Front crankshaft oil seal installation?

I had to replace the front crankshaft oil seal. The new seal has a spring in the back over the edge of the lip (pic attached). The spring can easily come off while tapping the seal in. There is no way to tell if it did because it's in the back.

I didn't have the ford special tool so I tried to tap it in using a large socket but couldn't get it to go in square and the spring was slipping out of its place. So, I lubed the seal and the housing with little bit of fresh oil and tried pressing it in with my thumb on the bottom first and then pressing the rest in a circular motion going from bottom to the sides and finally to the top, and it went.

This is my first time doing this and I am concerned that the spring might have slipped out because the seal wasn't pressed in square. To replace the seal again would mean removing the timing belt and doing the whole job all over again. Even then there is no guarantee that the spring won't slip off during the next installation.

My questions are, that if the seal has come off then would it cause serious damage to the crankshaft where it would be a major repair, or it is just a matter of seal not lasting as long as it should?