oil pan removal without removing the engine?

Short story, my Chevy Blazer ( w 4wd) 4.3 engine has what sounds to be a bearing knock. bummer. but, its somewhat cold out and don t feel that I want to swap the engine out just yet. ( maybe spring) The books says you need to remove the engine to pull the pan, but it almost looks like you can lift the engine enough to get the pan out so i can have a look at the bearings and maybe replace the oil pump while im at it. about 220k miles on the engine, it seems to be ok except for the occansional knock at about 2600rpm. just curious to see if anyone has ever tried this path.

53bruce I've always heard you have to pull the engine to get pan of but knowing me I would have to try the easy way first. How is your oil pressure? Sometimes vehicles can last a very long time with an engine knock. Good luck.

What year Blazer? Based on my experience with the 95+ 4WD either the engine needs to be removed or the front diff needs to be lowered.