thanks to everyone that contributed to this thread. took care of my axle in no time at all.
i'll add one thing about the transmission seal. I was careful on removal and the seal was still fairly new so I didn't replace. I have one just incase it does start to leak.
when placing the axle back into the transmission i rotated the axle so that the ends of the snap ring (the piece that snaps back in the tranny) were in the groove and that way i would have less chance of damaging the seal. I also jacked the car up rather high (safely) so I had a clear line of site to the tranny so i could slowly and carefully control the axle's entry.
once again, THANKS!
