Where on earth is my pilot bearing?!

[Josh d]

9n3 polo 2006 1.2. Got a faulty gearbox. I don't know exactly what the problem is so I removed it from the car. Bought a new gearbox and a brand new clutch kit. Whilst gearbox was out I thought I'd replace the pilot bearing. So I removed the flywheel but for the life of me cannot see where the pilot bearing goes. I feel so dumb. Usually the pilot bearing sits in the end of the crankshaft, right? So where is mine? Any help would be great. Im so confused. Maybe I have It all wrong. Thanks in advance for any replies.

[RUM4MO]

I think that pilot bearings went out of fashion, one thing less to bother about, well on same makers/models of cars, maybe there is more trust in gearboxes nowadays so that support is not required?

Edit:- did you manage to buy a new bearing/bush from VW?

[Josh d]

Ahh that makes perfect sense now you've said it because I actually didn't manage to find new bearings. I looked everywhere online, and locally, but nothing. I started assuming they were just hard to find but obviously from what your saying they are old fashioned and not used now. Thanks for your reply, now I can put the new gearbox on. Don't suppose you can provide me a rough explanation of how they work without bearings?

[RUM4MO]

As I am a bit long in the tooth, I'd cynically think "not as well as it would if it did still have a pilot bearing/bush"!