I wasn't able to use the special tool because it took up too much length. I use a piece of picture hanging wire and guided the start of the seal with the blade of a screwdriver. By the way the tool they are talking about is a miniature version of the one used to pull cables.
If you try to lower only the rear of the crankshaft only, it will hang up on the thrust bearing. Otherwise you could lower it a little more. At some point you could be putting a strain on the front seal. Since you have the pan off you could remove the front cover and drop the crank quite a bit. This would allow you to make sure the timing gear is still lined up when you are done.
