It used to be rope but they are now neoprene. If yours still has the rope and your going to replace it with the neoprene, there is a small pin in the rear main bering cap that keeps the rope from spinning. This pin has to be removed. It punches right out.
Main Seal Just another small tip, when putting the seal back in make sure one end in the block is protruding about 1/8 below the surface on one side. Then do the same thing on the opposite side of the cap, this allows the two seal halves to match above and below the intersection of the cap and block thus eliminating a possible leak there. Just a thought on the subject.
