Off topic : hydraulic cylinder repair

[RBM]

I have a Ford 770 loader with a leaky bucket cylinder. I've ordered the rebuild kit, but can't figure out how to dismantle the cylinder. Ones I've done in the past have had a slot cut into the side of the cylinder where a square piece of wire gets fed into a slot around the inside of the cylinder. When the retaining wire is fully inserted, there is a small nub sticking out, so it can be grabbed for removal. This cylinder has what appears to be a round wire of some sort with no visible end to grab for removal. I've got a few pix of the slot here:

[Mike Dobony]

Picture 2 looks like an assembly method used by HWH for room extentions. If so, it also looks like it has a wire snap-ring that needs to be pushed out of the slot. It appears that the wire has moved and the end is not visible. It also requires an experienced hand to remove it without destroying the cylinder.