CaptainXS

Ok... after a small accident, i found my rear suspension crossmember is a tad bent....

the car slid sideways into a ditch, and the rear tire stopped the car... obviously the force of the impact was more severe than i imagined... the "angle iron with holes" that connects the 2 swing arms seems to have bent itself a tad.




I did a bit of homework, and found that the 08's have a new and unique rear suspension, different brakes, and a bigger sway bar than any other cobalt....

originally i was thinking i could go find a base cobalt in a junk yard and grab the rear end... but that is out the window now... and it sounds like any parts short of a direct 08 SS replacement will cost me performance, or require me to downgrade something else...

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing this? can this just be bent back in place? or is it more of a spring steel where no matter how much i twist it will pop back.

I would rather not shell out the cash to buy a brand new 08 SS rear end. but i also dont want to loose my handleing and braking.

so i would love to hear some opinions. thank you all in advance!

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

sounds like your rear end may be out of alignment too though.... Dont you have insurance?

That holed piece is pretty much the same on all models, it just covers the torsion beam. The sway bar is probably upgraded from the older model.

yeah looking at the pics your sway bar is bent too...dude take that in it looks f'd up.

steddy2112

iTrader: (1)

Maven

iTrader: (1)

The only difference between an LNF rear beam and an LSJ rear beam is the sway bar, yours is 24mm, the LSJ is 22mm, Ive got LSJ axle in stock.

CaptainXS

ok well how much is an LSJ rear beam then?

and actually.... no.. i dont have insurance. I just bought the car. Got a hell of a deal on it because of the accident. I guess the owner let insurance lapse, then drove into a ditch. so he was screwed, and had to dump the car. so i picked it up cheap and hoped to fix it up.

What all is permanently attached to this beam? and what can be removed? Can i get an LSJ bean amd just slap my rear discs and everything on, and drive away? I thought i read in one of the stickies here that the rear beam was upgraded and non interchangable from the LSJ to the LNF.

I can deal with giving up 2mm of sway bar i guess. i just dont want to have a "base" rear end... those things ride like a boat on jello.

Maven

iTrader: (1)

You cant use a base beam your discs wont bolt up. The LSJ beam is a direct bolt in. Get the LSJ beam and an OTTP bar and youll never even think about how the LSJ bar is 2mm smaller.

Find a used LSJ beam....a new one is nearly same price as LNF one

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

haha damn then dont make it sound like you f'd it up! :P

I would do what maven says, then bring it to a shop for an alignment to see if its even beyond that fix.

Mavens suggestion of going to a lsj bar then with a OTTP rear sway bar added on is a great ideal. The ottp rear sway bar is a very good upgrade on top of stock and like he said you wont look back or even think about the 2mm difference. i have the hardcore ottp rsb on my car now...its nothing less than stellar.

qwikredline

you can get one at a wreckers, but if you are stuck I got some used ones. the shipping is tough tho'

maverick0716

I'd be very surprised if that's the only thing in your suspension that's bent. Put the wheel that was hit on a wheel balancer and see how screwed up it is.