Twisted tubes

In the process of continuing the rebuild on my CJ. I took it to the local garage to check the alignment and was 2 1/2 positive caster on the right and 9 degrees positive caster on the left. Im also positively cambered 1 1/2 degrees on the left. I hit something wheeling and appear to have twisted it. It pulls to the left really harsh and has had lousy bump steer since then.

The axle is a chevy dana 44 housing/tubes cut down to fit a stock scout 44 inner. I think I need to have the left ball joint/knuckle cut off/rotated and re-welded. The axle was built by the guy who had the jeep before me. Prior to the bending, the jeep would steer beautifully.

Your thoughts?

It's all up to you. I might take it as an opportunity to upgrade, but there's no other info to go on (e.g. tire size, future plans, etc).

If you want to keep the axle, have a reputable shop fix it. It may need to be straightened, the plug welds may be problematic, the tube(s) may have changed their depth in the diff housing, and they should be able to address all this stuff. They could even press in new tubes altogether if you wanted.

Ive had this same set up for over 20 years. Its a 79 cj7 glass body. Dana 44 front and back, 4.88's, powr lock front, Detroit Locker in the back. The axles are flipped at both ends, Wagoneer springs and revesed shackles in the front. Motor is an amc 401/turbo 400/dana20. Tires are 40" monster mudders on 15x15 rims. Despite the large tire size I rarely brake axle shafts. If id does break, its usually the short side while turning hard under power.

The argument could be made to upgrade to narrowed dana 60's, but then a wholesale bunch of expensive changes follow.

This project sat for over 5 years and now its back to work. But the bent axle is one of those projects that needs to be farmed out to someone that knows what they are doing.

If you don't mind sitting on it for a while, yourself a cherokee that has the heavy duty towing package and yank the 44's out of it. They should be a very close match to the width you need. Plus once you find them you beef them up before you swap them out.

I would find another chevy 44 and gusset and truss it & cut it down. Then transfer your internals over. This is the least expensive way. Labor to cut, retube, and reweld has gotta be more than a junkyard Chevy D44. Or go the 1 ton route. Those are some massive meats for D44's.