I think yer question is throwing me a curve......prolly a terminology thing. Jack up car, remove/move spindle assy as prefer/necessary, remove axle shaft assy in question, put replacement assy in place, reassemble. No gushing occurs here.

I dunno about the whole "best" discussion. I do know that several of us are running $60 (ish) complete "end-to-end" replacement axles without issue.

But changing the transfer case fluid, while not associated with the axle work, is a very straightforward process anyway.