Jeff,
The fitting of the aluminum rear main is critical. The new seals may not be
round and may not be symmetrical. The special tool (mandrel) allows for an
accurate fit, by providing a means to insure the seal will be round and fit
correctly.
I did the same thing (just bolted one in) during an "in-car" bearing swap on
my TR3A. I found out that what I did was a mistake, through a lister and
actually gapped it all around to 0.001 with tiny strips of feeler gages to
center it, before reinstalling the tranny.
During my major rebuild this winter I installed a lip type rear main seal.
BPNW has them for $88, If the machine shop is already cutting the crank,
the adder (for me in expensive NJ) was only $65.
I haven't fired up my new engine yet, but I am pretty confident the rear
main oil leak, which fouled my clutch badly the last two years, will be
gone.
Let me know if you have any questions or want to go into the details
further,
Jack Brooks
1960 TR3A
1974 Norton 850 Commando
Hillsdale, NJ
My car show: http://pages.hotbot.com/family/triumph
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