Yes, the steel piece is a crankshaft protector to keep the razor blade from scoring the crank as you trim the seal off flush with the block. The curved aluminum piece is a follower for the later-model rubber type seal that allows the tech to drive it around the crank enough to get a grip on the other end with pliers and pull it out. It has no purpose when replacing a rope seal. Start the rubber seal moving with the straight aluminum piece and a rawhide or plastic mallet, then follow along with the curved one that will track around the crank, if necessary. The funnels just prevent damage to the rope seal as it's pulled into position, and it's a pretty common practice to oil-soak the seal and roll it out on a clean, smooth surface like a piece of plate glass until it's round and slightly smaller diameter than the groove in the block. It pulls into place much easier that way. Once it's all the way around, then use the screwdriver-looking tool to pack it into the groove tightly. Trim the excess seal material off flush with the block, install the lower rope into the main cap, and reassemble everything. Easy!
Jerry
Last edited by Hotrod Lincoln; 06/25/2008 8:02 PM.
