Does anyone know what the press in seal in the timing chain cover surrounding the crank does? Does it seal out dirt or keep in oil? The seal seems too soft to resist any oil pressure. Also, how do you all go about installing the hydraulic damper? I have heard that it is necessary to press it on, but when I tried to install mine, the damper slid on without using nearly any force.

 

As I understand it, it does both. The flange on the gasket is toward the engine, when oil is "pushed" or slung against it, it seals tighter. These also have a spiral wire on the inside to hold shape. I've had dampners go both ways, some had to be pressed and some have slide on with very little resistance. Just make sure it runs true, no wobble, and no play at the splines. Takin' them off has been another story!

 

The front seal does not have any "pressure" against it only oil that is slinging off of the timing chain. The small ridge at the front of the seal is to keep as much dust out as possible. If you can slide the balancer on easily you should really look into replacing it as I've had a couple crack and start vibrating when they were easy to get on. Just pulled the crank out of a buddys 302 after we found the balancer cracked, then he told me about how easy it was to put on after a seal replacement, last month!