Jim, I usually get them loose one of two ways.  If you pull the head
away from the block about an inch you should see that between the two
cylinders, there are these two ears cast into the cylinder lining.  I
have a small pry bar that I put in the center and this allows me to pry
the cylinder liners away from the heads.  A couple of gentle prys should
be enough to pop them loose.  If that isn't enough then you can give the
cylinder liner a twist by tapping on the ears with a punch.  There is an
ear on the inside (between the two cylinders) and also another one on
the outside.  You can tap on the outer one and then the inner until you
see the liner twist just a little.  Once you do this try prying again
and they should separate easily.

I never replace the o-rings on the bottom of the cylinders and I never
have a problem with them leaking.  Just fyi.  I do always replace the
green o-ring and the metal one along the black rubber gasket.  Those are
critical.  The black lower one must not be since I have never replaced
them in 14 years worth of head gasket jobs and have never had one come
back with an issue.

Sincerely,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com

On 9/25/2012 7:46 PM, Jim Felder wrote:
> I've never had this problem before, but I know others have. I have the
> heads loose on my 2.1, but the bad news is that the cylinders are coming
> off with the heads. I can get to the little groove around the top to pry
> into, and on some the "ears" cast into the cylinder, but nothing I can do
> will get them out of heads. Is there a trick I'm overlooking, or should I
> just pull them off, compress the rings and reinstall the cylinders?
>
> It's three out of the four, by the way.
>
> Jim
>