No It is not a good idea to whack it with a hammer.Did you take the bolt out of the center. When you put the harmonic balance puller tighten the bolts good then you need to turn the center of the puller and the balancer will start to come off very slowly. You do not want to grab the balancer by the outside to pull it off because there is a rubber ring in the center and you will just pull the outer ring off. If you have any questions let me know. Good luck.
Tom
