Radius rod is too long

[Russell Reay]

I recently replaced an axle shaft. I did not intend to totally remove the radius rod, but could not untangle the brake actuating arms w/o first removing the RR. Upon re-assembly I find the RR to be about 1/2" too long, ie the RR hole does not correctly line up with the front bolt. Since none of the components have any flex (or better not !!) my options are limited. I loosened the backing plate bolts and disconnected the spring which gained me about 1/4", but still no go. I can insert a bar between casting bosses on the bottom of the transmission and pry against the front of the RR, but there isn't enough give to achieve the objective. Any suggestions?