Dana 44 rear axle bent?

[Jeeppie]

I just got a D44 axle that I want to rebuild. It came from a '87 XJ. Something looked funny to me, so I got the straight edge out. Come to find out that the axle is straight, in the up and down fashion, but when I put it on top I can see that the axle housing tube is swept forward by at least a 1/2 inch.
If I line up my straight edge with the tube on 1 side, I end up with a 1" gap between axle and straight edge close to the drum brake.
Is this supposed to be, and if not, can it be straightened?

Martin.

[RyleyF]

Mount it on a circle track race car, should help you out in the steering department :D

[Bones]

With the axles pulled out of the tubes you should get a straight shot looking through the housing. If it looks tweaked it probably is. I bent mine about 1/8" a few years ago and trashed a set of GY MTR's quickly. I'm lucky my No-slip held up. I was able to have the housing straightened at a shop. I have had no trouble with the housing since. It would be worth it to have a shop look at it, but with a severe bend I would re-tube or source another housing. At a minimum I would want the tube re-welded when it’s straightened.

As a side note, if you have it straightened clean the housing up inside and re-seal the tubes where they are pressed in the housing from within the housing.

Bones :skull1:


I just got a D44 axle that I want to rebuild. It came from a '87 XJ. Something looked funny to me, so I got the straight edge out. Come to find out that the axle is straight, in the up and down fashion, but when I put it on top I can see that the axle housing tube is swept forward by at least a 1/2 inch.
If I line up my straight edge with the tube on 1 side, I end up with a 1" gap between axle and straight edge close to the drum brake.
Is this supposed to be, and if not, can it be straightened?

Martin.