[Gary WA]

Don't cut,I take a socket and hammer the thing in,leaving the ends up a little,put a little stp on the seal prior to closing it up. I also place a small dab of blue RTV on the ends of the rope seal(little amount). Never have had a leak on my own A's or others that had leaked before. I use a small amount of Indian Shellac on the block and place the gasket to that. You may have to cut the front of the pan gasket around the rope seal carefully. That's how I do it . Others will follow. Good Luck.