skiier,

as far as getting the half shaft separated from the hub, you can tap on the shaft and hit towards the diff, but be careful not to mushroom the end. i'd run the axle nut on the shaft until it's flush with the end before you start hammering; even then if the splines are really frozen, the hammering technique may not work. i've seen many where i had to use a puller/extractor just to separate the axle splines from the hub.

consider the nut to be sacrificial and have a new one handy but do not mushroom the end of the half shaft itself or you'll be kicking yourself; (been there...)