Miata Pilot bearing questions

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Guy

Senior Member
Im upgrading my 1.6 clutch setup to that of a 1.8 in preperation for an eventual greddy kit. Ive gotten ahold of the flywheel and clutch kit so i thought i was ready to go, but comparing the pilot bearing that came with my clutch kit to that which was originally in the flywheel there is a noticable size difference. So I emailed the ebay seller (gripforce) and this is my response:
Actually that IS the correct pilot bearing. The pilot bearing is designed to fit in the hole, but it doesn't have to be tight in the hole. So, do not pay attention to that.

That is the kit authentic Exedy clutch kit comes with. ;-)

Anybody ever heard of this. I mean the pilot bearing that came with the daikin set is like 3mm too small. I've never really dealt with pilot bearings to any information is appreciated.
 
that doesn't sound right. But I never did anything with the pilot bearing so I wouldn't know.
 
Here is what my roommate had to say about the issue:
"Pilot bearings are a press fit, you should need to at least lightly tap one out with a hammer. He'll need to source one from a Napa store or somewhere they can look up the deminsions in a book and order him the correct sized unit, flywheels are designed around exsisting pilot bearings not vise versa, just needs to hunt down the right size."
 
Thank you and your friend for clearing this up for me. Im just kind of befuddled because the kit came with the wrong size bearing, and the old bearing that was in it actually was the exact same as a few others from miata.net had as well. In any case thanks again.
 
Yeah my roommate posts on miata. net, as "fatherleadfoot" he knows miatas damn well.
 
yeah, im DAMN sure the pilot bearing needs to be a little tight. is the one with the kit too big or too small compared to the one from the car?

that seller is a retard.
 
Compared to the original bearing, the one that came with the kit is smaller, and subsequently goes through the hole in the flywheel without touching anything.
The seller, gripforce, sells their clutches as exedy on ebay, neglecting to mention that they are not true japanese exedy's but instead daikin (owned by exedy) which is fine, because ive read they are still pretty quality clutches (even if that is a bit of false advertising). Gripforce, when they get their order then sends it to the daikin warehouse in michigan from whence it is shipped to me, to these guys dont even actually see the kit. but in response to a letter i sent expressing concern over this issue i got this response
I see... Most mechanics blame on the parts when customers don't purchase from him. That is the most often case I see almost every day... :-(

I don't know why your old bearing is different, but that is the only pilot bearing I can get from Exedy or anybody else...

So, "if" your mechanic says anything about it and tells you to purchase one, you should say "Yes, and I know it's only 1 dollar".

It only costs $1 to $1.20

So do NOT get ripped off on that! The "maximum" you should pay for a pilot bearing is $5 even considering a 500 % margin! Just a tip for you!

Sorry, the Exedy bearing looks different and sorry couldn't help you on that. But now you know what to say when someone asks you for the pilot bearing price! ;-)

Let me know how it turns out and don't hesitate to call me if anything strange happens.


I mean its nice that the guy is trying to be helpful, but the fact is that when i bought the kit it was advertised as coming with a pilot bearing (it is assumed its the correct one) so i'm debating whether or not i should pursue some kind of repayment for the one i will have to buy, or whether i should let it go.
 
Does anyone know what happened at this end? What was the resolution? I'm in the same situation where the pilot bearing just falls out of the flywheel. And the company tells me this is normal. But my Honda mechanic tells me this could cause a lot of damage later.

Thanks.
 
my mechanic tried a OEM pilot bearing and it did the samething. The bearing provided is OEM sized but the hole is the flywheel is slightly bigger. i'm going to try a bearing retailer locally to see if they have anything that will work. i don't want to spend the time and $ shipping the flywheel back.
 
gotcha, and a good idea. maybe check out a fastenal store they could have something also.
 
I ordered an Exedy Stage 2 clutch direct from Exedy for my Miata last year and it came with the wrong pilot bearing (similar to what you described) and it also had a clutch alignment tool for a Honda, not my car.

Very odd. I just ended up getting a pilot bearing from Mazda and lined up the clutch using another alignment tool I had.
 
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