It took me about five hours to remove the differential completely from the vehicle and replace it with a 2.88. Naturally the axles came out withs the diff and got reinstalled in the new diff.

With a lift (which I don't have), R & R of the axles shouldn't be more than three hours for a non-professional. A professional mechanic who knows the tricks of getting the axle spline out of the hub quickly can easily do each side in one hour.

I think a blind man can do the job in 7 1/2 hours if he has a lift.