i have tried three different pilot bushings but can't get any of them in the back of the crank. why? bearing measures out at 1.093 but the hole in the crank is 1.071. the engine is a 455 1972-5. crushed the first two bearings. even year one specs the bearing at 1.093 od. the engine was apparantly out of an auto and i checked for a sleeve. been hung up on this for over a month. do these bearings have to be milled or do i just have the wrong ones. anyone have a part number. i've been using skfd656 which is supposed to fit all buick cranks from 64 to 81. please help. thanks pete
The cranks are not finished to the spec for the pilot bearing. I have tried to turn down the pilot bushing to fit, but then had problems with 4th gear grinding. Come to find out the hole in the crank is not centered for alignment. Various companies such as dick miller sell a pilot bearing assembly that goes in where the automatic hub went. This area is centered and works well with the manual trannys. Good luck. Brent
I had the same problem. I installed one of the conversion bearings that gets installed in the converter recess. There were intermittent reverse gear grinding issues, and then the conversion bearing spun in the crank........ ou: I ended up pulling the engine to have the crank machined correctly. Come to find out the converter recess in the crank was not concentric. That caused my problem.
Brent: I need a Dick Miller pilot bearing After reading the post from Pete (69 WAG) on pilot bearings, and Brent response to the post. I would like to get intouch with Dick Miller's company to buy one of his pilot bearings for my 455 engine which i am going to install a 5speed trans in it next week. Brent or anybody else, will you please post Dick Miller contact info. Thanks for any help. Oliver
Ok, if I get this wrong let me know. The Auto cranks have the hole for the bearing but... it is not finished to the proper dia. and not centered on the centerline of the crank... That would explain why I have destroyed 3 from TA. S#$T!!! Guess there goes trying to put the manual back in to the car (Not original engine). If its not one thing its another ou: ou: ou: ...
Hey, (69 WAG) (Paul GS) (Woodie) or any body else that had a problem with the pilot bushing for the 455 engine when installing a 4 or 5 speed trans. Thanks to (Brent) who reply about his problem with different pilot bushing said to get touch with Dick Miller Racing.I call him today and he was away until the end of next week. When i get in touch with him i will let you all know about his pilot bushing he makes for the 455.Thanks again for all your post & replies. Oliver
man that is weird. You would think the hole in the crank would HAVE to be dead center, to machine the crank. how would that cause grinding in one particular gear?. The input shaft of a tranny doesnt move in and out. You would think that if the pilot hole were off center, it would wobble, and vibrate all the time.
Hi Oliver, as i'm ready to start my conversion and trying to figure out the best route to go with the pilot bearing.I'm interested if you got in touch with Dick Miller .As i will be re building my motor i would have the option to turn my auto crank to the proper size for the brng.or use Dicks brng.If you have his contact info myself and others doing this conversion would appreciate it.Cheers Bob
Funny thing is on all 3 engines i`ve had behind my car(a 430,a 455 and the current 455)i never encountered this issue with the pilot bushing? o No: Thanks
hi all, i got my bearing from dick millar racing last week. havent installed it yet. just type in dick millar racing in google for all his info. i had my bushing in 5 days from where he is to northern bc canada. shipped us mail. i wont use ups because of all there bogus high broker charges.cheers pete
Hi guys, Like (69wag) I got my bearing last friday from Dick Miller Racing. I won't be having my trans install until the week of the 21 of January.Hey 69 wag, when you get your trans install let us know how it work out.(www.dickmillerraceing.com)Phone (662. 233. 2301) Happy New Year To All.--Oliver
So there are part numbers for stick cranks and auto cranks? Not sure what the back of a 455 crank looks like. But... Nailheads use a bushing that fits where the nose of the TC would be. Then the bearing fits inside that. Can someone verify that the trans input shaft was even reaching your pilot bearing? Im hoping its this simple for you guys. Best luck, -a
Just completed reading this thread and I can say I am really surprised! So is the consensus that if you want to put a stick trans behind a 455 which virtually all were Automatic equipped 455 cars ,I have to machine the end of the crank to install pilot bushing ? Buick machined a different hole for 4 speed cars??
When I put a '70 455 in my '70 350 4-speed car, I just put a pilot bushing in the back of the auto crank but didn't notice any issues. I have some cranks lying around I could look at to see if there is any differences.
yes, machine the crank As a rule, the crank should be machined for the pilot bushing. I always have the shop do it to any crank they work on for me so it can be used in any application. I am curious about this Dick Miller bushing, any use it yet? I also would be suspect since the cranks generally require work for a proper fit of a standard pilot bushing if it was not a MT crank from the factory.
can anybody give me a part number for the Dick Miller pilot bushing? i went to his web site but a search turned up nothing. Bob
Looks like pilot bushings are being made wrong nowadays: http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173124 HTH
Thats an interesting thread. Here I thought it was only us odd ball Buick gear rowers who were having these problems. They never mention if the roller bearing pilot bearings are the correct O.D....I wonder if they are?o No:
I tried the roller version first with the same problem, then a bronze and again the same problem. the bronze is a whole lot easier to modify and/or remove than the roller. it is very interesting to hear the Chevy guys are having the same problem.
