(quoted from post at 15:28:22 03/25/17) I used the side of a socket against the seal and tapped it with a light hammer. I'm afraid that if the cord is not completely in place, the cap may not seat properly in place allowing little to no support for the bearing.
I just got home and dug out an old '48 to '51 Chev Truck Shop Manual.
Here are the exact words:
2. Make sure the groove is clean
3. Insert the seal into the groove with the fingers
4. Using a rounded tool, [b:8eb522546c]ROLL[/b:8eb522546c] the seal into the groove
NOTE; When rolling the seal start at one end and roll it to the center of the groove. Then start at the other end, again roll toward the center.
The illustration shows the guy using a 6" long smooth 3/8" rod.
I forgot to say "roll" the first time. Like watching your mother with a rolling pin.
Your realistic worry would be this, assuming the seal is correct and it probably is (it flattens out quite a bit when the high cap torque flattens it to conform to the curve of the crankshaft flange). . . But, if it isn't thoroughly ROLLED deep into the groove then the cap torque may sink it very slightly deeper into the groove, decreasing the pressure where 4 wick ends meet at the cap to block face, thus resulting in leakage at those point.
having a seal not thoroughly pressure rolled (imagine how much pressure torquing the cap will place on it)
AND an imperfect cutting of the ends are the two main reasons for leakage at the joints.
Best ways for trimming the seal ends . .
A block of wood the same diameter as the crankshaft flange
to hold the seal firmly in place while the ends are cut -- cutting towards the wood of course with a brand new thin blade.
An ideal obviously would be having another old crankshaft so you could rest the flange in the cap.
What I did on my Chev 235, was leave the wick/rope seal 1/32" proud of the cap, then I kind of pinched it into a dull pyramid cause I wanted to make sure none of it got between where the cap meets the block. I might have even put a dot of Permatex #2 on that pyramid . . . I can't remember.
For the half of the seal in the block, I had the crank flange laying heavily on it and I cut it flush with the block face.
Be really careful to keep the razor knife perfectly parallel to the block and cap surfaces when cutting; i.e., use two hands
with finger pressure on the blade itself to keep it flat.
In my case the block was out and upside down on a table, so I was able to first ROLL the seal into the block groove as well before trimming it.
In your case, after pulling and crank-assist rolling the wick up and around and into the block groove, bringing the crank up snug again, via the other main caps before cutting the ends would be a good idea.