can the rear bearings be changed on these..I heard you had to buy a new axle.

if the bearing surface is bad u have to have a new axle...otherwise i am pretty sure ur good to go

i bought race axles when i rebuilt my rear anyway...

are they just press off bearings

No, they do not press off. The bearing stays in the axle housing and its rollers run directly on the surface of the shaft. When that surface spalls it is time for anew axle shaft or "axle saver" bearings, which re-position the rollers to run on a not-yet-worn part of the shaft.

I got it apart there is a groove worn in the shaft..guess I need a bearing saver.

The best way to get the bearings out of the housing is to rent a slide hammer and rear axle bearing attachment from Autozone. Took me all of 5 minutes to pull both sides.

I got them out much easier if you have a mig welder,just get all the rollers out and mig inside the place the rollers were and let it cool..it pops out when it cools,I got the repair bearing kit..axle is got a .040 groove in it..not sure if I should use it or get a used axle in good shape