This is my method for bolting together an AMC primary:
If unsure of the flatness of either side, deck the inner and outer primary. I use a pretty crude but effective decking process - I have a piece of granite I took out of a store a couple years ago. I place several stick-on 220 grit sanding disks on the granite and slide the piece around on on it until I see bright metal everywhere.
Once both sides are straight and clean, I make sure all screws are clean and threads in the inner primary are all clear.
I spread a thin layer of Permatex Motoseal 1 (or Yamabond - any of the good grey non-silicone ones) on the inner primary and install the gasket.
I spread a thin layer of Motoseal on the outer, feed the stator wires through the hole, and carefully slide the outer into place, making sure outer is on both locating pins, but not tight down
I install all the screws running them in about 12 turns. On my Ranger, about 14-15 turns is tight. I use a speed wrench with a Snap-on straight screwdriver socket.
Once all the screws are in, I snug them down, working from the top and bottom in the center of the cover to both ends.
I run through this one more time, making sure all the screws are tight - maybe 8-10 ft-lbs.
At this point, you should a nice, even bead of motoseal along the joining seam. After an hour or so, I clean this off with an Exacto knife and a bit of Acetone.
The normal weeping spot is that funky notch on the inner primary just behind the drain screw. I make sure there's plenty of Motoseal in that area.
