Bent Front Axle

I have a front d44 our of a 78 for f-250, it is full width and is bent. i'm not sure how bad i was told by a shop that it was when i wanted to have them replace the axle seals. My question's are this

I'm running 36" swampers, do you think that a front 44 is strong enough that i wouldnt have to worry about u-joints or shafts?

Can axles be straigtened and if so how would you go about doing that and is it worth doing on a 44?

Would it be worth the peice of mind to ditch the 44 and go fo a 60?

Thanks for all of the help

Jerms

My d30 has bent tubes, took it to an axle shop, and they told me it was toast, and that I needed to get a new one, so I did. It's gunna be tougher to get on for your jeep, but when you do get another one, truss it. You'll save money in the long run

I have a V-8 CJ with a Dana 44 front. It handles 36" Swampers with no worries. I have been running that set up for almost 9 years now. I have never broken an axle, and only 2 or three times have I ever busted an axle joint cap (but not the whole joint).

Where is it bent, and how badly?

If it's a slight bend, it may be possible to drill out the plug welds holding the bent tube into the center section, realign the tube, then reweld. If the bend is severe, or not right at the point where it enters the center section, you would have to retube the bent side with a new length of straight tube.

It is bent a bout 1/4" on the left side which is the short tube. just enough to chew the seals up. i have heard of a method of using a bottle jack and some chain to straighten it, does any body else know anything about that or if it is even possible to do it that way?

Thanks for the input

Jerms

The only thing I would suggest is find an differential shop that can straighten a housing, or have that bent side retubed... The bottle jack and chain method most likely wont work. The ford housing with 1/2" tube youll need a big press to get it straight again.

Take it to a driveline shop and have it straightened. We picked up a 9 inch for my dad's hot rod and it was bent a bit so he had it straightened. I didn't cost much at all. I realize a 9 inch and a dana 44 are totally different, but I saw the guys at the shop that did ours setting up to straighten a Dana 60 after ours was done. Soi go talk to a specialty shop they can do it or point you in the right direction.