Headlight motor splined nut

Hey guys, I'm working on a left headlight that doesn't go up. I found the procedure here for removing it and taking it apart, which has mostly been super great. (Some horrible black liquid came out when I removed the gearbox cover, for instance.) But there's nothing in the writeup about this particular splined nut. It doesn't seem to want to come off. I've already stripped the non-splined part of it a bit with vice grips, and I'm afraid I'll be doing serious damage (or seriously embarrassing myself) if I try to overpower this thing. Is there a trick I'm missing? Should I use fire? Does it somehow not actually have to come off? I know I can clean up the contacts without removing the gear, but I wanted to make sure all the grit and grossness was out of there before I added new grease. Thanks!
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