I've seen Pantera ZF input shafts ruined by needle (or roller) pilot bearings. That's a $1700 part, not counting the labor to R&R it!
For that reason I remain committed to the notion of a bronze (oillite) pilot bearing. Although nominally available at auto parts stores, not all bearings are created equally, and some of the cheap Chinese-made ones are magnetic!
I have a friend named Chris Difani who machines beautiful pilot bearings from a supreme grade of oillite for the Ford-to-ZF application. Here's the instructions he includes with each bearing he ships:
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ZF-2 Pilot Shaft Bearing Installation Procedure:
Your new Oil-Lite Bearing is installed into the crankshaft pocket by FORCEFULLY using a block of HARD wood and a 2 pound (or 1 kilo), hand held sledge hammer! When obtaining the hardwood block, ensure that the block is large enough to provide both an area large enough to hold by hand, and an area that is large enough to strike with the 2 pound sledge hammer. These "areas" need to be large enough such that the chances of striking the hand holding the block are minimized. If the helper's hand is struck with the 2 pound sledge hammer, the friendship may suffer.
DO NOT STRIKE the bearing directly with the hammer!
NEVER HIT THE BEARING DIRECTLY!
ALWAYS HIT THE HARD WOOD BLOCK!
Securely HOLD THE HARD WOOD BLOCK AGAINST THE OUTSIDE FACE OF THE BEARING.
Be ABSOLUTELY SURE that the bearing STARTS SQUARE with the beveled end facing inwards.
Once the bearing is started into the pocket, drive it in with your hard wood block and hammer, until it seats fully. Before starting measure the depth of the pocket inside the crank, and write that measurement down. As you drive the bearing in, repeat the measurement against the exposed depth of the bearing, compare that measurement with the total depth of the pocket, and the depth of the bearing (0.7300 inches or 18.54MM). Proceed as necessary until the bearing is completely inserted. Confirm that the bearing is seated by comparing the original depth of the crankshaft pocket, with the total depth of the bearing, and the depth of exposed bearing surface (if any. All crankshaft pockets seem to be different.. With some being "more different" than others). Your original measurement, versus your "after" measurement, will tell you when you've inserted the bearing properly.
The bearing has a final finish Outside Diameter of 1.3800 inches. This dimension is 0.005 inches larger than the crankshaft pocket Inside Diameter. This is designed to create an "interference fit" of 0.005 inches, or 0.13MM. This is an absolute necessity to keep the bearing from coming loose from the crankshaft as the crank heats up during its service cycle.
Once the new ZF-2 Oil-Lite Pilot Shaft bearing is installed, you should have many miles of trouble free use. The Oil Lite bearing is 18% oil by weight, which is why it does not need to be lubricated. The bearing is made from sintered bronze, SAE 832, and is softer than the ZF-2 pilot shaft. If anything should happen to the shaft alignment, or anything else, the bearing will be destroyed instead of the Pilot Shaft (three years ago a ZF-2 Pilot Shaft cost approximately $1700. Much better to replace a $70 bearing than a $1700 shaft, plus the $800 of R&R labor).
If you have any questions, or comments, please contact Chris Difani,
[email protected]
