Dodge W100 Dana 44 front axle help

I am working on my friends W100 for him while he is deployed in the military.  I noticed he had fluid leaking out the driver's side axle shaft tube up by the knuckle.  I suspected the inner axle shaft seal had gone bad so I read a few articles about the axles online and discovered that apparently the Dana 44's had a problem with weak construction.  It said that the offset differential on the passenger's side combined with the weight of the truck would cause the axle shaft tube to bend on the driver's side smashing the seal and ultimately causing seal failure.  I'm not about to take the axle out and tear into.  I wondered if anyone has ever experienced this or knows anything about it?  Is there a way to measure the deflection?  If the tube is bent, what would be the best coarse of action?  Take the axle out, disassemble and straighten, and then refab the axle with trusses?  Axle housing replacement?  I'm fairly certain he doesn't want to spend all that much money on it.  I told him I would ask around and try to get an answer for him, so any help would be appreciated.