I have the engine out of the car and I had to remove the harmonic balancer, I did not have the proper puller and for some reason I used a wooden piece and a rubber mallet to tap the balancer off the crankshaft. I was then able to pull it off by hand. I am now wondering if I have caused damage to internal components? (thrust bearings)
EDIT: Mercedes M103 engine from a 1991 w124 300E The balancer is held by a bolt (torqued to 400nm) and a woodruff key.
It is possible that you may have damaged the thrust faces/ bearings... That will largely depend on how hard you were hitting - it's the "shock" that can cause damage.
The only way to tell for sure is to inspect the bearings and faces.
A simple puller can be made with a thick bar and some suitable bolts, nuts and threaded rod.
With my limited experience, since about 80% of the engines I take apart are farm diesel or VW diesel, I can say that the harmonic balancers I have dealt with are heavy like a flywheel and have a rubber liner to the core which attaches to the crankshaft. With those, i have seldom had to persuade them off with anything more than a 16oz hammer. I cannot recall ever damaging one.
I have seen damaged balancers, and they were damaged from the impact of a large mass hammer (5# ?).
If you cannot see or detect damage, I would doubt there is any.
If you want a more definitive answer, PLEASE include the make and model and engine of the vehicle.
