You need to take the locking hub completely off in order to get at the bearings and remove the axle shaft.
To do so, you need to remove the top of the locking hub then remove the snap ring that fits over the end of the axle shaft itself.
Once the snap ring is removed, you can unbolt the rest of the locking hub mechanism from the hub to get access to the outer wheel bearings.
Here is how you disassemble the axle in order to completely remove the axle shaft and get at the inside bearing:
http://www.acksfaq.com/samuraifrontaxle.htmI hope that this helps!