Drain front diff when pulling cv axles?

Do I need to drain the front diff before I pull my front axles out?

 

Nope. if you are on a level surface you should be fine. You might top it off after you put the new ones back in if you are worried about it.

 

You’ll definitely lose some fluid so yeah a top off is a good idea. When I changed my CV axles I tried to have the vehicle raised slightly higher on the side I was removing but still lost enough fluid to warrant a top off. Can’t hurt anything but the wallet for a quart of gear oil!
Watch those seals too. I had a leak on one side after the install so had the fun of removing them again to replace the seal and I just did both for the hell of it.
Peace of mind!

 

I had what I thought was a leak on mine, but it was actually just from over filling the front diff. (I had filled on a steep driveway... i couldn't get it as level as i should have).