I have replaced that rod before, it just pushes down onto a ball. The weight doesn't even need to come off the bottom. You can see more clearly on the parts diagram.
I couldn't get enough force on the parts to push the together with the access and I ended up taking a lot apart, hopefully you won't have to do that. Try to get a lever in between a pop it off. Number 17 in the diagram
I couldn't get enough force on the parts to push the together with the access and I ended up taking a lot apart, hopefully you won't have to do that. Try to get a lever in between a pop it off. Number 17 in the diagram