im pretty positive it is bent but like i said it is really slight. ive already had the longs in and have been wheelin it for about 5 months and when i recently pulled them to fix my third the shorts side looked fine the bell was not scraped up anywhere so it loooks like clearance is fine, its just a bear to put the shaft in buti shouldnt have to ever remove them and if i do i kept that tool i made to get the short side in