Leaf Spring Hanger replacement

[randazzo]

Hello,
I'm looking for some advice on a project that I'm currently undertaking.
A little while back my 1996 Mazda B2300 pickup was involved in an accident that broke/bent the front passenger side leaf spring hanger. This caused the rear axle to be positioned at an angle instead of being perpendicular with the rest of the truck. When I drive the truck the axle pushes the back of the truck to the right, which causes the whole truck to drive kind of slanted down the road.
This past weekend I set about trying to replace the broken leaf spring hanger. I removed the bed, put the truck on jack stands, drilled out the rivets holding the hanger to the frame, and bolted on the new hanger. The problem now is that the axle is still at an angle, which causes the leaf spring on the passenger side to be further toward the rear of the truck than it should be and so I can't get the spring into the new hanger. At first I thought the axle was bent, but now I don't think that is the case.
My question is how should I go about getting the rear axle back in line? I currently don't have the leaf springs completely removed. The one on the driver side is still connected to both hangers on the frame. The passenger side leaf spring is only disconnected from the front hanger. If I remove both springs will I be able to pivot the axle so that it is once again perpendicular to the frame and how hard will it likely be to move it? Is there another part that would likely be bent like the piece that connects the rear axle to the drive shaft?
I'm not very experienced when it comes to truck repairs, so any help would be appreciated. I've searched around the forums some and got some good tips from other threads, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks

 

[doorgunner]

I'm not quite understanding what you've done--did you bolt the spring back to the new hanger and set the truck on the ground to see how the axle lines up with the truck frame? (when you remove the spring from a hanger, it arches up an inch or two making it appear it's sitting too far back). You have to "work" the spring into the new hanger with a pry-bar while slowly safely jacking the right end of the axle up with a hydraulic jack until the bolt holes line up enough to tap the bolt into place. Be sure to keep jack stands under the frame as a safety precaution. Then set the truck completely on the ground, drive it down the street & back, then eye-ball the rear axle & re-measure it to the frame to see if it's still slanted, then let us know what you've found out. (the frame could be bent on that side etc., but I'm just trying to figure out how bad the problem really is with the new hanger installed & test driven...