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I picked up a project car that is quickly turning into a bigger project than I thought it would be thanks to some shady sellers. There's some rear end damage that is causing some misalignment. The left rear lower control arm is bent (I think) and the connecting flanges on the subframe. The guy at the alignment shop said that he thought he could bring it into spec if I replace the lower control arm, but given the amount of bend on the subframe I'd ideally like to replace or repair that as well. A local junkyard has a clean rear end that I can get cheap so I'm thinking about replacing the entire assembly. I'm afraid if I don't I'll keep nickel and dime-ing parts until I end up wishing I'd just done that to begin with. So my question to the group is this... if I do a complete rear end swap is there anything scary I should be aware of? I'm comfortable working on suspensions, I'm just afraid that I'll get it done and have some electronics issue that I can't fix. The other question is do you think it's worth the extra time and money to replace the entire rear end or would you just start replacing individual components in hopes that you can get it within spec? If there's a previous thread about complete rear end swaps let me know. Thanks!
I've attached a photo of the damage. Notice the kink just above where the control arm connects to the subframe.
Note the kink in the subframe flange (red circle). The guy at the alignment shop said replacing the lower control arm should be enough to get it in spec but I'm thinking about replacing the entire rear end instead.
I'm new here so if I'm posting in the wrong place let me know.
Just the driver's side. I've pretty much decided to only do the control arm for now. I'm afraid that I'll screw up the ABS or traction control if I try to do the whole rear end.
02-21-2016, 10:13 PM
