I own a 1998 V70 XC Auto with the 2.4 ltr. 5cyl. engine. So far, the AWD system works and has not caused any problems. However, it came to my attention recently that the rubber boot on the front end of the rear driveshaft, at its connection with the right-angled drive unit, is missing. It is likely that this is a result of the proximity between the boot and the catalytic converter, which probably burned it. The point at which the shaft enters the drive unit is dry, implying that the boot has been missing for a while. I have been told there is no fix for this, that it is not worth putting a new boot on the shaft, that there is no split boot that can be wrapped around the shaft, and that the best thing is simply to remove the driveshaft and turn the car into a 2WD/FWD.

This car's AWD works well and does not make any noises or vibrations etc, so is there no way the joint between the shaft and drive can be cleaned and fitted with a boot of some sort that can then be filled with grease? While discarding the driveshaft because of this issue seems drastic to me, it also removes the AWD capacity of the car which is one of the main reasons I own it. If anyone has any solutions to this problem, I'd be grateful to hear them. Thanks.