Topic: 79-83 Steering Column Housing Plastic "Crush sleeve"?

[bpwilliams]

I am refurbishing my steering column and ran into an issue. There is a plastic piece that appears to be connecting the upper and lower part of the steering column housing (links to pics below).

How do I remove this? I'd like to powder coat the housing, but don't want to melt this piece.

https://ibb.co/1sp0v8P
https://ibb.co/N6CB9Nm