AndyGrewe
Sorry to see the gouge! Unfortunately, the distance from that mounting face to the bearing bore depth is critical. If material were machined off, it would also require compensating with a custom thicker gasket to maintain proper clearances. For reference, our standard gaskets are .027" thick (we can cut thicker custom gaskets if needed), but I’d recommend avoiding that route.
Instead, I suggest lightly dressing the area by hand: use a flat surface (granite works well) with 320-grit sandpaper to knock down any raised material only. You’re not trying to remove material overall, just flatten any high spots.
During installation, apply a quality gasket maker directly into the scratch. Permatex “The Right Stuff” works very well for this.
That approach should seal fine without affecting critical dimensions.
