I pulled mine out on this motor I'm freshing up with new seals to check the bearings. the inner one is perfect outer one is good except one miniscule groove in it no chips though. had no play in it before I pulled it. the surface that rides in the seal has a extremely shallow lines in it barely noticeable with the fingernail. would it be a bad idea to polish it off with some oily 2000 grit emery and slip it back in?
I dont think it would hurt, I put the bolt in mine without the pulley, put the corresponding socket onto a drill and held it in my hand with 2000 grit and spun away until it was nice and shiny. poor mans lathe! I checked multiple times with a digital caliper and I ended up taking off .01mm maybe
yea I figured they probably make the seals with a less tight tolerance making for a smaller hole in it compensating for any lost diameter on the shaft.
Why not just put the new seal on without placing it in the same spot. That way it wont be in the groove.
I would agree with oldpoopie, I wouldnt worry about the grooves, install the seal to a slightly different depth, after you do this SEVERAL times, then I would worry about something different.