I can get to the long story later but I can ask how to go about and how much to take off the retainer to help the lip seal?I think sanding off .004 would not hurt anything and may be the best 1st step.Help me out here please,Thanks!

If it weren't such a pain to change the seal once the car is up and running, I would say go for it. Keep in mind that by doing so you are only bringing the top and bottom of the circumference closer together. The sides remain at nearly the same distance apart.

Why not replace the seal holder with an after market unit. Hughes sells a nice one that uses the Superformance seal.

Ya thanks now is the time to look at all the options.

With the Hughes seal retainer how can you say it is any better,There is no measurement to go by and that again is only half of the seal.I can place a streight edge across the cap and see if the seal is any closer.

I am headed to asphalt wars at Thompson to watch but will check in tonight.please continue with the help.

our billet rear main seal from bcr products uses orings to seal. the original ones were cast aluminum. sometimes the casting flash interferes with the seal sitting properly causing a leak. sometimes those side wedge seals slip out or don't seat all the way and cause a leak. we eliminate the side seal for a dual o ring seal on the ends. ours is also billet aluminum so there is no casting flash to interfere with sitting properly and our oil pan bolt holes go into a solid section and don't poke through. I have seen a few of the cast aluminum ones pop a hole in the casting if someone used too long of a bolt and then you get a drip from the bolt hole unless you rtv it in place.

I do ok on the block to sides and the ends but if you can tell me how to be sure the seal is making good contact my seal shows no sign of contact with the crank.I still have the top half in to check that half.

Is the seal retainer brand new?

The original retainers were used with the rope seal which has to be pounded into the retainer groove, I'm of the opinion that the pounding distorts the groove and makes them incompatible with the neoprene seal. A brand new factory retainer or aftermarket retainer groove isn't distorted.

I was told to get a new retainer every time, I did they and had great success. Who sells new retainers that are good now? Heard the half round was not centered on the crank causing leaks.

Yes how many people sell new,billet retainers?There must be 3 or 4.

I may go as far as clay check the distance instead of using the seal and also use some dye or ?on a seal to leave a mark on the crank.

Hughes I hope you dont mind me posting your directions to help get some clarity,insight on the subject. http://www.hughesengines.com/Upload/prod...onsJune2006.pdf

I checked BCR site to be fair and could find no help on the install so if you have some I would like to read them to help me understand.Thank you!

Anyone have a pic of the seal groove on a billet seal?I wish the seal was flat on the back so it could be shimmed easier like with a .005 brass strip or other.

I *just* finished a rear main seal re-install today on my 512 so I sympathize with what a pain in the ass you're going through.

My rear main seal holder is a BCR one -- I run their whole main cap and girdle setup. The seal holder is a nice piece, but you still need to be careful. A guarantee of zero leaks it is not. In fact, you'll probably find the lip that hangs into the block and over main #5 will interfere with the nuts for the main cap if you're running studs. I didn't notice that when I built my motor last year, have had a leak since, and just finished getting around to fixing it today. In the following image you can see how I added clearance to the seal holder today:

Image of the modified holder

Other words of advice:
-Put the seal ends at 6 and 12 o'clock (I gleaned this from a post by Monte Smith and also RAMM)
-Apply aviation gasket sealant on the seal ends and onto the block where the seal holder sits. Don't use RTV -- it can cause adhesion issues or not let the seal holder sit down.
-If you're weird like me... I widen the grooves where the side wipers would go and don't use them. I let the seal holder naturally guide itself over the seal (with ends at 6 and 12) and to where it wants to. Then I do up the bolts and pay attention not let them shift the seal holder. After that I pump ultra black or the Right Stuff down the grooves where the side seals would normally go.

I hope at least some of that might be of help to you.

I have a Koleno block and use studs on the mains and clearenced the retainer like you did.The 6 and 12 clocking is a bit much where I think the 1/8 offset of the seal works for most but thank you for telling us of it to think about!I was looking at the seal and just below the lip is a groove where a wire can be inserted to pry up the lip pushing it more against the crank but would need gorilla glue to hold it in and the retainer helps keep it there if you silicone it also.This was just a fleeting thought but may still work,I am working on the idea.Thanks for your tip!!!

The groove in the seal takes a .050 wire to move the lip out so I have to find some.I think something like a guitar string would work better over a stiff wire if you know where to get something of use lmk.

I measured the knurl on my 440sourse crank at 2.810 and the inside width of the retainerseal is 2.780 so there should be .015 contact on each side if my Eagle crank is the same.IDK!I measured with the retainer on a table up to the seal lip.The seal at the deck is 2.810 though so maybe I can shim that in.
ps:anyone have an Eagle crank to measure the knurl?Stock stroke.

I was hoping for more feedback around here,This frustrates me.Oh well I expected it I guess.Later.

Did it leak when it was together last time? Is the retainer centered left to right on the crank? If not the bolt holes need to be opened up. Mine uses a factory cast retainer with no issue. The seal is not offset. I do seal the sides and the retainer bolt holes above the bolt heads with RTV, no side seals. They never leak a drop.
Doug