front cover seal/balancer question

[buickpower]

I was wondering if anyone else had problems running a newer neoprene style seal on the stock balancer. Mine seems to chew up seals, and I tend to think that the grooves on the stock balancer that were designed to work with a rope seal are the culprits. Has anyone tried putting a wear sleeve on the balancer to cover these grooves?

 

[turbofabricator]

I was wondering if anyone else had problems running a newer neoprene style seal on the stock balancer. Mine seems to chew up seals, and I tend to think that the grooves on the stock balancer that were designed to work with a rope seal are the culprits. Has anyone tried putting a wear sleeve on the balancer to cover these grooves?

I've never had a problem with the neoprene seals. Are you running the stock timing cover? If it's aftermarket, maybe the alignment is off. Or maybe the block has been line honed one too many times, causing the balancer to ride HARD on the top half of the seal.