Hi all: It's been a while since I troubled you but I'm back with a head scratcher. When I tore the engine down the engine on my WD9 I found a two-piece neoprene type rear seal and when I tore my parts tractor engine down it had a two-piece felt type seal. Each engine has a seal retainer that is specific to the type of seal being used: i.e. the neoprene seal will not fit in the felt seals' retainer and vice versa. Both cranks have an angular groove that runs under the seal, I suppose the purpose of which, is too wipe across the seal and draw whatever oil is trying to escape, back into the engine. I can see the groove having a positive effect on the felt seal but how effective can a neoprene seal be when the lips of the seal are climbing in and out of a groove all the time? I thought of machining the crank down to remove the groove but it would weaken the crank, and by measurement, would then be too small to allow the neoprene seal to even touch the crank, much less stop any oil. I’m assuming the neoprene type seal is an update to replace the felt type, however it would seem that a crank without the groove should be part of the mix to allow the neoprene seal to run on a flat surface. Anybody have a comment you can share? THX, Grabatire.
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