The new rope seals suck.I put in a NOS rope seal in my 261 , leaks zero oil after 2 years.I never soaked the seal,just used oil on it during assembly.The proper way to insure a good rope seal job is to do the seal when the crank is out.My 2 other engines have the rubber lip seals,they never drip on ground, but there's a little oil on the clutch inspection pan.Of course a 54 engine won't take a rubber seal.
