PItman shaft seal installation advice

I have never been so lucky the seal would blow out under fluid pressor, using the gear box bump method. I have seen on this forum using wood type screws and pulling the seal out, I would NOT in any way do this, your chances of scaring the shaft and box are quite high. I have used a mechanist awl and a small hammer and gently wedge in-between the seal's metal ring and the box and prying outward. If you can grasp the pitman arm shaft and wiggle it back and forth, a new seal will not fix the leak but only to leak again.
If and when you get the seal out, check the condition of the pitman arm shaft, check for grooves and nicks, light sanding may help. If the grooves are deep and cannot be smooth out, you can adjust the depth of the seal, making sure the seal lips are riding on a different height compared to what it was before.