I finally managed to remove the mis-installed u-joint in my short-shaft and flip it over an reinstall. The zerk is now on the compression side of the forward spin and points back towards the rear of the car.

This is the first time (out of three attempts) that I'm managed to remove a u-joint without causing terminal damage or utterly destroying it (horray for me). Maybe it's because it's a quality german joint and not a cheapo knock-off.

Anyway, as with the first and second installations, after the circlips are in the u-joint itself feels very tight on each axis. This time I was very careful to avoid over-pressing the caps in. They are in just to the point to get the circlip to snap in, yet there's still not a whole lot of play in the joint. Is this normal?

I fear that with pressing out the caps three times on my bench vise, I might have bent the yokes ever so slightly. Seem unlikley, but I really can't say for sure. I'm hoping that the centrifugal force of the driveshaft will help loosen these things up. Similarly, I'm hoping that a blast of lube from a grease gun will help.