Pilot bushing or bearing?

D's Jeep Wrld

On my 3rd Dana 44🙃...Ford 9" Time😁
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Hello yall!
So,I'm doing a 42rle to Ax15 swap and I wanted an opinion on weather this truly matters!
I got the whole catalog from Novak for the Ax15 stuff and I got a pilot bushing
Any real advantage on either?
I'm going to summit racing later on today (again) so I wanted to see what yall think?

Pilot bushing vs Bearing
20250821_090919.jpg

Just got done bolting on the Luk flywheel with some ARP Hardware 😁,Red loctite too.With my driving style I don't want these coming out !!!
 
Hello yall!
So,I'm doing a 42rle to Ax15 swap and I wanted an opinion on weather this truly matters!
I got the whole catalog from Novak for the Ax15 stuff and I got a pilot bushing
Any real advantage on either?
I'm going to summit racing later on today (again) so I wanted to see what yall think?

Pilot bushing vs Bearing
View attachment 638064
Just got done bolting on the Luk flywheel with some ARP Hardware 😁,Red loctite too.With my driving style I don't want these coming out !!!

OEM is a pilot bearing in a pilot bushing.
 
When I replaced an AX-15 in the past (different jeep) I did a pilot bushing. Imagine my frustration when I found out that the reason the trans wouldn't go in the first time was because I had a 0.750 pilot tip and a 0.590 pilot bearing🤬
 
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Bearings run smoother and typically last longer, but if they fail it's more dramatic. Bushings tend to wear out more but rarely straight-up fail. I'd pick a bearing for a daily-driven street car and a bushing for anything that goes off road.
 
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Bearings run smoother and typically last longer, but if they fail it's more dramatic. Bushings tend to wear out more but rarely straight-up fail. I'd pick a bearing for a daily-driven street car and a bushing for anything that goes off road.

I drive my jeep 72 miles a day,I'll see how this pilot bushing works out! Don't feel like taking it out for a bearing just yet.....
One I experience my AX15 and put some miles on it I'll take it out again and do some marlin crawler upgrades like the shift forks and Chromo. Bearing retainer.By then I'll see the wear on the pilot bushing!
 
It's the one with the ARP hardware,I was gonna upload a reference pic of the other style of pilot bearing but i thoght i deleted the pics (the type that goes on the bigger bore of the crank)
Unless the transmission you are installing is dramatically different than the standard TJ version, you may want to do some careful measuring to ensure that the input shaft bearing journal actually reaches that far.
 
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Unless the transmission you are installing is dramatically different than the standard TJ version, you may want to do some careful measuring to ensure that the input shaft bearing journal actually reaches that far.
Will do!
Edit,Got off the phone with Novak and I got told that the bushing goes on the smaller bore and that it will fit,took some rough measurements with a level and caliper and I can see that it will go in deep enough!
 
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