94 850 Depressed in Madison

[Wolverine Fan]

Hello everyone,

I've just received some depressing news on my 94 850 that I've invested countless hours working on and enjoying driving.

My 17 year old son has had his license for about a month now and was coming home in a rainstorm last week when a curb apparently jumped out in front of him. As a result, the steering wheel is rotated 90 degrees from the correct angle and the front passenger side rim is shredded.

I was able to find a replacement rim on Ebay for a good price and had that changed out and took the car in for an alignment. The shop took a look at it and said that they couldn't do anything for me and that the sub-frame was bent. They said they would need to refer me to a frame and axle shop for possible frame straightening.

Aside from being very sick over the incident (and furious with my son, thank god he wasn't hurt), I'm wondering just what is involved in frame straightening and if anyone here has any experience in that. Does anyone have any idea of the costs that are generally associated with frame work, or if since the sub-frame is bent whether or not it's even worth looking at? The passenger side tire is kind of pointing towards the radiator and the bottom is pushed in so that the inner half of the bottom of the tire is nearly off the ground on the inner half.

As always, any input is appreciated.

Signed,
Depressed in Madison

[Ozark Lee]

Try ErieVovo.com or a local salvage yard for a new subframe. It really isn't that big of a deal to change it out. Rent an engine hoist to suspend the engine while you swap it out from the bottom.

I'm kinda surprised that the airbags didn't deploy with that big of a hit.

...Lee

[MadeInJapan]

You would probably be better off just swapping out the subframe, especially if that's all that's bent. Can you find a wrecking yard near your house? All 850's share the same subframe so any will do. However, I would think that possibly the control arm on that side is also bad and possibly some other suspension parts, especially if your wheels are pointing way off. Also, check your steering rack for damage. It will take lifting the engine w/ transmission off of the subframe to swap it so you'll need an engine lift unless you pay someone to do this. Any insurance?

Edit...just noticed that Lee beat me to the punch.
Edit #2: Check this thread out: http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/lofivers ... 32529.html

Btw, it would be a great time to change out your subframe mounts as well as your engine mounts...if you do this, you'll probably end up with an 850 that's even better than before.