You nailed it.
Pinion seal replacement becomes painless as well.
I don't know about strength claims, but they make sense. Sooooo much easier to set up gears.

P.S. get a good inchpound torque wrench, if you don't already have one. And http://www.gearinstalls.com (our own ZUK) is very helpful.

-Bill
'87 4Runner w/ '96 5VZ-FE, 'Red Chili II'
'97 Taco XtraCab 3RZ-FE, 'BlackBean'
TLCA # 13257, Rising Sun 4x4 Club Land Use Coordinator
"He who stops being better stops being good." -Oliver Cromwell