pulling my rear diff cover??

[Wolfy]

hey the person who had my car before me opened the rear diff for some reason and didnt bother to replace the cover gaket. instead they used this black sillicone sealant on it, and its just aggrivating me, its so sloppy and unprofessional looking, so i got an offical replacement gasket from subaru the other day and im planning to pull the cover off and seal it properly. theres just one thing, im just starting out with all the mechanic stuff so im willing to get my hands dirty but im not quite experienced yet. i heard that you cant pull off the cover unless you pull the hole rear axle out, which sounds ridiclious but i want to make sure its not true before i start unbolting and pieces start falling off lol.