[RamAirIV28]

another issue not entirely relevant to us here but if moisture gets in the rollers, and more specificly water or mud, it will do a roller in in like half an hour, I seen that happen in mud bogging. not relevant to most of us but hey who knows

[propuckstopper]

Originally Posted by ITSBACK

How much grease do you use on a bushing? Do you fill behind it or just a little bit?

This is a good question. On a genuine Oilite bushing, you don't need any grease at all. On the magnetic "steel" bushing, you certainly need grease, as I found out when I didn't grease it and it squealed like a pig.

If you happen to go the steel bushing route instead of the genuine Oilite, (I wouldn't, grease or no grease) I would apply a reasonable amount of grease but not so much that it would fling off.

This is why I like the genuine Oilite bushing idea so much. There is no risk of grease contamination whatsoever, and the bronze is softer than the transmission input shaft.

As I have said in a previous post, knowing what I know today, I would go Oilite or a ball bearing. Oilite is pre-lubed and gentle on the input shaft, while a ball bearing was OEM.

[GTO Dan]

Originally Posted by dracowizard

Seen this and it's my preference as well as I do my 65.Do have a couple of questions about the 7109 though. First is the bearing correct for my Tremec 5sp i'll be using (maybe I need to mic the input shaft!) and also I see what appears to be a retaining clip or lip on the bearing.Does the bearing not mount flush?

Sorry for the delay in responding, I don't look at the street forum often.

From my experience on OEM cast and Scat forged cranks the Timken 7109 is flush when installed. The photo on the Summit Racing site is a representation, not the actual part.

I am not familiar with the Tremec, I can only speak to what I have run...Muncie, Autogear and GForce transmissions. The inner diameter of the 7109 is 0.59 in. As you said, put a mike on your input shaft and verify it.

Curious...does Tremec spec a bushing or bearing?

Good luck...keep banging those gears.

[dracowizard]

Originally Posted by GTO Dan

Sorry for the delay in responding, I don't look at the street forum often.

From my experience on OEM cast and Scat forged cranks the Timken 7109 is flush when installed. The photo on the Summit Racing site is a representation, not the actual part.

I am not familiar with the Tremec, I can only speak to what I have run...Muncie, Autogear and GForce transmissions. The inner diameter of the 7109 is 0.59 in. As you said, put a mike on your input shaft and verify it.

Curious...does Tremec spec a bushing or bearing?

Good luck...keep banging those gears.

Thanks for the response Dan and now that you mentioned it,i don't know....but will find out if bearing or bushing is spec.Good point as I may have otherwise overlooked that !

[propuckstopper]

Originally Posted by propuckstopper

Wow. Sorry to hear of your misfortune. That's no good, for sure.

As I mentioned in a previous post in this thread, I did go through some work and effort to have a custom Oilite bushing made up. The main reason I did this is because I thought that these cars originally came from the factory with a bushing. Why? Well, the vendor I bought the steel (magnetic) bushing from only offered a bushing (but not a bearing) in their catalogue. Being a true newbie to four-speed stuff, I didn't know that bearings were even available for this application. After installing and hearing the squealing produced by this steel bushing, I immediately Googled the issue and came upon piles of information on these undesirable steel bushings. So my next move was to track down a proper Oilite bushing, and I finally got one in my hands. But I still did not yet know that these cars actually left the factory with a bearing!

It was not until I consulted both my 1965 and 1968 shop manuals that I realized these cars came from the factory with a bearing. Which leads me to wonder now:

The research I did uncovered many people that don't like the bearings because of possible bell housing misalignment. They say if you are ever to use a bearing, you must make sure that your bell housing alignment is spot on. And this makes nothing but sense to me.

BUT...How many of these cars over the years were driven into Joe's Transmission for a clutch replacement, which likely would have included replacement of the pilot bearing? My bet is that Joe's Transmission not once checked bell housing alignment. Ever. They would have removed the old pilot bearing, installed a new one, replaced the clutch, and told the customer to have a nice day. Yet somehow, these bearings survived. My guess is that GM must have had pretty darn good alignment from the factory, seeing that these cars left the factory with a bearing.

Anyway, here I now sit with a brand new Oilite pilot bushing in my car. I can't yet give a report on its performance, as we have sixteen-thousand feet of snow here and the car is resting in the garage until at least May.

But I do know three things, and I hope it saves someone some hassle or helps them with their choice down the road.

1. There exists steel (magnetic) pilot bushings out there in the marketplace. If you choose to go this route, be sure to lube the bushing to avoid metal-to-metal contact. These magnetic bushings sell for about $5.00 or so.

2. You can buy an Oilite pilot bushing from places like Autogear or McLeod Clutches. No lube is necessary, and the bushing is softer than the input shaft of the transmission. These Oilite bushings cost about $40.00 or so.

3. You can do what the factory did, and use a roller bearing. You can install it as-is and take your chances, or check and correct any bell housing misalignment issues.

In hindsight, I think any of the above solutions will work.

Jeez. For the amount of time and research I have done on this topic, I could have done a frame-off!

Well, here is the verdict so far. I have driven the car exactly 300 miles now this spring, and the genuine Oilite pilot bushing has been perfect thus far. I realize time will tell, but I have not yet heard even a hint of squealing. Conversely, last spring the magnetic bushing squealed right away.

We will see what happens as the summer progresses...

[Garry Sr]

Un-equal pressure to the pressure plate fingers might cause the same noise but I'm just speculating.

[PONTIAC DUDE]

Originally Posted by propuckstopper

Well, here is the verdict so far. I have driven the car exactly 300 miles now this spring, and the genuine Oilite pilot bushing has been perfect thus far. I realize time will tell, but I have not yet heard even a hint of squealing. Conversely, last spring the magnetic bushing squealed right away.

We will see what happens as the summer progresses...

There is nothing wrong with the bronze type bushings supplies by Pioneer and such. When you do not install it properly and dry you get the results you got. It's a fact that the bushings need grease to work properly. Metal on metal without some form of lubrication ends up with bad results. I have used the std bushings for over 50 years and NO issues.
But glad the Oilite bushing works for ya.

[PONTIAC DUDE]

Originally Posted by Garry Sr

Un-equal pressure to the pressure plate fingers might cause the same noise but I'm just speculating.

He admitted after I asked that he put the bushing in dry thus creating the issue to begin with.

[Garry Sr]

Originally Posted by PONTIAC DUDE

He admitted after I asked that he put the bushing in dry thus creating the issue to begin with.

My 81 Trans Am has made the same noise he's talking about a couple times, there was also a pulsation in the clutch pedal when it happened.