Yamaha O/B Pivot Tube

[amytom]

I pulled the 2 Yamaha 9.9s off of my PDQ32 for maintenance. One of the big concerns is the pivot tube needs to be pulled, cleaned, and lubed. I've got the nut removed from each side and the cross over bar removed from the lower half of the brackets. Now each side of the bracket will rotate slightly but only with a long 2x4 as a handle.

Any hints for disassembly?

(Already used penetrating oil, de-greaser, WD-40, foul language, and prayer)