HELP! My strut cover won't come off!

Ok, so I went to the Auto Hobby shop today and installed some coilovers. Half way done w/ the front, I realized that I forgot to put on the factory hat. You know, that cover that goes between the stock spring and the plate w/ the 3 bolts hanging out of it to attach to the chassis. Anyway, I took the right strut assy back off and Icouldn't get the top part off! I think it's stuck onto the bearing somehow. So, I re-installed it and am currently riding around w/o the damper plate. And to top it off, everytime I hit a bump I can hear it knock because there's a 1/4 inch of play between the bolt and the chassis plate. Does anybody know how I can get the top plate off of the shock w/o ruining the bearing? Please help!