I am sure it's not frozen/rusted on there. I had it off last summer to do the e-locker mod. It came of real easy. I think it's stuck on that center lip due to binding. I'll take some pics when I get around to cutting this thing off. I think we'll be surprised at how thin that metal is.

 

Cut it in half, they are like a mm thick.

 

Yep, sawsall!