Tom before you remove and attempt to replace the rear main seal, you can try this:
1. Remove the rear main bearing cap and you may also need to loosen the other caps a bit to let you pull the crank downward a bit
2. Get a windshield wiper blade...the type that uses the stainless steel strip for stiffening the rubber blade
3. Remove the stainless piece and remove the rope seal from the lower cap...very carefully as you may or may not want to re-use it
4. Use the lower cap for a length measurement and cut the stainless steel strip to fit in the bottom of the rope slot from end to end
5. Bevel one end of the stainless strip as you would a knife blade...bevel it about 1/8 to 1/4" or so
6. Insert the little stainless piece you made with the bevel facing the upper rope piece
7. Using a small hammer very carefully tap the stainless piece and force it through the slot (on the back side of the rope seal which you will not remove)
8. This will tighten the seal against the crank by the thickness of the stainless piece and will also cause the rope seal to pooch out on the ends a bit...maybe 1 to 1.5mm. Don't worry about this.
9. Now your upper seal piece will be okay. Tighten the caps if you loosened them.
10. As for the lower rope seal, you could re-use the seal that had been there or you could remove and re-pack it with a new one.
Good luck. I've seen this work several times and it will give you the chance to fix without removing the engine.
