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My question is, does anyone have any tips or advice on how to best assure a good install of the rear main seal?
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I recently did a RMS on a 1969 428 in my Grand Prix. I pulled the engine and I went with the one piece BOP seal. Per Butler, this is what they use in their builds.
I had discussions with both Butler and Wade at BOP as far as getting some tips. As a matter of fact, I had Wade on the phone in real time as I was installing the seal. The instructions are clear and in this case I had to sand of the OD of the seal to get a proper fit. One deviation from the instructions was to locate the split line at 2 o'clock vs. 6 o'clock ( with 6 o'clock being the "top" of the block). This was suggested both by Butler and Wade. After putting it all back together, I ran the engine briefly on the stand and there was no leaks.
Unfortunately, after about 1k miles, the seal is leaking, so I am disappointed. It is not pouring out like the old rope seal, but it is leaking. I went back and forth on what seal to use (BOP vs. Best Gasket rope seal) and I went with BOP after talking to Butler. Reading many posts over the years here and elsewhere , it seems that some have good luck with the BOP seal and some have failures. This is also the case with the Best Gasket rope, too.
What I did notice is that folks seems to have better luck sealing up the 3" journal engines vs. the 3.25" journal engines, like my 428. Years ago when I built a 400 I used the rope seal from the gasket kit and it never leaked.
Hope this helps.