First time rebuilding one of these motors and the rear main seal installation has me at wits end. Part of the problem is I don't know what it should look like after seal is installed in bearing cap or upper seal holder. Whom ever built this motor last, used the WD  seals that are way too short and narrow, no surprise there was a major leak!

Pictures show seal installed in groove after tightening down main caps. Wanted to see what happened to the excess material sticking up and where it was flowing over the sides. 

I clamped the wet seals in the angle irons and put in the freezer overnight and then installed in grooves. That tip works to at least get the seal entirely in the groove.

Looking for thoughts on whether these look right and won't leak or do I need to start over.

Other than, do they look Ok to install caps and torque down?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LWCMvO_Dis" rel="nofollow - Oil pan seal and gasket install - YouTube   This video shows how to do the pan gasket and crank seals.  Its for a W series engine, but they are essentially identical in this aspect.

AaronSEIA

The old "rope" seals. I've installed a lot of them into older engines in years gone by but never an "Allis-Chalmers" product. Your seal install doesn't look too bad to me from the camera angles and if it's in the block casting groove fully seated, the excess should be trimmed flush with the block deck with a sharp knife flat. This only if the main cap has a bit of rope seal protrusion past it's mating surface to the block. You need these two halves to slightly compress against one another when the main cap is installed, but not enough to "squish" out and possible compromise your mating surface of the parts.

I agree with others in that a very slender bead of adhesive should be spread onto the sealing surface of the block if the crankshaft is out. Same thing on the main cap. Also agree with a smear of grease on the surface of the seal so it's not dry upon engine start. A little dab of sealer on the ends of the rope seal is not a bad idea either but don't go overboard. I've always placed the rope seal in it's groove(s), then roll it in with a wood dowel rod but don't deform it. Doesn't take a lot of pressure but you want to ensure it's fully seated. Then smear the inner surface with a bit of lube and set the crank in the block. I don't know what "F" gaskets or seals are so no comment there.

Rope seals are very common in older engines and if installed correctly with modern sealers assisting, they are quite reliable. Just ensure you have a little compression action of the seal where the ends meet up when the rear main cap is torqued.

Seems like I did this on my Continental B-427 engine just last year..... 

Thanks.

Put it together per all the suggestions.

Done a lot of rear mains before but not one in a tractor or configured quite like this and it had the wrong seal in it when taken apart so I  didn't have a comparison.

Good on you.

I had nothing to go from either as I've never touched an Allis engine in my life; only relaying my experiences with other antique engines. You had no replies at the time of my response so I jumped in.

Glad you got it sorted.

I agree with most everyone to glue the seal halves in the groove. The bottom of the aluminum retainer should be flush with the bottom of the block. You should also not cut the ends of the felt seal halves. Use the F gaskets and coat each side of the gaskets with a THIN layer of rtv/oil resistant silicone gasket maker. That is where my agreement ends.

It appears from the pics you are using aftermarket felt seal halves. I started to use those till I got fed up with how they don't fit properly. The aftermarket seal halves are too wide and slightly too think. When installed there is too much end sticking out of the groove. If you have 1/8" sticking out at each of the 4 ends, it will fold over instead of compress to be flat, I don't care how much you tighten. Too much seal end protrusion prevents the main bearing cap from making a tight seal against the top aluminum seal retainer resulting in oil leaking out the side gap where the F gaskets go. The ends of the felt seal should protrude about 1/16". Enough to compress to seal but not too much that the main cap can't tighten against the block and top retainer. The OEM felt seals are engineered for a PRECISE fit. I always use the OEM felt seal halves when doing rear main seals. They are so easy to install, within 1 minute I can take them out of the package and have 1 seal half properly in the groove. No clamping, no freezing, no waiting. See the 1st pic below for OEM seal in top retainer. 2nd pic shows the difference between the OEM seal half on the left and aftermarket seal half on right. The OEM seal is excellence in engineering and is what I would recommend you use.

That was exactly the info I was hoping to get. Guess I didn’t ask the right question!

I was debating on getting OEM seals, because I didn’t feel the ones in the overhaul set fit right. I’m going to take it back apart and replace them. Lot less work now than after the tractor is all assembled. 

http://www.djstractorparts.com" rel="nofollow - www.djstractorparts.com has them.  May have to buy some kind of kit to get them.

AaronSEIA