Long story short, my car was involved in a side/rear end collision, where it sustained some mild/moderate structural and suspension damage. Since then, the car has been partially repaired. The frame was pulled and is now within specs. Also the left rear spindle and lower control arm were replaced. After three months of my car being at the collision center they had it aligned, and told me it was ready to go. When I arrived I found both rear wheels to be about an inch to the right of where they should be in reference to the body. I'm tired of dealing with the incompetence of this shop and would like to finish the job myself if some of my fellow experienced Audi enthusiasts think this is practical. I know most people would tell me that it's too much work to attempt on my own. Thing is I have more time than I do money, and I have a pretty good understanding of how my car works and what's needed to work on it.

I already have a rear subframe, rear stabilizer bar, right rear spindle, and a right rear lower control arm from a donor vehicle. I assume I'd need to drop the exhaust, driveshaft, and rear diff, among a few other things. Unfortunately my Bently manual only covers front subframe replacement, nothing for the rear. How different would this be from front subrame replacement? Any chance I could do this myself without any expensive shop equipment? Anything in particular I need to watch out for? Will an alignment fix anything that doesn't line up correctly at first?

 

Bump.

 

Wish I could help, sounds like you've got your hands full. I've never had the privilege of dropping the subframe on an A4 just yet, but you do get a free bump from me Subscribed for more info.

Good luck!

 

It shouldn't be too different but some things might be backwards due to it being a rear subframe. If Maine requires a special inspection for this stuff then I should let you know that collision repair specs require all body/frame bolts to be of +/- 0mm, which means they must be spot on to the factory bolt holes. PM me an I'll provide any guidance on rules and regs for replacement. I'm a PA state certified collision repair specialist and I'll be happy to help wherever I can.

 

Thanks guys. I've never heard of Maine requiring an inspection like that. Although we do have an annual safety inspection, which is just a basic overview of the entire car to make sure all the important stuff is in working order. I guess I'll just use the repair figures for the front subframe replacement on the rear subframe and I'll let you know if I run into any trouble or need some specs that the manual doesn't cover.

 

Yeah, R-title vehicles are required to get a much more thorough inspection in PA to make sure the damage was repaired properly.

 

Just a quick update. So far I've removed the entire exhaust, driveshaft, rear differential, lower control arms, brake lines, rear stabilizer bar, and track rods. My goal is to get the subframe completely out by the end of the day assuming I figure out how to disconnect the parking brake cables.

I'm starting to think that replacement of all these parts is unnecessary as everything appears to be fine with the exception of the subframe being shifted quite a bit to the right. I want to replace these parts anyway since I already have them and it's good piece of mind to know that they are no longer in question. My only concern at this point is putting everything back together within specifications. Another thing I should point out is that the eccentric bolts and washers didn't appear to be installed in the correct position by the sketchy collision shop, so I didn't bother making reference marks.

 

What you'll have to do, since the subframe is bent, is use a hydraulic ram to push it back into place. That, or buy one new. Now, I honestly don't know what stock subframe specs are for an A4. You might have to consult a Haynes manual or go to your friendly, local autobody tech for that.

Now, when using the ram be very careful. You can get a 4-ton one from an autobody supply store and it'll handle anything you need it to. If you need to bend one of the two arms in, then you'll need to brace the subframe and the ram. If you don't want to get a ram, then you can try the old heat and bend route. Just make sure you heat the metal till it's glowing.

 

The old subframe is now completely removed (still don't think it was bent though). I already have a replacement subframe I aquired from a junkyard. Had it sandblasted and painted, so it looks like new. So I guess my next step is to find these specs, and see if everything is ready to be put back together. Thanks.

 

The new subframe is on the car, just waiting on access to a big enough torque wrench. In the meantime I changed the seals on my rear differential, put the new struts in and bolted the housings back onto the car. Just for fun I decided to take some measurements between the outside edges of the wheel arches and the new rear subframe using a plumb bob, straight edge, and a level. I found the left side quarter panel to stick out 3/8" further than the right one. I'm pretty concerned about this, not only for aesthetic reasons, but it leads me to believe the unibody may not be as straight as they say it is. What do you guys think?