8 3/4 U-bolt question

Someone either over tightened them or they came out of the Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee bridge jump car
I bought the housing from photos, I did not know it was even possible.

But even in the FSM it cautions about over tightening. The tubes are rolled steel to form a tube, then further pressed / stamped / forged to form all the shapes needed.

Unlike a Dana 60 or the 7 1/4 with relatively thick wall tubing pressed / tach welded into a cast center.