Damaged Awning Extension Arms

[myersm]

Seeking Awning experts...

I bought my used 2002 3023 a few years ago. At that time the awning would not close completely. The red closure indicators would retract, but the awning still hung out a bit. So this week I decided to adjust the Shock Absorbers and see if I could get the awning to close flush.
Upon inspection of the the extension arms at the connection to the shock absorbers, I found that both of the arms have torn pieces of metal sticking up at the upper connection point. Looks like someone was hanging onthe awning without any support arms attached.
So my plan is to extend the awning, and remove both shock absorbers and the extension arms and attemptto rebuild them.
Has anyone removed, replaced or repaired the extension arms before? Any tips?

Thanks in advance for all your help!