Can i put grease on the backside of the seal to help it slide and and avoid cutting it and then motor oil on the inside?

 

Sure, and then the seal will cook when the grease gets hot. Just lightly lube the seal with oil and push it in as far as it will go. A flat tip screwdriver and a light-weight ball peen hammer will help drive it home.

FWIW, the high dollar anerobic sealant isn't necessary. Clear silicone caulk works great at far less cost. That advice was given to me by a professional engine builder.

 

VWandDodge can you point out where the rtv goes and where the sealant goes in this picture of my rear main cap?



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Just a dab on the ends of the seal and a THIN film on the cap where noted. The pressure from torquing it in place will aid in squeezing/spreading it. I would even say avoid too close to the groove as you don't want any stray silicone to get sucked into the oil system. Be gentle and you'll be fine. Once the cap is torqued allow it to set and cure overnight before continuing. You'll want a dab of sealant at each corner of the oil pan gasket at the rear of the engine at the inner 90º.

 

The only way to avoid cutting it is to keep it tight against the crank while you push it in. If it's a super tight squeeze then you need to drop the crank a little more. I wouldn't use grease, oil will do the job.

 

So like this?
Mine had a little black rtv in the ends of those 2 grooves.



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Yes. I would advise running a very thin bead along the "sharp" outer edge of the cap. I should have thought of that earlier. It's been over a year since I (erroneously) replaced mine. That's how I discovered my oil leak was due to the oil pan gasket was chewed up due to errors during installation.



As I said earlier, you can just use clear silicone caulk rather than the pricey anaerobic sealants. I used GE for under $3 a tube and can use the remainder for winterizing my house!

 

Thanks for the help!

If you look at my picture on the left side where it says black rtv you can actually see the black rtv that was already in there. Is that enough black rtv or do you fill the entire channel?


Sorry for all the questions I just want to do this once and be done.

 

Just enough in the groove where the flat mating surface is. Does this make sense? Don't go overboard using this stuff.

 

I bought the anerobic rtv but would black silicone rtv work instead?

Just wondering how necessary all this is as none was in there from the factory.