[HO455]

Back on the straight and narrow again. I got the new axle back and installed, no more crabbing down the road!
I will pass on how I dealt with the U-bolts. After the U-bolts get torqued down to the recommended 250 ft-lb's they distort slightly, meaning that the two threaded sections have spread and are no longer parallel. (See photo #1. The green arrow side is in the hole and the red arrow side is about 3/8" too wide.)
I took a clamp and compressed the legs to get them to slide back into the trailing arms. See the other photos. After taking the photos I cleaned up the U-bolts and gave them some paint and brand new anti-seize before installing them.
I sacrificed a Jorgensen knock off years ago for automotive use. That style of wooden clamp doesn't damage the threads but, they are bulky.

Between the axle shop and having to reinstall the axle single handedly the nice paint on the axle took some damage. Hopefully I can touch it up while in the body shop. The owner said I could work on non-oily projects on Saturdays when his regular crew is off.
Progress! Next up is a trip to the body shop. Tentatively scheduled for 10/25!