Well, that 3 hours is a pretty conservative estimate I think. When I did it, it took me all afternoon, but of course that included doing the lucky mod. 4X4's are of course a little more involved because of the extra parts. The transfer case is not bad. When you take all the bolts out, there is an aligment dowel, that in conjunction with the splined shaft, will keep the transfer case hanging on. Support the case with your belly and some gentle prying will break it loose. I'd drain both boxes first by the way. When you go to pull the stick, two things. One is, the stick comes off with two bolts, and all your left with is a stub. But, the job will go much easier if you remove the whole top lid, exposing the shifting mechanism. Be VERY carefull when you remove this. There is a spring loaded tang that will try to take off, or worse, drop down inside. Take the lid off like your diffusing a bomb. The other thing that gets a lot of guys is the cab seam lip. It has a tendency to get in the way of the top of the bell housing. Best way to deal with that, is just to wrestle with it. I prefer to support the back of the engine at the pan, but some guys will tell you you don't have to. You'll definitely want the ZF on a jack of some kind, and supported so that it won't roll off.
