cranks surface prep / rms question

[Huicho417]

I will be attempting to fixt the rear main seal leak for a second time this coming week. I took all precautionary methods the first time around to fix it but was not successful. After doing some more research I am finding tips that I did not know before. Like to clean any imperfections on the crank area where the seal rides. As you can see on the photos there does seem to be a small rough surface where the seal lip rides. Not sure how bad it is because I was not focused on this the first go around. Once I remove the parts and get to this I will run my nail over it to see how bad it is. Has anyone run into this when trying to replace the RMS? Can this be cleaned / removed with emory cloth? What causes this?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Cranky]

That rough looking area is for the factory installed 'rope' seal. It holds a tiny amount of oil to lube it plus keep the oil directed towards the crankcase. That needs to be polished out when you use a lip seal....

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

that Cross hatching is what pushes the oil back in away from the seal Should be under the rope seal lip also.

 

[ruffcut]

Nick's Garage just did a video on that very subject a couple days ago. One thing he does is offset the two halves of the seal so it's not in line with the seam of the machined surfaces,
You should watch his video before attempting again.

 

[R413]

The crank looks just fine from here. I would wipe the crank with brake Kleen and a paper towel, rotate and do all sides of the journal, then very very lightly oil it with your finger, just so it’s not totally dry from the brake KLeen.

I never rotate the seal halves.and I don’t have leaks.
you cannot rotate the seal halves on a small block mopar and people get those sealed up just fine.

 

[Huicho417]

Thank you for the quick replies. I was not referring to the factory knurling but a specific area right where the seal lip rides. Not sure if the images attached clearly show it.