While I was doing a U-joint replacement on my rear drive shaft (86 4X4 LB pickup), I noticed that there's a little bit of play in the rear flange on the T-case. Bad bearing I would guess. Taking a look in the shop manual, it says that I need to pull the T-case out with the tranny. Obviously, I'd like to avoid a LOT of extra work! Can the rear T-case bearing be serviced with the case still mounted in the truck? If not, can the T-case be removed without pulling the tranny? I've R&R'ed several trannys over the years, but never a Toyota.

Thanks

 

before you tear into it make sure the 30mm nut on the output shaft is tight, its common for them to work loose, my '84 did this, i noticed that it had a little play in it when i was removing the driveshaft once, so i figured that i would try tightening the nut, i got it to turn about a half revolution, i then re-staked it, and then had no more play in the flange

 

Did yours become un-staked somehow when it loosened up? Mine is still staked, but I'll straighten it out and see if I can tighten it any. That would be way cool if that's all it turns out to be. But either way, it looks like I need to pick up a 30mm socket! Thanks for the reply!