I successfully replaced the shaft seal a few months ago, thanks to some advice from John Sargent. Surprisingly the pin came out after about 10 min. of initial hammering and then squeezing with a C clamp. I was paranoid of bending the shaft so I didn't want to pound on it really hard.

I did try to squirt some penetrating oil in before and give it a few bangs / vibration to increase the chance of some oil seeking down the shaft. Then let it sit for about 45 min. Don't know how much real help this was.

I had the length of the shaft well supported on a vice to minimize lateral stressing to it or the bearings.

Once I had the pin out a few mm, I used the C clamp on the punch for more steady presure and the pin steady slid out as I tightened the clamp. I rigged the clamp and vice to minimize lateral stress on the shaft.

The whole job (from removal to reinstalation of distributor)took about 1.5 hours (not including letting it sit after penetrating oil lube). Most of the time was scrubbing off the old oil from all the distributor parts.

Hope this helps.

Al