Just take it slow, and make sure the cylinders are completely empty. Disassemble them with the valves open.
I find it easier to work on a strong flat table. Mark the placement of your bands with either a sharpie, or china marker. I usually lay out a towel to keep from scratching the table top, this also allows you to slide the cylinders around. As you spin the manifold apart every few turns move the bottoms of the cylinders apart to keep them parallel. Take it slowly.
When you put them back together the flat table really makes a difference. As you screw the manifold crossbar or isolator back together make sure you get both sides started as close to the same time as possible otherwise you will be uneven. Just like when you took them apart as you screw the manifold together pause often to keep the cylinders parallel, keep moving the bottoms of the cylinders together or you will damage the threads on your manifold.
When you are almost finished use your backplate to make sure the bands are exactly the right distance apart, and check to verify that the isolator turns a bit with gentle pressure before you tighten everything up. This is one of those things where you tighten one bolt a little and then the next, it might take several minutes to make sure that everything is tight and properly aligned, you will need to keep going back to check everything a little at a time before you are truly finished. Once everything seems good then lock the crossbar or isolator in place with the locking nuts.
If when you are finished anything looks uneven you may need to start again. The first few times you do this it takes a while so be patient.
Mark Vlahos
