I appreciate your input. for one thing, i live in the Chicagoarea, and costs are not as low as in other areas! labor is a minimum $70/hour. after doing some more phoning around with Volvo dealers, independent places, websites for parts,etc, i found that 500-600 for axles were the going rate, even with remanufactured. New axles would go 1000/each side. The volvo dealers questioned whether i REALLY needed them if there were no clicking sounds upon turning. one Volvo service guy said that it's RARE for Volvo axles to need replacement. apparently, only when the boots have been destroyed for some time and axles could get contaminated would you replace them. to do the boots and such, i was quoted 260-350 per side! i guess the question is: would i need to replace the axles? thanks again.