You should be able to heat the former with a hot air gun ( don't use a hair dryer ) from the inside of the fuse.

This will loosen the glue, and then you can pop the former forward or sideways without damaging it.

Reglue it in place with a liberal application of epoxy to clear the rod.

I've done this on a couple of Bobcats without problems.

Some people have used this technique to remove ALL of the formers in preparation for mounting a TURBINE and electronics on the Bobcat... amazing.