So I did this job the other day. Thanks to this thread I was well equipped and had the entire job done quickly and efficiently.
I didn't even bother starting the job without first renting a bearing puller kit from Advance (I only needed to use the slide hammer). I also broke the 8mm pinion lock bolt free with a socket and ratchet first, then I got the closed end of the wrench on there to finish it off. Both bearings and seals came out together with the slide hammer. It only took a few good slams to remove them.
To eliminate all possibility of disaster, as soon as I removed the C-clip from one of the axles within the differential and got the axle out of the way, I immediately replaced the pinion shaft and lock bolt.
I was very pleased to see both axles in good condition (no excessive bearing wear), and honestly the bearings were in pretty good shape too. Since I've had the car since 100K, and put 155K on myself, I decided to put this job was on my preventative maintenance list before crossing the country in December (will be my second back and forth crossing).
One question I had while I was doing the job...How does the gear oil migrate from the differential, all the way to the bearing through the axle tube ? It seemed to me like the axle tube was pretty well sealed off by the axle itself from the differential where the oil is. Obviously it works somehow, but I didn't like how I couldn't see how so. So in addition to dousing each bearing with oil before and after installation, I also squirted some gear oil into the axle tubes before reinstalling the axles.
Can anyone explain to me how the bearings manage to stay lubricated from the gear oil thats all the way in the differential ? I noticed the axles had very subtle winding grooves that maybe pull oil from the differential into the axle tube, but the axle tubes are so spacious around the axle themselves, it still didn't seem likely to me that the gear oil would sufficiently, efficiently, and consistently migrate to the bearing while driving.
Thanks to Gavin and all others for helping me check another job off my list without frustration.