There's no u-joint inside the torque tube. Rather, the axle extension is splined to the pinion shaft. There's no bearing at the front-end of the torque tube either! The torque tube's ONLY job is to keep the rear axle assembly aligned properly under the car, along with the two control arms, and the panhard rod.
So, inside the "center support housing", there is a rubber isolator that stops the torque tube from banging on metal when accelerating or braking,
AND,
independent of the torque tube, a rubber doughnut that supports a bearing. The bearing supports the axle extension shaft. Hence one end of the shaft is supported and centered by the bearing and doughnut, the other end is splined to the pinion shaft.
If ... all of the rubber is in good shape and the bearing is good, the torque tube doesn't bang on metal, AND the axle extension doesn't touch the torque tube, AND the axle extension is reasonably parallel with the transmission mainshaft. This alignment DOES change with ride height.
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