Ok, I'll explain. We do it on airplane piston engines. Keep in mind that the propeller flange is way bigger than auto crank flanges. We remove the spring in the backside lip of the seal, then heat the seal up a little with a hairdryer to make it more pliable. There is a tool that resembles a shoe horn that lets us stretch, and walk the seal around the flange. After it has regained its size, and shape, we reinstall the spring, and push press it home using contact cement to seal, and hold it in place. On some very large flanges for constant speed props, we slice it, the install it with that slice at the top position. I don't see why this type of seal, and retainer couldn't be developed for car engines.

Intriguing.

That may address any issues with the lip seal but it appears that some people are having issues with the retainer to block side seals and in some cases the retainer to block parting line.

All the hype about clocking the seal halves doesn’t hold any water as the engine plants never did this nor did they use any sealing compound. I don’t recall any epidemic of seal leaks back in the day either.

I think what is happening is people using worn out parts, improper installation techniques and/or sequences, maybe an occasional bad or wrong part and not being observant on the initial engine mock up and build.

The only thing I see "clocking" the seals does is it helps center the retainer around the crank/seal, thus not letting the side seals dictate where the retainer rests so to speak....just my two cents. As I stated earlier I've tried both ways with success, but I'm giving some merit to a better seal being used.

Too many top name engine builders experiencing this epidemic for that theory to hold up....Anyone from Dwayne Porter to Ray Barton, I've talked to many about the issues.... Many theories, but no definitive answers.

Every bigblock rear main seal leak I’ve encountered was one of two things... either no sealant between the block to retainer mating surface (most common),or interference from main cap/ stud causing misaligned retainer.
People are always fed up on this repair. I usually get the “I don’t care what it costs” rant. They have missed simple steps several times before I see it.

I doubt it is an epidemic otherwise it would be getting more attention than it appears.
And everyone is human - even professionals.

As I said talk to the main players with engine building you’ll see.... it’s the front runner of topics!

Well if you look at the end of the crank seal you will see why it leaks. The ends of the seals are not flat at all , it looks like they just chop the end off as it comes out of the mold leaving a small round stub.Trying to seal that is nearly impossible .

They do

http://www.fastfishautoparts.com/Performance-Engine-Seals.html

X2

bee1971 - nice info on that seal. Slick.

Thanks.

It's been a little over 3 years now and the customer and I have been in touch and no leaks. You must not have read the entire thread Trendz.

I still experience some anxiety when I assemble a B/RB , but am extremely happy to report I have not had one oil leak when using the 12 and 6 method in conjunction with enlarging the retainer holes. Thankyou again everyone and Monte RIP. J.Rob

43 years and counting and no leaks here either using the normal seal alignment method.

Oh wait, I did have one leak, I missed the fact that a retainer had a hairline crack.

Well it got me ,,, been working real hard on this car and finally drove it yesterday, after about 5 miles the smoke off the exhaust started.
Seriously not felling like pulling this engine back out but dont think I can get the pan off while its in there.
For the life of me I cant remember putting sealant on the retainer mating surface, it's probably it. F#*^ it.

I'm posting how I did the rear main side seals. I have engine in the car. Cannot fill the side seals from the outside of the block so this is how I did it.
Equipment:
a) Mancini retainer with the o-ring side seals. DID NOT USE THE ORINGS. My OEM retainer was damaged. Oil pan screws poked thru due to using wrong screws.
b)5ml syringe - 14ga blunt tip needle 4" long and 1.5" long. Amazon.
c)Permatex ultra grey. I dont know if there is better RTV. I checked clear RTV and utra grey, and grey seemed tiny bit thinner. Need to be able to get it thru the 4" needle.I did shorten the 4" needle about an inch.
d) Made a handle for syringe from a house light fixture attachment bracket.
e) permatex 518 - for gluing the main seal ends.

1/17/18 Update: Thinking about this after doing this, I found 3mm needle on amazon. Look up "sauce injection syringe". That would flow the silicone much easier. I would still hook the needle to 5ml syringe.

I first glued the ends of the seal together with a dab of the 518 on each end and put retainer in place (dry fit retainer with seal ends 6 and 12 oclock) by letting retainer self locate over the seal. let is dry overnight With retainer in place and now is good time to confirm the 2 oil pan threaded humps will not hit 5 main cap. You may need to fix those 2 "humps" for more clearance later.

Note: picture is out of sequence. Used this pictuer to show "humps" which may hit #5 main cap.

Next day checked the seal ends they were glued together. Reassembled retainer letting it self locate. Then used syringe with 4" blunt tip needle to inject Ultra grey down into upper portion of Oring grooves. It was a [censored] to get the RTV to come out the needle end which is why needed to use handle on the syringe. Once i see RTV ooze out watching near #5 cap, then I know it is filled. I filled the top half inch with long needle then switched to short needle for the lower part of the groove. Short needle RTV comes out way easier.

In picture you can see grey RTV between block and aluminum retainer, filled by syringe thru o ring groove from below.

I have not checked for leaks yet. I Will post good or bad once I do that. Should be able to do that soon.

If I were to do again I would use 3ml syringe instead of 5ml. That may be easier to get RTV thru the 3" needle with.

Update 7/17/18 No leaks

Did you say dry fit? or dry fit the very ends where you glued? A dry fit will wipe out the seal on start up. Must be clear, others a watching.

Sorry, By dry fit I meant I fit the retainer without any silicone on it. This was just to hold seal in place while the seal ends dried. I took off retainer to check seal ends were glued together.

After I checked the seal ends and for final assembly, I did wipe a film of RTV on the 2 ends of the retainer top which mate to the block.

The Mancini / oring retainer has on the ends, 4 drilled holes for the oring ends to fit into. I filled those with RTV before final assembly.