Bus Mech,
Welcome to the forum first of all!
The nut on my 7108 bucket cylinders was a very thin nut with a couple slots in it. The gland had two flat spots on it. I had to hold the gland by the flat spots to keep it from turning, then screw the nut off. Once I had the nut off, I had to push the gland deeper into the cylinder and remove a round wire snap ring. Once I had the snap ring out, I could pull the rod/piston/gland assy out.
Hope this helps.
Mark