If you have good aim and can drop it in it's seat on the oil pump sure it would work. Turn it with an oil pump primer shaft though to make sure it's seated. There are a few drawbacks of doing this though. If you miss and drop it into the pan well then you have to drop the pan anyway. If you crank the engine to try and seat it, well if it come loose and drops in while the engine is turning you could cause major damage. Then there is the next time you pull the distributor, it's just going to come out again!
Yeah I know it's a pain in the butt to drop the pan. But, for a few hours work you can have peace of mind. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Good luck
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