The cylinders are replaced, and yes I did have to take the brackets off with the cylinder attached. There was absolutely no way to get at the outer pin bolt because it was flush against the body of the car and the length prevented it from coming out of the opening in the cylinder.

Once off you replace the cylinders and it slides right back in with the bracket. The top is disconnected but fairly straight forward to reassemble. Works great now.

Nice to just push a button and relax while the top goes up/down...aahhhhhh.