Greetings,
I spent last summer replacing my XDP drives with OceanX drives and remember the issue I had with this. I think you are referring to the shaft that threads through the drive and attaches the trim cylinders to the drive. No. It should slide out. I was able to remove one side with some penetrating oil and banging it through with a steel punch. The other side I was not so lucky. I ended up removing the shaft from the transom side of the trim cylinder. Good luck.