My (son's) 1997 TJ took a collision to the right rear. Crunched the corner of the body and the bumperette, hit the tire taking it off rim, and bent the axle and axle tube slightly. I pulled the axle from the Dana 35 and will replace it with a take-off from someone's upgrade. Shock absorber was yanked off its bent bolts on top; straightened that and put it back on with new bolts. The suspension arms were both buckled and replaced with spares from Quadratec.
I clamped a 10 foot piece of SuperStrut to the brake backing plate, and used that as a long lever to straighten the plate square to the end of the axle tube.
If I hold a straightedge to the axle tube, it looks to be bent forward about 1/8 or 1/4 inch along its length still. I tried disconnecting the suspension arm, putting a long bar into the axle tube, and heaving back over and over. Doesn't seem to budge it much.
Any tips on straightening this thing while it's still on the vehicle?