I have my in-laws 2000 Grand Cherokee with the right rear axle seal leaking. I have the 4 nuts off behind the backing plate. Do I need to remove the differential cover to gain access to retainers or do I force the axle out with the 4 nuts removed? does anyone know?

Ok, the axle comes out with a slide hammer. everything that I am finding says that there is an inside seal that I should remove and replace once the axle is out and that there is an outer seal that is replaced with the bearing. The problem is I only see one seal (outer) parts store says only one seal. has anybody had one of these apart that may know for sure?

You can try this guys site, has a lot of info on another kind of Jeep, but may give you some idea of what to expect.
http://www.stu-offroad.com/siteindex.asp

Thanks, but I already have her back together and running. Will keep that site for future reference.