Never trust anything a tire place says. They should stick to tires. I would have a real mechanic just check it out.

I don't know what they are refering to when they say sockets....

Unless you are mechanically inclined, I would let someone else do the axle. It wasn't too terribly difficult for my car, but it may be different for you. If you want to tackle it, get a Helms manual to outline the procedure.