Hi guys question about the pilot bearing in my truck. Replacing my motor and doing a clutch job while I'm at it. My trucks a 03 ranger 4.0 sohc 5 speed.
For as long as I've had the truck it's been hard to get into gear( bought it a few months back ). When I took the engine out I noticed the pilot bearing was destroyed and it was in the flywheel. I've been reading all over and getting mixed reviews.
Does the pilot bearing go in the crank ? Or is it suppose to be in the flywheel ? I'm quite confused. Any help would be great !!

 

Every bushing I have ever seen went into the crank,,,never heard of one being in the flywheel,,,,it keeps the end of the transmission input shaft from moving around and the tip of the input shaft should be in the bushing,,,never heard of it being any other way,,,,while you have it that far apart I would think of replacing the rear main engine seal also,,,,when that bushing fails it can and will make it hard to shift into gear !!!!!!!

 

Oh and be carefull installing it and make sure it is all the way in the crank,,,,but first make sure all the old bushing has been removed and the end of the crank is clean and free of dirt and grease !!!!

 

Thanks for the reply.

i appreciate the reply. I plan on replacing the main seal too , thanks ! Yea I noticed it was in my flywheel when I removed it. Note the pictures attached. I will install the bearing in the crank then. The engine that I'm putting the clutch on was a automatic so it has no bearing in it.
With the rear main seal , is there a good way to remove it ? Or should I just try to pry it out with a screwdriver ?

 

I would just Replace the flywheel, they are fairly inexpensive. Got mine at autozone. as to the bearing location have seen both ways not sure if it really makes a difference as was noted it just provides locating support for the mainshaft.