Old thread bump. Here is an underside of the shifter picture. Mine was dry and corroded and took a lot of spray and work to get it free enough to disassemble and grease.
I was in the middle of installing the transfer case when I noticed how hard it was to move the lever with it disconnected so I found this thread and went after it. The transfer case was installed but the driveshafts and crossmember were not so it wasn't too horrible to drop the trans an inch and jam my claws up there. Those bolts were really tight (also showed lots of dry corrosion), I started to think I'd bleed or break one before they came loose but got lucky with all 4 in the end. I'd say if you are in there, do it, it's only a matter of time. Feels awesome now all greased up