I have over the last few days been pulling down my 21 se engine, and as a newbie am finding it a joyous, but at some points agrivating experience. Having struck the later with regards to the clutch hub nut i did a search of this forum to find i have not been the only one. I welded up some old plates as recommended to hold the hub in place however found it a little awkward to apply enough holding force, decided then to weld come tabs onto the plate which i then held in place using 3 bolts retained by where the clutch cover attaches (i hope this dosnt damage the clutch casing when force is applied to the nut). I then swung on the socket...swore....added exstension bar......swore.....WD40....more swearing. Nut wont budge (dont worry i have prised out where the nut taper is punched into the keyway). I really want to make sure so question is, can a rattle gun be SAFETLY used to remove this nut and is it common practice(my crank seems to be in good condition, and i dont feel like buying another one )
I also have another question relating to the rebuild, is it completely necessary to replace the crank seals when pulling down the bottom end or only when replacing the crank. How can you tell if they are in good condition.

Thanks (more questions to come no doubt)