i need help before i smash the rear diff

[jay]

i have an 85 250sx and am having trouble with the pinion (?) gear. i need to get it all apart to see how bad of shape it is in and i can't get the nut off of the gear. tried a screw driver in the gear with the impact on the nut and nothing worked. any suggestions on this. do i need to pull the bearings to get the gear assembly out? this is really aggrivating me.
been a rough day anyway. i went to put a chain on the r today that a buddy gave me and it is to wide. while checking the chain i noticed that there are 2 broken bolts in the sprocket. damn, if it weren't for bad luck i would have no luck at all. these 2 bikes will have to sit a little while beings i am changing jobs and will have to hang on to money till i get comfortable in the job.
love riding but hate when it comes to fixing them.
any help with the rear would be appreciated

[Dirtcrasher]

I saw your other post...... Hope you didn't smash it!! The way it is supposed to come out is you must disassemble the whole diff. Then the pinion gear and shaft are still stuck in the differential. If you look around the outside of the pinion gear nut arae you will see a ring that actually threads into the diff (like a holding ring) and holds that whole pinion shaft assembley in place. You must buy or make a special tool to remove this - that is after you chisel away where Honda stakes it over in place. If this is not removed you cannot get the pinion shaft out EVEN if the pinion nut is removed.

The bad news is that by the time that shaft is wiggly it is usually cooked and must be turned down on a lathe and sleeved. 250SX diffs are not a fun project.