Tryn to figure out if my 1988 Iroc with a gen 1 2 pc rear main seal is supposed to have a pilot bearing or bushing inside the rear of the crank for the main shaft of the T5 trans to fit in...
A little lost here.
Is it supposed to have both? A bushing with a bearing inside the bushing?
Part stores list both...

Nvm. Looks like a bushing is what summit says I need. Now..
Bronze, brass or steel?
Lol

Bronze all the way. Take a magnet with you and see if it sticks to the bushing. If so then leave it. It has steel in it and will tear up the input shaft.

I don't use the needle/roller bearing ones either. Tried one once and the rollers are harder then the input shaft.

RBob.

Bronze bushing for me.

JamesC

Either is fine, when installed and lubed properly. Nothing wrong with either choice.

Personally I prefer bearings but that's just me. I'll use a bushing too, if that's what I have ATM.

Ordered a bronze bushing, as it seemed to be the easiest choice. Couldn't find a roller bearing pilot, so it was either bronze, brass or steel bushing.
Question:
When installing the bushing, how far in do I push the bushing? The 1 that's In there now is nearly flush with the end of the crankshaft, but looks like it could be tapped in another quarter of an inch or so. Should it be put in as far as it can go? If its not fully seated in the crank, could it be hitting the "tapered" part of trans main shaft? I read somewhere of problems along these lines when researching why I had engagement issues, if I remember correctly that the pilot wasn't pushed in far enough causing the main shaft to not disengage with the flywheel/clutch assembly because it was rubbing against the tapered edge.
My main shaft had "burnt-like" grease on it when I removed it.
Just tryn to figure out what the heck could cause my trans to not fully disengage when the clutch is fully depressed.
I measured the hydraulic slave travel, it's actually more than the spec says, about 16 mm and it only calls for 14.xx mm of travel. So it's not hydraulics.
What a PITA I'm having!

http://www.summitracing.com/search/d...?keyword=pilot

Pretty tough to find, but you're smart, you can do it...

I honestly did look, but no roller bearing pilots showed up in my search.
And all my parts I ordered from summit.
Maybe I searched bushing instead, I dunno.
Oh we'll. Brass is on its way.
And that picture helps me too. That's about where my pilot is sitting in my crank. So I guess it's inserted far enough then.

Here's all the service manual says about it:

The puller tool mentioned in the instructions is a slide-hammer/claw-type puller.

I still like the Wonder-Bread method.

Ever find out what was causing it to not go into gear? I'm having the same problem and I went with a bushing instead of a bearing. I remember that the LB9 had a bearing in it though (new engine isn't an LB9).

Bearings can be found at advanced auto or auto zone. I got lucky and it was in stock.

I think it was my slave leaking internally from being overextended some. Only had less than 1000 mi but was a GM original from the 90s.

Last pilot bushing I used was way tight and I made the mistake of installing the trans anyway. So it wore funny

I bought a GM fluted pilot bushing they are less than $10. Have to look for them but they are still out there.

It fits the input shaft perfectly unlike the auto parts..even better than the Milodons I used to use.

I never test fit the last one was in a hurry
Bought a few fork and slave just to do it.

Trans is STILL in the shop (been a month)waiting on the bronze shift pads doing some upgrades while its apart. Should shift like butter worst case scenario is I have to mess with the throw/geometry of the slave some to make it last longer.

I'm beginning to think my issue is with the slave or master cylinder as well. I took the t5 down and inspected everything, and it was all as it should be. The only thing left for it to be is the slave/master, but it's weird because there are no leaks and it extends a good bit, but not enough to go into gear.

Did you install the throwout bearing correctly?
Also, is the pivot ball for the fork worn down? The clutch section of the Manual says that the slave pushrod should travel about 0.57" for V-8 and 0.43" for V-6's. If the geometry isn't right, that could cause it.

In the manual it says that if the pedal is pressed to the floor and the shifter does not move freely into and out of reverse gear (with motor on) it could be:

-faulty pilot bearing
-faulty driven disc
-Fork off ball sud
-Clutch disc hub binding on clutch gear spline
-Clutch disc warped or bend

I put 2 flywheel shims (from Summit), but after receiving a new throwout bearing I am almost positive it was worn to much to properly engage. It shifts perfect now, however I also replaced the fork, ball stud, slave master, and slave cylinder. All new.

It's one of those deals where I replaced everything there was to replace, except the flywheel, clutch and pressure plate. Don't think I even had $100 bucks in aforementioned parts.