I recently started hearing a clackety-type sound and was able to trace it to the front driveshaft. More specifically, the knuckles (u-joint) at the transfer case end of the shaft. One of the u-joints are loose - and the "casing" has a chip out of it.

I looked in my Chilton's manual and it appears to be pretty easy to remove the shaft. Just remove the retaining clips and then slide the shaft out?

Can I remove the shaft and still drive the truck around? Will I lose any gear oil? If so, could I just duct tape the openings?