drive shaft woes

[PanhandleShantyman]

Can you slide the rear part of the axle any farther IN (forward) to that splined slip joint at the carrier bearing, or is it completely frozen?

If it's not moving at all, it seems like it's gotta just be stuck in the shortened position and I'd hit it with PB blaster, heat, hammer on it till it gives... maybe bolt the carrier bearing to the side of the house and swing on it? Was the axle lying out in the rain or something that could have got it rusted up?

If it moves but just not out far enough, jeez seems unlikely but maybe your first suspicion was correct and the carrier bearing is riding higher without bed weight on it and is therefore farther away? I guess you could get your heaviest buddy to jump on it and see if there's anything like that much play in the setup...

Do you have a picture of the situation just to make sure everybody has the right idea of what's going on?