Should the ends of the rope butt together/touch each other? I'm putting in a new seal and found that the shims didn't have a cutout for the seal, therefore the rope ends weren't butted together--the shim was between them. Thinking that may have contributed to my oil leak.
To answer your original question, yes, the ends of the seals in both the upper and lower halves should protrude slightly as to allow the seal halves to form closure between each, or they can leak at these points of contact, or for better terms, a lack of contact.
