Quill Bearing

I just returned from a brief 1500 mile trip and yesterday I took my 2001 SL1 manual transmission Saturn to the dealer for a scheduled oil change. I was told that the oil pan gasket was leaking and that the quill bearing needs to be replaced.
The car has been running fine and has not been leaving any oil spots in the garage. When I got home from the dealer I put the car up on ramps to look for myself.
I found signs of motor oil on and around the oil filter but very little on the oil pan.
I dont know what the quill bearing is but was told that it was in the transmission. There are some damp looking areas around what I would describe as the bell housing for the transmission but again nothing is dripping.
For the oil pan gasket Saturn wants $19.00 for the gasket and $300.00 to put it in. The quill bearing is $27.00 plus $40.00 miscellaneous parts, $80.00 for an alignment and $900.00 for labor.
I think that the mechanic is just plain wrong about the oil pan gasket but, I dont know anything about the quill bearing. Since the car is running fine and is not marking its spot I am inclined to just leave things as they are.
I would appreciate any advice on these problems especially since I don,t really know what the quill bearing is and I think the mechanic is wrong about the oil pan gasket.

Sounds like its the end of the billing month and they need to get their service numbers up.

the quill bearing is the input shaft bearing. it acts as a seal to keep trans fluid in and is a bearing for the input shaft which the clutch is on.

if it is bad, it can cause the clutch to slip or chatter. it may not happen right away but eventually will get to it. mine was bad for quite some time till i pulled the trans to weld the diff and replaced the bearing.

the quill bearing is the input shaft bearing. it acts as a seal to keep trans fluid in and is a bearing for the input shaft which the clutch is on.

if it is bad, it can cause the clutch to slip or chatter. it may not happen right away but eventually will get to it. mine was bad for quite some time till i pulled the trans to weld the diff and replaced the bearing.


Ah, ok. I knew what the quill bearing is but I didn't realize it can cause clutch chatter. My clutch chatters a bit here and there and was thinking the pressure plate was geting weak. Maybe I need to replace my quill bearing?

How would the tech at Saturn be able to check that? Seems like its something that isn't nearly in plain sight.

the way you would check is by looking up where the flywheel inspection plate is and seeing if you notice trans fluid. if it looks damp inside the bellhousing and trans fluid dripping from the area, the input bearing is most likely bad. now if the back side of the flywheel looks damp or sludgy, your rear main is most likely leaking which can throw oil all over the bell housing making it look like the input is bad. in my case i had both bad.

now trans fluid in that area (not inside bellhousing) could mean a leak elsewhere,follow trail or clean it off drive for a while and check back.

Sounds like I can just leave things as they are for now. The clutch works fine, no slipping or chatter. Saturn Speed, how long did you drive yours with a bad quill bearing before you replaced it?

hard to say how long mine was bad. id would estimate, around 20K but im not certain because i bought it used at 124K and at 148K clutch started to slip. but clutch looked brand new when removed but was covered in oil (oil, not specifically engine or trans because both seals were leaking).