Ok well that wasn't soo bad after all! I wasn't getting anywhere by just chiseling off the joint and yeah I ended up becoming the "THOR" god literately by using two huge hammers. I used a 4 and 8lb hammer to get that SOB off. I positioned the 4lb hammer flat on the joint itself and said a quick Hail Mary. Two whacks later it was off That was the easy part cuz getting it back on was a PITA. Just like Hayaku, it took me just about minutes or so to get it back on. Once I put everything back together I took the X out on a quick "test" spin. Unfortunately I have to go back in and remove my dust shield as it got damaged (de-formed)pretty bad in the process. It's making a Shhhhhssssssssss type sound which is intolerable. Anyhow here are some pics of the process

Old (left) New (right) C-clips/rings


Thor tools!


No damage to the bearings.



Like new again