MIJ -

First off - don't worry. My indie asked me why I was replacing mine (boot ripped a few months ago) and said "just drive it that way". Now, you don't know my indie, but he is pretty good. He pointed out it shows warning signs, and said why worry until then. OK I don't subscribe to that, but the point is you can go thousands of miles through all kinds of weather, dirt, etc, before you will have trouble. My left was open for a year and 20k miles before it acted up.

On my '95 (same axle?) about 4 ounces came out when the left shaft was removed. Mot a horrible amount.

The splines sometimes hang up - soak with liquid wrench or something else overnight. As you can see on bay13, he recommends the "hit the old shaft with the nut loosened" trick to loosen the shaft from the hub. A large pry bar is handy to pry between the trans and the inner joint to get the shaft out of the transmission.

I haven't figured this out yet (I just bought and am going to install the right shaft), but FCP is selling NEW shafts for $120 with NO CORE. My indie shook his head and questioned the quality, because the Volvo shaft is still around $700 and he pays over $200 for whatever he puts in. I posted something here a few months back but I don't think anyone responded, about the shafts from FCP. If anyone knows anything good or bad, let us know. FCP's site says they are made to exceed Volvo's specs. Good luck. Don '95 854T 165k