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Anyone that's ever taken the cylinders off of one of these motors can attest to the giant pain in the neck (Or worse places) that it can be. I have seen several sets of cylinders destroyed trying to get them off and have even ruined some myself. This tool I made separates the cylinders from the engine case every time without damaging anything or breaking any fins.
This tool probably won't be able to be made by everyone... at least maybe not the exact way I did. I'm sure someone could use this idea and create something even better. For this tool, I used some fairly heavy gauge steel since there can be quite a bit of stress put on the pieces. In this case, I found some scrap 1/2" thick stuff. I made a hook and welded it to some All-thread.
I then had to measure the distances to the center studs on the motor, and drill 4 holes in a plate big enough to go over those studs, as well as one for the All-thread to go through. The hole in the middle of the plate was a trial and error thing. My hook is offset to the All-thread, so the hole had to be offset as well. You'll also need 4 metric nuts that fit the studs, as well as one nut and washer that fits the All-thread.
If you look down the center of the cam chain galley towards cylinder #3, (Right side) you can see a gap between the base of the cylinders and the mounting plate for the cam chain guides.
When making your hook, the bottom part of the hook that will be grabbing the cylinders can't be thicker than 5/16", or it won't fit into that gap.
Screw the 4 nuts down onto the 4 center studs. You just need to leave some threads up top so the plate won't slide off.
Feed the All-thread through the center hole in the plate...
Then stick the hook down into the gap under the cylinders, and slide the plate down over the studs so it sits on the nuts.
Screw the nut and washer down the All-thread against the plate...
One thing I forgot to mention, if you have a little baby set of vice grips, clamp this onto the All-thread and clamp it so it rests against the back stud. This helps to keep the hook from turning while you're turning the nut on the plate.
Simply start tightening the nut at the top of the plate...
...and it pulls up on the cylinders by pushing down onto the nuts on the studs. The cylinders will pop up every time.
This will usually only get the cylinders up @ this far since it cocks it at an angle, but all you need to do is get them started up like this, and it's easy to get them the rest of the way. I'm sure someone could make something instead of a hook that grabbed on both sides of the cam chain galley, but there's very little to grab on the #2 cylinder side. This may help it raise the cylinders more even and higher. Yamaha didn't really give us anywhere to pry at, and sometimes these cylinders seem to be welded to the cases by the years of corrosion, road grime, and old gasket. That's the only place I could find with a good bit of material to pull against. The tool has never damaged anything, but even if it scraped or marred the aluminum right there, it's in a spot where it probably wouldn't matter.
Anyway, like I said, this tool may be a bit crude, but this has worked every single time to lift those troublesome cylinders. Hope it helps someone.
This tool probably won't be able to be made by everyone... at least maybe not the exact way I did. I'm sure someone could use this idea and create something even better. For this tool, I used some fairly heavy gauge steel since there can be quite a bit of stress put on the pieces. In this case, I found some scrap 1/2" thick stuff. I made a hook and welded it to some All-thread.
I then had to measure the distances to the center studs on the motor, and drill 4 holes in a plate big enough to go over those studs, as well as one for the All-thread to go through. The hole in the middle of the plate was a trial and error thing. My hook is offset to the All-thread, so the hole had to be offset as well. You'll also need 4 metric nuts that fit the studs, as well as one nut and washer that fits the All-thread.
If you look down the center of the cam chain galley towards cylinder #3, (Right side) you can see a gap between the base of the cylinders and the mounting plate for the cam chain guides.
When making your hook, the bottom part of the hook that will be grabbing the cylinders can't be thicker than 5/16", or it won't fit into that gap.
Screw the 4 nuts down onto the 4 center studs. You just need to leave some threads up top so the plate won't slide off.
Feed the All-thread through the center hole in the plate...
Then stick the hook down into the gap under the cylinders, and slide the plate down over the studs so it sits on the nuts.
Screw the nut and washer down the All-thread against the plate...
One thing I forgot to mention, if you have a little baby set of vice grips, clamp this onto the All-thread and clamp it so it rests against the back stud. This helps to keep the hook from turning while you're turning the nut on the plate.
Simply start tightening the nut at the top of the plate...
...and it pulls up on the cylinders by pushing down onto the nuts on the studs. The cylinders will pop up every time.
This will usually only get the cylinders up @ this far since it cocks it at an angle, but all you need to do is get them started up like this, and it's easy to get them the rest of the way. I'm sure someone could make something instead of a hook that grabbed on both sides of the cam chain galley, but there's very little to grab on the #2 cylinder side. This may help it raise the cylinders more even and higher. Yamaha didn't really give us anywhere to pry at, and sometimes these cylinders seem to be welded to the cases by the years of corrosion, road grime, and old gasket. That's the only place I could find with a good bit of material to pull against. The tool has never damaged anything, but even if it scraped or marred the aluminum right there, it's in a spot where it probably wouldn't matter.
Anyway, like I said, this tool may be a bit crude, but this has worked every single time to lift those troublesome cylinders. Hope it helps someone.