First, a Saturday test.? Turned over the engine, and this piece fell out.?? I? have an idea- any others

Also,

Spent a lot of time trying to figure out the "Best gasket Co" seal, concerning the desired diameter of the race of the seal area used for the rear main seal.? This started because the metal shaper person on YouTube, who's overhauled many 4 cylinder Willys engines, concluded in 2020 that the Best seal would not work with the diameter used by those that regrind and refurbish crankshafts, which he said was 2.310 inches. instead, this seal required 2.335"; if ground to 2.310, the seal will leak.?? Other sources on the diameter include Willys specifications, 2.331to 2.3341; the Cj2A page says 2.345.? My guess is that the Willys documentation, for all years, assumes a rope seal; and that the Cj2A page does as well.? There also is a published standard from the association of machine shops?? in 2002 (AERO, there will be a test later) that says 2.3202-2.312 is correct if using a non rope seal.?? Probably the? 2.310 evolved? since 2002.

I contacted The Jeepterman,? who sells these seals, they didn't know anything about it.?? I tried to contact Best, but they didn't respond to email and don't answer the phone.? I posted to the metalshaper YouTube video via a comment, asking if this problem had been resolved; fortunately, the answer is yes, the Best seal now works well with the 2.310 diameter.? So that's what I'm going to ask the machinist to do.?

Dan