[V8] Separating half shafts from rear diffy

[Kneale Brownson]

I'm asking here because I haven't gotten any response to this question on
the other lists.

I'm separating the rear half shafts from the diffy so I can lower the diffy
so I can get the leaking gas tank out of my 200q20v. Bentley says in its
description of removing the fuel tank that I have to pull the flange bolts
and tie up the half shafts so the diffy is free to be lowered.   I have all
the bolts out of the flanges attaching the half shafts to the output
flanges from the diffy, but I can't figure out any way to separate the two
flanges.    Bentley's description elsewhere for REMOVING the half shafts,
of course, includes taking off the outer end of the shafts, which leaves
all the room in the world to just pull the half shafts off.  But that's not
what the book calls for for just freeing up the diffy for tank removal. 

Someone out there must have done this without taking off the outer ends????