cigarette & rear seals

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Marty Wilson from Australia writes:

I am doing my first Alfa engine rebuild and need some advice on the
cigarette seals. I have read all the past posts about freezing the seals
etc and will do all this.

My question is whether you should coat the seals with something like a
non hardening gasket cement before you install them.

I seem to remember someone suggesting a very light coat of RTV sealant
around them, but having seen bits of rubber floating around the oil
pickup
of my engine when I pulled it down, from its use around the sump gasket,
I
am reluctant to use it anywhere near the engine.

FInally the manual is a bit obscure about the assembly procedure of the
rear main bearing area. I assume you install the main bearing and cap
first, then the cigarette seals and finally the main rear oil seal. Is
this right?

^^^^

Marty, there are extremely few things in life where I would go this far
out on a limb about, but... I am going to answer your question and
without any semblance of humility will say, "This is absolutely the only
way to assemble the bearing, cigarette seals, and humongous seal on the
rear (5th) main bearing."

First the bearings: Like the other four should be liberally coated with
something really slick. I use STP as an assembly lube. Not sure what is
available in your neck of the woods.

The cigarette seals have now been chilling in the freezer for at least a
few hours, overnight is better. Coat them with a silicone lubricating
compound (something which LIKES rubber. Trust me, once in, they'll need
no adhesive or additional sealant to keep them from leaking, let alone
going somewhere).

Put a light smear of STP (yeah, I own the company and plan to retire
from this posting) on the humongous rear seal and slip on over and under
the crankshaft. Do not use anything else (like silicone sealant).

Slightly bevel the bottom of each frozen cigarette seal with a very
sharp knife so it doesn't bind. Place about 2 inches (50mm) down the
sides of the (block half) main bearing.

Taking the bottom of the wooden portion of a hammer, gently tap the main
bearing cap downward.

You have three things to keep track of. First, make sure the bearing
hasn't slipped; next, make sure the cigarette seals are coming along
nicely; finally, don't let the humongous rear seal get out of line with
the bottom half (which is undoubtedly pointing upward so don't get
confused).

Piece of cake. Assuming you are working fairly quickly (thawing of the
cigarette seal), the only thing which might come into play is the
cigarette seal should start at say, 1 inch or at 3 inches in order to
end up fully inserted when the main cap is fully home.

For insurance purposes, before starting this procedure take the
cigarette seal to a hardware, unnh metal chemist, store and get a tube
which the seal just slips into and a long bolt which, in turn just fits
into the tube.

This all is to insure that you can still tap the cigarette seal into its
final resting place should it become necessary

If no more than 1/8" (3mm) is sticking out, cut it off, torque
everything down, and stick the oil pan on.

Happy motoring,

Biba
Irwindale CA
http://www.AlfaCyberSite.com

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