The sealant is not for the rope--it is for the sides of the seal holder--it is a great tube of goo--way better than RTV--old timers soaked the seal in oil overnight but now the ropes are impregneated with a graphite powder so no soak needed but do oil it well--cutting the rope to length after the install in one half is the hard part--after it is in the engine will be hard to turn but it will get better real fast after it runs a minute--run the engine before it goes back in the boat--I have ( knock wood) never had any small block rear seal leak--can't say the same for BB ( ) Good luck