Yes, pull front shaft.
X2 on a factory 4.10 diff. Not a z71, but a V-max truck. They had 4.10's, i don't believe a z71 ever came above 3.73.
As of tips, get a few extra crush sleeves and take your time. Start out using your stock shims on the pinion and carrier if you can. Went from 3.42's to 4.10s with a yukin posi. Used the stock .035 pinion shim depth (new shim) and even got lucky by using the stock carrier shims. Came in at around .007/.008. Not 100% sure, it was a few months ago.
There is also a trick to the pinion preload. Once you think you have it, put a 1/2 breaker bar on the pinion nut at horizontal, let it go and is should fall at a medium rate. How Chris did mine and never made any noise
