So, after having just got my truck back to driving status I notice a new sound, a bit of a rattle as I just start to go letting off the clutch into first. Kinda sounds like a piece of heat shield rattling, but I know its not that...

Same thing happened to me back in 2017, with 115k on the truck. Same slight rattle as she starts to go. I assumed it was heat shield or something loose, never could find it. After some time my transmission grenades. My beloved hand shaker that I was sure would outlast an auto, was the very first failure on the whole truck. Back then I decided to just take it to a shop that was known to specialize in the ZF6. They rebuilt it, along with clutch, to the tune of almost 5 grand. And I had to take it back twice as it had bad issues. I told myself I should have just bought a rebuilt one and installed it myself.

Fast forward to today, I'm now at 195k. Same sound as before. They told me at 115k that the pilot bearing was trashed, a common issue with these. They said they were going to put in kevlar bushing instead, that was the common fix, but that it didn't fit mine so they had to put factory style back in. I guess the gas and diesel motors had different shaft sizes, mine must've been the first gasser they worked on? I see the one long thread devoted to ZF6 / PSD solutions but not sure if those folks are still around and am I correct to assume none of those works on a V10/ZF6?

Is there any better aftermarket solution anyone knows of for the V10/ZF6 pilot?

How likely is it my shaft is damaged? I have sworn off shops many years ago after so many problems (transmission shop definitely included) and always figure things out on my own, but there is little info about V10/6spd. I've done the clutch in my Subaru a couple times but thats about it for transmission work. I am sure I could swap parts at least with factory replacements, but would be unsure what to do if I had shaft damage. I'm hoping the clutch is still good, I had it replaced at 115k and it probably could have went a lot longer (I did it just because they had the trans out) and since they I don't haul much anymore, just light duty mostly highway miles with occasionally picking up a 1-ton skid or pulling my little 6x10 trailer around with lawn mowers or firewood. So hoping at 80k I have a lot more life still but we'll see when it comes out.

 

I can't hear much over the gear roll-over in my truck, but I've been very happy with the South Bend Clutch kit installed in my truck. I had a local shop do it along with replacement of the rear transmission case. Maybe South Bend has a pilot bearing or bushing recommendation for you?

 

Hmm, I checked their website and it only lists pilot bearings available for the 7.3 & 6.0/6.4 motors.
https://southbendclutch.com/collecti...=Pilot+Bearing

 

Was common for the Jeep 4.0 to get a roller bearing OR a brass bushing. I've always opted for the brass. Most 4.0s aren't seeing high speeds there.

You could easily have one made by a machine shop, but research exactly what is needed (I'm not certain). I mean there's oil impregnated and a couple other options for material.

I made bushings for the shift fork of a bubble body front diff and the material noticeably leached oil as I was cutting it on the lathe. Presumably that's oil impregnated. I used it because it was laying around.