Rear Main Rope Seal Alternative

The AERA Technical committee supplies the following information on a rear main rope seal 
alternative. The information provided below was collected over many years. This information is 
feedback from people like you. People tell us these seals have worked fine for them but will 
they work for you? AERA expresses no guarantee that they will work 100% of the time but the 
seals listed below have proven to be the most successful.

During installation, offset or rotate each seal half ? to 3/8 from the main cap parting line. 
Place dab of anaerobic gel on the ends of the seals that will butt together. Lubricate the seal 
lip with straight 50 W oil or a bearing assembly lube as those lubes that will stay in place 
until the engine is started. Seal manufacturers do not recommend white grease alone, because 
they have seen too many failures from dry startups. This is especially true in rebuilt engines 
that sit on the shelf for long periods of time before being put into service. This is why you 
may have seen chunks torn out of the contact face of the seals that have leaked. 
If you have ever seen a Ford 390 or 460 tear the whole lip off the seal, it happened because 
it was dry started and stuck to the crankshaft.