powerhead removal

trying to remove the PH on my 1988 90hp yamaha. i have followed the service manual to disconnect everything and removed the 11 bolts that it says holds the PH on, as well as the lower unit. but i cannot get it to break loose. the book says you may need to use a wooden pry bar to break the seal. tried that and broke a bunch of wood. any ideas? could i be missing something?

[boats.net]

If all the bolts are out it should break loose. sometimes you can thread front bolts in block to use with a pry bar across steering arm to break loose.

I recently took the PH off a 70 hp. It was very stuck. I used an engine hoist and then pryed. Be careful the PH will seperate all at once. Make sure you have all of the linkage un hooked (codder pin on front on PH). Good Luck

i already got it off and its back on now. ended up using a metal pry bar instead of wood....but wraped it in rags to soften the connection. came off pretty easy with that. i was pulling it cause my reverse isnt working, and i thoiught it was the shift rod.....but after pulling the PH it was fine. cables are fine and theres no metal in the LU oil. dont know what now??? guess maybe it could have rounded some gear teeth instead of sheering them off.