2004 Rubicon Pilot Bushing

53flattie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Location
Easley, SC
I hate to cross-post, but I’m not getting any responses over at JeepForum and I really want to start reassembly later this evening...

I’m in the process of replacing the clutch and flywheel in my ‘04 Rubicon. When I pulled the pressure plate off, this large “bushing” fell out. It’s not the pilot bushing because the the inside diameter is much larger than the OD of the trans input shaft. And it’s too small to stay inside the crank.
There was no pilot bushing inside the crank, which makes me think this thing was somehow part of the original factory pilot bushing - but I’ve never seen one like this.

As anyone who’s done a clutch job can attest - there’s nothing worse than getting everything back together and discovering that something’s wrong and you have to take it back apart. With that in mind, I’m hopeful someone has seen this “thing” before and can offer some kind of explanation.

Here are some pictures:

d11eb4d7b0dd843d024162c3ab7c21e6.jpg



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And here’s the new pilot bushing inside the crank, which looks fine to me - other than being a *little* further into the crank than I normally see:

23f672a143c20d1d4197c4069bb5d0ac.jpg



Any thoughts or opinions are welcomed.


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Edit : I may have just found the solution... In looking at RockAuto, it appears there are two different types of pilot bushings. The “normal” one that came with the Luk kit, and this larger one that comes with the Sachs kit:

e22488440b686ee6b674145d38238c99.jpg


That’s definitely what fell out of mine. It must have chewed itself up and that’s why the OD is too small to fit inside the crank.

So now my question is - can I use *either* style? Or do I need to order the one that matches the original (large) one?


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I'd slide the transmission in place without the clutch or pressure plate and check... But I'm betting they're interchangeable.
 
Looks like the larger one will hold more grease. But I prefer the solid bronze bushing. Just soak it in oil a day before installing it. Not sure if a bronze bushing, is available for yours.
 
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