If you're a long distance commuter like me and replace your engine frequently, you may have had difficulty removing those little locating dowel/sleeves between the engine and trans. They are suprisingly fragile and bend or get buggered up if you try to grasp them with pliers. Mating the engine and trans is hard enough when they are in good shape.

I remembered reading about an old mechanic's trick to pop the clutch/trans-shaft pilot bushing out of a flywheel by packing it with grease, inserting a tight fitting rod and whack it with a hammer to get it to pop out.

Tried this with the dowels and it worked great. Grabbed the right size drill bit out of the index and inserted the shank end in it and used a 2X4 to protect the bit end. The hydraulic pressure pops them right out unscathed.

If they're in the trans like below you can leave em but when they're stuck in the engine block you often want to remove them.

 

Those are supposed to be there to keep the engine and trans perfectly aligned. They're a pain in the butt, but they're a $1 part from Honda. Well, $.55-2.50

 

Also, those are dowel pins.

 

Even if they're $.01 I don't want to make an extra trip to Honda. Dowel pins.. sounds about right. Was too lazy to look it up.

 

your diy is easier said than done

cuz it'll be an even longer trip trying to find a rod that has the perfect "tight fit"

 

Use a small pliers, take a can of compressed air (preferably not the kind that has bitterant in it, YUCK) and tip it upside down, spray the inside of the dowel quickly, and remove.

 

Well, it's the proper way to do things. If you don't have them, the motor could shift a little and wear the seals out on the engine and trans or something. It's not that hard to replace a motor. If it wasn't needed, Honda wouldn't have put them on there.

 

Edited title to make this easier for people to find.

 

i always use a deep well socket just big enough to fit inside of it and wiggle the little bugger's out.....

 

I use a hammer and punch. Just punch them in on the side enough to collapse and pull them out. I figure it's a one time use part.

 

Did you miss where I said use a drill bit (of which you should have every size if you have an index)?

 

That sounds like it might work.

 

I do use them, I just have to move them to another block. I always have a spare long block ready that I swap in when the current motor has been thoroughly abused.

I know how hard it is to replace a motor.

 

You animal you.

 

i was told you have to take the flywheel off and then you could get the pilot bearing out.
cause i tryed everything to take that bering off mynes worn out its rough not even smooth idk how to take it out i used greace and a slide hammer nothin worked

 

How do you get the dowel pins back in? Should they just slide in cause mine won't do I just Need new ones cause they might be out of round

 

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