driven plate....Through installer error, my
> output shaft began to leak shortly after I installed my new clutch (I
> forgot the pilot bearing) and the clutch got very slippery...I had to do
> the whole install over after fixing the output shaft bearing, using another
> new clutch and including the pilot bearing...So far (about 40k miles) no
> further problems.
>
>     One odd thing about my installation:  Ever since day one with the  ABA
> motor install.... when I start the engine there is a weird brieif
> 'squelching' sound when the motor catches and the starter stops turning
> it.  Been like than now for almost two years...I'll probably find the cause
> when I go back into the connection between motor and tranny, but since it
> works fine, I am good with it.  It's been doing that now for 35-40k driving
> miles with no detectable downside other than me often trying to figure out
> what might be causing the funny little noise.  I'm just not curious enough
> to remove the tranny and examine stuff to find out...I'll wait.
>
>     Also, I just completed a rear wheel bearing replacement.   It is now
> quiet at that corner of the van when the wheel is 'driven' on jackstands.
> The old bearing showed some signs it wasn't right, but from the noisy way
> it ran back there, I was expecting the rollers to be square or melted...
>
>     Don Hanson
>
> On Sun, Apr 15, 2012 at 1:20 AM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans<
> scottdaniel@turbovans.com>  wrote:
>
>>   somewhere I saw something soaking the felt ring in engine oil.. - some
>> tech book Makes sense to me.  All seals on turning shafts need to be
>> pre-lubed after all.
>> and I always do that, soak it in oil, and it works.
>> scott
>> turbovans
>>