I'm replacing the three front seals and timing belt and tensioner on my 1981 242. I have the timing belt and all three sprockets off and am looking straight at the seals. I don't want to scratch any sealing surfaces digging out the seals. A couple guys suggested removing the piece that houses the crank and intermediate seals. It sounds like a good idea because it looks like seal removal and installation would be much easier with the seal housing on the bench, but I'm not sure I can do this without wrecking the oil pan gasket because the housing seal sits against it.

How hard is replacing the oil pan gasket if I do wreck it?

How do you get the seal housing piece off without damaging the housing, the pan gasket, or anything else? The housing sits on two pins that position it, so there is little wiggle room. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Should I forget this idea and just pry them out in the conventional way?

Also, I ended up with Scan Tech seals, but after I see the work involved I'm wondering if I should have bought better seals if there is such a thing. Are OEM seals any better, or are Scan Tech as good as any?
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Thanks to everyone for the help, Doug C. 81 242 Brick On Blocks, stock; 86 240, 129K