I pulled my rear axles tonight. Total time was about 2 hours. Pretty straight forward. You really have to bang the crap out of them to get them to compress.

My car actually had two different axles! One side had the sealed can axle while the other side had the allen head bolt axle.

For those contemplating this job, I recommend getting the Haynes manual. Its pretty straight forward. Remove the differential cover - support the differential with a jack beforehand. Remove the 13mm bolt holding your rotor on. I used a metal horseshoe stake to bang the heck out of the axle to compress it. Compress it to the point you can detach it from the hub. Locate the retaining ring in the differential and remove it. Slide out the axle. You'll have to lower the differential when banging on the axles and raise it when its time to slide it out of the hub. I also removed my calipers to make it easier to slide it out but you might not have to.

Time to take them to a mechanic and get them rebooted.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)