Please be patient with me, I am one of those guys that is going to need a serious amount of de-programming. I only seem to learn from making mistakes and too often succeed by defying BTDT. I am sure I will take your advice and replace both sides, because I trust your judgement. If I replace both sides, I will have succeeded in getting my batwing to unfold but really won't have learned anything. But I have this one nagging aspect of the way this thing binds that makes me pause and ask the question: "Is it torqued on only one side?" It slides gracefully up and down, up until the point that is nearly 90 deg up. I'm pretty bad at angles, but I would say at about 80-85 deg up I hear a metal-on-metal creak. I originally thought the metal-on-metal was in the hinge, but after hearing your wisdom and experience, and getting some schooling on slip-clutches, I would certainly agree that it is the drive shaft. The fact that it binds at full retract tells me that the twist is near one of the gearboxes. Granted, it may be my inexperience telling me that.
Do I risk any harm, other than lost time, if I take a swag at which side needs replacing, order that part, try it, and hope for the best? Between my neighbors and myself, I probably have a piece of un-tethered cardon shaft lying around that I could use to test for trueness if my eyeballs don't do the trick.
Please don't take offense to these words, because if we were conversing verbally, you would know that I am responding to you in utmost humility.
Regardless of whether I buy one side or both, I am going to need help figuring out the correct part number to order. I've visited the Bush Hog site, and there is way too much mulitiple choice for me to figure out the correct shaft.
Thanks again,
Chris