been there. i was bein really gentle with the pontiac 400 i was taking apart a few months ago (first engine EVER for me) and i couldnt get a piston out. my buddy, whos been doing this for top fuel cars forever grabs this rod shoves it into the cylinder and smacks it with a 10 lb mallet. you eventually learn that everything is a matter of how big of a hammer do i need to put that on/take that out, or how much leverage do i need to pop that off.