{"id":6566,"date":"2024-04-11T15:47:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T19:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/?page_id=6566"},"modified":"2025-01-23T09:10:20","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T14:10:20","slug":"replacing-1968-chevy-327-pilot-bushings-s-arnold","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/?page_id=6566","title":{"rendered":"Replacing 1968 Chevy 327 Pilot Bushings – S. Arnold"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following is my experiences with installing and replacing the pilot bushing in my 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 327. Hopefully, the information will prevent someone from making my \u2018mistakes\u2019 and benefit from my learnings!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, a little history is in order! The \u201968 Corvette was purchased as a \u2018fixer upper\u2019. The car came with a 350-crate engine installed. But I did get the original block, heads, crank, and miscellaneous components. Donna and I drove the car \u2018as is\u2019 for a few years. (I was fixing \u2018other\u2019 things) I initiated the engine rebuild in the spring of 2021 and finished the engine in August 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now, the pilot bushing was replaced during the rebuild of the engine. The old original bushing was removed using the \u2018clay\u2019 method. The clay method consists of filling the cavity with clay and tamping it in until solid. The pressure pushes the bushing out of the bore. Unknowingly, I installed an Oilite_Sintered powder metal bushing instead of a bronze bushing.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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So, the four speed transmission started having an issue going into reverse shortly after the engine installation. I consulted with an expert (JD) on classic car trannies. He suspected that the input shaft was \u2018hanging up\u2019 in the pilot bushing and not allowing the gears to stop spinning. We decided to replace the input shaft and rebuild the transmission and replace the pilot bushing. To be honest, this is when I discovered the differences in bushings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Both Oilite and Bronze are technically OK. But there are differences in the durability of each design. Oilite bushings include bronze, steel, and other metals. Consequently, the bushing is a lot \u2018stronger\u2019 than a Bronze only bushing. Therefore, oilite will last a lot longer than bronze and doesn\u2019t require grease. But the hoop stress of oilite bushing would be a lot higher especially if tolerance stackups are at max interference. I chose to install a bronze bushing for the following reasons:
A bronze bushing should last 100K miles and is original equipment.
The yearly mileage on this car is low.
Easier future repair, if required.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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But first, I needed to remove the pilot bushing. I thought this would be an easy step! Well, not so much!! There are several methods to remove the bushing. I tried all of them in order of \u2018easiest\u2019 to \u2018difficult\u2019. So, I retried the \u2018clay\u2019 and \u2018tamping\u2019 method first\u2026..wouldn\u2019t budge it. Then, I made a simple puller out of a long bolt, washers, and a nut. It bent and wouldn\u2019t budge the bushing! Now, I\u2019m getting concerned!! ☹ Next step, I borrowed JD\u2019s Snap-on puller. I broke the little tabs on the puller!(see pic) Wow, the bushing is really in there.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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So, now, the last and most stressful method is to use a die grinder to slowly grind the ID of the bushing until the hoop stress is reduced and U can tap out the pieces. All the while managing NOT to grind on the crank surface. Mine came out in three pieces!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I decided to make a set of earrings and necklace out of the pieces for my wife\u2019s valentines day gift! 😊 She was thrilled!! Well, maybe not\u2026..Luckily, I bought other stuff too!! U know\u2026.She has yet to wear them!!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Bronze bushing installed appropriately. The transmission was re-installed. The \u2018grinding\u2019 going into reverse was fixed. Another step in the \u2018fixer upper\u2019 was complete!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next step will be the removal and replacement of the trailing arms. Who knows what we will learn on that project!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The following is my experiences with installing and replacing the pilot bushing in my 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 327. Hopefully, the information will prevent someone from making my \u2018mistakes\u2019 and benefit from my learnings! First, a little history is in order! The \u201968 Corvette was purchased as a \u2018fixer upper\u2019. The car came with a 350-crate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":0,"parent":6368,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6566","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6566"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6578,"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6566\/revisions\/6578"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/columbuscorvette.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}