OTC 1172 Pilot Bearing Puller with Slide Hammer 2-Jaw

The OTC 1172 is a two-jaw internal puller on a slide hammer, built for the one bearing you cannot reach from the front: the pilot bearing or bushing pressed into the end of the crankshaft (or into the flywheel on some engines) that carries the nose of the manual transmission input shaft. The jaws go in behind the bearing, the screw spreads them against the back face, and the 1-3/4 lb hammer walks it out without you tearing at it with a screwdriver and a punch.

Spread is 1/2 inch to 2 inches, which covers the pilot bearing on virtually every domestic and import manual application - small block and LS Chevy, Ford small block and modular, Cummins and Powerstroke flywheels, and import four-cylinders. Reach behind the bearing is 1-3/4 inches, so it also gets down into a recessed crank bore. The slide hammer shaft is 17 inches long with a 1/2-20 threaded end, so it accepts other 1/2-20 puller attachments you may already own.

Use it any time you drop a manual transmission: pull the clutch and flywheel, inspect the pilot bearing, and if it has any roughness or play, get it out before the new clutch goes in. A worn pilot bearing is the usual reason a rebuilt trans comes back with a noise in neutral with the clutch out, or the input shaft will not center and the transmission hangs up an inch short of the bellhousing during install. It also pulls small bearings out of starter motors, generators, and magnetos.

Light duty inside puller - sized for pilot bearing and bushing work, not for heavy press-fit bearings.