When I did mine on my 99 Dakota the axle shaft was bolted to a flange on the axle. I just removed the six bolts and the nut at the hub, with the upper ball joint disconnected I just slipped tha axle out.

I then removed the spindle by disconnecting the lower ball joint. To remove the lower joint you need a ball joint press. It looks like a giant C-clamp.

It took about an hour to replace both the upper and lower joints on one side.