I have R&R'd the factory dampers many times using the puller off and a hammer on method. Fortunately for the crank thrust-bearing, you can't get much of a swing at it even with the radiator out. It works but it's very tedious and I always worried about the bearings. So later I began heating the damper in the oven to 350 deg. Then with some non-kitchen oven mitts I hustle over to the engine and slip he damper into place, knocking it one time to see if it sounded "home." If you don't get it all the way home before it cools, you can pull it off and start over. On engines where I've used a "wedding band" to cover the groove the seal wore in the damper, its a little more tricky because he bands don't like to be over heated and they slip afterward. Of course, if you get it too hot you'll damage the rubber and possibly the crank seal. Remember, you can't use a three-finger puller over the large diameter even if you have one big enough because of the rubber-mounted vibration damper nor can you bang on the same outer diameter part for the same reason.
Maybe a decade ago I bought a 2-shiv crank pulley for my 235 to drive the alternator and the A/C compressor; one belt doesn't cut the mustard. It has a rubber vibration damper sandwiched between an inner and outer steel part, which is different from the factory part in that the shiv is on the outer part and is driven by the rubber. Seemed dubious. Anyway, I called the maker and asked if heating it would hurt the rubber and they said no. So I did. A couple of months later the volt meter went to 12 and the temperature gauge started climbing. Luckily I was only a few blocks from home. I watched the engine run and noticed that the fan was not turning, belts in place. What?! How can that be? The rubber damper had come loose and the shiv was no longer driving anything. I had seen that once before on a 70s Econoline van which, unfortunately, I had to fix. There was no apprentice to fob the job off onto.
I called he manufacturer and told them what had happened. They said to send it back, we'll send you a new one. The very next day, FedEX showed up with a new damper. I heated it and put it on as before. I sent the old one back in the shipping box free of charge. Now that's service. That was maybe seven years ago and I've had no trouble on that account.
