Then you should be totally fine with just removing the rear. Now if you struggle to get out of the trail with just 2wd is a potential different problem depending on how tough of a trail it was..

 

I've been in nearly your same situation. I blew the rear diff in the middle of nowhere. One of the pins actually started to go through the top outside part of the diff housing. I took off the rear driveshaft and limped it out with the center diff locked. Luckily I was with a friend with a Defender that towed me through a couple of rough bits on the way back when I only had front wheel drive. Rear gears/axles made bad noises the whole way home - probably 20 miles or so - but I made it. Replaced the entire rear axle assembly with a used unit. Planning on getting an Ashcroft locker soon.

 

I figured I'd update this thread. My rear differential ring and pinion are fine. It was just my wheel hub bearing assembly that disintegrated. Removed and replaced just waiting on a proper torque wrench to hit the 362-ft pounds necessary. The plan is to replace the remaining three along with making sure all my ABS wires are hooked up.

I have a tendency to consider the worst case scenario rather than taking it from the simplest onward. Thanks for all your help, It's a great forum.

 

@Black.Rhino Thanks for the update

 

Running over sized tires like that is very, very stressful on hubs. So, spend the extra money on quality brand.

 

Good advice. I bought 2 hubs from Atlantic British not sure they're the highest quality? Planning on down sizing from 37's to 35's since I agree too much stress on everything.