1968 Dart steering column length Grew

look for some ideas on what happened to my column length. I went to put the column back in today and it’s a good 2”-3” longer at the u-joint. Are these solid steel shaft or does the center slide in. If you look at the picture, you can see where the bearing sat. Can I tap this is with a mallet? The pic with out the intake is the before, the other is where I am at now. Interested in the distance from the outer tube to the end of the solid bar / shaft. Thanks Andrew

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