[hex]

I am in the process of installing a new clutch. I have a 304 motor and a T-150 tranny. The pilot bushing that came with the clutch kit does not slip into the crank... it looks to be slightly over sized.

Question 1: is the pilot bushing suppose to easily slip into the crank or do i have to tap it in with a tool? The Chilton's manual does not address this issue.

Question 2: a lubricating wick did not come with the kit and there is not one in my new crank. what does this item look like? i'm picturing a piece of felt soaked in oil. Chilton's mention/discription of this is less than helpful.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Coiz]

The pilot bushing is an interference fit which means it will need to be pressed into the end of the crankshaft. It should not take a lot of force but enough to keep it from just falling out on its own. If you don't have the tool just use a socket with the correct sized face to get an even force on the face of the bushing while tapping it in, assuming you have a brass bushing and not a roller bearing type.

Not sure about your question #2.

[chet44]

the pilot bushing should be a light to medium tap fit. Mine has 2 opposing slots on the back face so you can use a 2 jaw puller to remove it. The lubricating wick is ambiguous, I've heard some say you need it, and others say you don't.

[Mike Romain]

The oil wicks on the 258's are a high heat sponge oval soaked in engine oil. They are about 3" in diameter and are just stuffed into the hole.

[shok47]

can you reuse the wick?? is it behind the pilot bushing?? Cant you replace it with something else?? I havent taken off the pilot bushing so I want to know if I should go and purchase one

[berserker]

My pilot bushing for the 304 w/ T-150 was more than a slight tap fit. On one of the bushings I had, I noticed the square edges on the bushing weren't very smooth (the outside edge that is the first place to contact the crankshaft when installing and the inside edge that is the first place the tranny input shaft will contact when inserting the transmission). I took a small diamond file and carefully removed any small burrs or sharp edges that could hang up on the inside of the crank when driving in the bushing. I also did the same thing on the inside edge of the bushing where the input shaft of the tranny goes. I wish I would have taken pictures to make this more clear.

I cleaned the surfaces of the bushing and crankshaft well with brake fluid. I also put the bushing in a zip lock back with 30 weight motor oil then threw it in the deep freeze overnight. I used a heat gun to heat up the crankshaft a little (I don't have a torch, nor do I know if you really want to get the crank very hot). I'm not sure how much all of this helped as it was still took some pretty good taps with a 4 pound deadblow to get it in. I used a deep socket as the "driver." Drive until the face of the bushing is flush with the face of the recess in the crank. If you "countersink" the bushing, it may be really tough to get out later (I learned that on my own).

My clutch kit from Napa was a bushing. When I screwed up the bushing trying to put in my transmission and needed a replacement, the individual part Napa had was a bearing (like the one described above with a couple of recesses in it). I didn't know (and still am not sure) if it was legit to use a bearing vice the OEM bushing, so I waited and got another bushing from a Jeep shop. Novak's website says that bearings should not be used where a bushing was used originally--something to do with the tempering of the transmission input shaft, IIRC.

I'd like to hear more about the wick myself. My 304 still had it, but it was so disintegrated I didn't replace it. I couldn't find a replacement for it.

[shok47]

Good to hear. Right now I have a bearing on my crank, but my clutch kit from Valeo came with a bushing.


When putting everything back together. what is the most important part? lining up the bellhousing with the tranny? I read in the Haynes to use the dial gauge which I will have to rent from autozone.

Whats the hardest part? and what to look for? This is my first 1:1 clutch job so its new to me.

[CSP]

The bushing should be an oil impregnated bronze bushing and a wick is just redundant.

The most important part is making sure that the clutch disc is aligned correctly. I've never been concerned about lining up the bell with the transmission.

When you go to install the transmission get some bolts that are longer than the transmission to bellhousing bolts. Cut the heads off and thread them into the bell to use as guide pins for the transmission. Leave the transmission in first gear so you can turn the output to align the splines with the clutch disc.

[shok47]

Thanks.

Yes, the alignment stuff! In the manual it says to mark the driveshafts and stuff. I didnt mark anything. Should there be a certain way for the driveshafts and splines on the trans to go in??

Whats the dial gauge for? really necessary?

[berserker]

Originally Posted by shok47

Thanks.

Yes, the alignment stuff! In the manual it says to mark the driveshafts and stuff. I didnt mark anything. Should there be a certain way for the driveshafts and splines on the trans to go in??

Whats the dial gauge for? really necessary?

The dial gauge is for checking the runout of your crankshaft and also on your bellhousing, IIRC. I have never done it, although some pro's on here can probably tell you more about it. The reason I never did it is because the remedy for finding out that something isn't true, centered or square involved more than I cared to deal with, so I didn't go through the procedures. The engine/tranny worked fine before, and I wasn't going to change anything but the clutch. Maybe it is a bigger deal if you are swapping components.

As for marking the driveshafts, the manual is referring to scratching with and awl or screwdriver, marking with chalk, a paint pen, or spray paint on the yokes (by the u-joints) and marking where they line up before you take them out. The picture below is from the cherokee forum. The black pen marks are show where everything will line up once it is disassembled.



I'm not certain what happens if you don't put them back on the exact same way they came off, but I have had to do it before where I was over zealous about disassembling and forgot to mark them. In the most severe cases, I think you can get driveshaft vibration and premature component wear. There is about a 50/50 chance you will put them on the same way they came off at each yoke.

If there is some way to tell from the indentations, dirt or grease patterns on your U-joints and yokes which ones were where (like more grease by where the zerk fitting was) you might be able to make an educated guess.

What CSP was talking about is your transmission alignment when you are installing the transmission. It is important to have the face of the transmission parallel with the face of the bellhousing so the transmission goes into the clutch housing (bellhousing) straight. If it crooked, it will not go in, or you will try to force it in and will break something.

The longer bellhousing bolt trick is a good idea. One thing that also helps is to take a small cut-off wheel (I used a Dremel) and after you cut the bolt heads off, make a notch in the top that a slotted screwdriver will fit so you can remove them easily once you have everything lined up. If this doesn't make sense let me know and I can try to dig out mine and send you a picture.

[shok47]

Thanks, I will try and see if i can get the driveshafts back on the same way. I like the long screw idea, its like having extra long dowel pins to guide it and support. great idea!

[CSP]

In 25+ years of working on vehicles I have never marked a driveshaft when removing it.

It's not like the driveshaft and yokes are balanced as an assembly. I can see it being an issue if the ujoints are so old that wear patterns have developed within the caps, but if they are in good condition I don't see the point.

The only thing that you have to worry about with the driveshaft is if you take the slip yoke apart that it goes back together the same way.

[berserker]

Originally Posted by CSP

In 25+ years of working on vehicles I have never marked a driveshaft when removing it.

It's not like the driveshaft and yokes are balanced as an assembly. I can see it being an issue if the ujoints are so old that wear patterns have developed within the caps, but if they are in good condition I don't see the point.

The only thing that you have to worry about with the driveshaft is if you take the slip yoke apart that it goes back together the same way.

That is reassuring. That's kind of what I was thinking, but I've read in many manuals to "make sure you mark them" and never really understood why. Now if there are wear patterns in the caps it would make sense--maybe that is one of the reasons my rear driveshaft came loose on my YJ years ago (those dumb U-joint straps combined with a bad garage floor fix with improper tools probably the main reason).

[slacker92104]

I left my pilot bushing in the freezer for a couple hours before I tapped it in. Made it a lot easier. Take good care to get the disk aligned or you have a bear of a time trying to get the input shaft into the pilot bushing when putting the tranny back in.

[berserker]

Originally Posted by slacker92104

Take good care to get the disk aligned or you have a bear of a time trying to get the input shaft into the pilot bushing when putting the tranny back in.

x2. I forgot to mention that. When you are snugging up your clutch cover plate (in a diagonal pattern, each bolt a 1/2 turn at a time), don't let the weight of the clutch disc rest on the clutch alignment tool. Just before you get the clutch cover tight enough to hold the clutch disc from moving around, try to perfectly center the clutch disc on the alignment tool (up and down and left to right). I made the mistake of letting it hang and ended up mangling the pilot bearing during some garage rage when my tranny input shaft refused to GO INTO THE HOLE ...

Probably more than you wanted to know.