Front main seal gap

[needlenose]

I just installed a front main seal and after pulling the pilot sleeve, there appears to be a significant gap between the outer lip of the seal and the crank surface. Is this normal?

The seal is a genuine Cummins seal installed dry into brake-cleaned surfaces with a little LocTite blue on the outer edge using a pilot sleeve and alignment tool.

[PToombs]

Can you see the bottom of the seal? From the pic it looks like the seal is touching about the 3 o'clock position. If it's touching the bottom hard enough to spread the lip of the seal you need to pull the cover and recenter it with the sleeve on. Did you pull the cover or install the seal with the cover on? The sleeve is as much an alignment tool for the cover to center it on the crank as an install tool for the seal.

[needlenose]

I did both? I pulled the cover and replaced the gasket first.I thought the driver *was* the install/alignment tool, so I replaced the cover with loose bolts and used the driver to align the cover to the crank. It's a very snug fit. Tighten the cover, remove the tool, drive in the seal, remove the sleeve. Is the seal ruined? I bought two just so I could screw up the first one.

Also is the LocTite necessary? Seems like it make the seal really slippery. It kept wanting to squirt back out. It will make removing the seal without damaging impossible.

[PToombs]

The usual way is install the seal in the cover with the driver, (no Loctite) it sets the correct depth on the seal. Put the sleeve on the crank. Slide the cover on the crank and then bolt it down, then remove the sleeve. I had to use vicegrips to pull the sleeve, it's tight in there.
I'm glad you actually planned on ruining the 1st seal, it means you're working with the correct procedure!

[ofelas]

I install the seal through the inside of the cover using the depth/alignment tool.
When the cover is screwed down, the plastic pilot is expelled.
I also use a dust seal before I bolt the damper back on.