On both the Gen 2's I had I disabled it before it ever leaked, to avoid any problems in the future. Reconnected and disconnected several times and I didn't notice a difference.

FWIW, there was a guy on the old VMag board named Tim C who tried to fix the shaft by re-bushing it himself. It fell apart and he destroyed his engine.

99 Gen 2.5, fixing blown head gasket
89 SWB- 33's, ARB Front locker, SR rear locker/axle, SR F brakes, winch, WST Offroad Armor all Around, 2.85 Aussie T-case Gears (SOLD)
Sold: (2) 95 SR's, 86 SWB, 90LWB, 91 LWB
-Can Change a timing belt in my sleep..