In this case, my "while I'm there" reaction chain, which radiated out from the bent arm, fizzled at the transmission. I took the opportunity to take care of various nagging problems and doing upgrades I had been considering. The final tally:

Parts replaced with new:
subframe bushings (beer cans)
rear subframe mount (rectangle mount in front of gas tank)
dog bones
rear diff mount bushings (holds rear diff mount to subframe)
trailing arm bushings (see my post about this)
rear transmission seal
trans filter and pan gasket
exhaust hangers and gaskets

Reconditioned parts:
driveshaft from Powertrain Industries with new center bearing and CV joint
The damaged wheel was reconditioned by Wheel Techologies in Dallas.

Parts from junk yards:
right rear trailing arm
subframe

Bought new but not replaced:
front diff bushing (holds front diff mount to subframe)
I bought this bushing along with the other bushings and mounts from a Mayle supplier on eBay. Mayle doesn't make this one, so they sent me an OEM bushing (after checking with me), but it didn't look like my old one, or the one in the replacement subframe. Long story short: I didn't like it, so I ended up putting the original bushing I had taken out of the replacement frame back in.

Parts swapped from another car:
differential unit with 3.64 gears (from an 850) Moved my original LSD into this case, used new seals and gaskets.

Parts cleaned up and inspected but not replaced:
Both half shafts (no play, boots in good shape)
Both wheel bearings (absolutely no play, spins nicely)
Since I didn't have reason to suspect these needed replacement, plus if they did they're easily accessible, I left them alone.

My sway bar is fairly new (from Dinan) so I reused those mounts and bushings. Also, I didn't touch any of the rear shocks or LAD components - I already had plenty to do. Maybe this would have been a good time to replace the upper shock mounts, but they looked fine when I put in the springs a year ago.

Oh, I also bought new but didn't use:
the bolt that holds the lower shock mount to the trailing arm. I thought it must have been bent in the accident, given the angle of the trailing arm. It turns out the bolt was fine, and the bushing inside the shock mount took all the deflection. The bushing looked fine after I got the bolt out, so I left it alone.

I also installed my smiley headlights and built the cold air boxes while the car was down. Whew - and it only took 2 months of weekends and occasional evenings? On the plus side, I let the transmission drain during most of that time, so I got about 7 quarts of fluid out of it (replaced with synthetic oil) - so the fluid swap was mostly complete in one shot.

My wife thinks it nice to have me back, though :)

Erwin 89 750iL Lowered (a little)

Engine / Driveline Wolf chips 19 lb, 4-hole (Design 3) fuel injectors PowerFlow Intake Air Filters Royal Purple 20W-50 Custom Cold Air Boxes 3.64 LSD w/Royal Purple gear lube Royal Purple trans fluid Interior Phone removed, replaced with cut-to-length dash wood trim on hinge E38 Shifter Knob, Console Plate, and Boot M-Tech 2 M-technic Steering Wheel - air bag deleted E38 Self-Dimming Mirror Audio BMW Business CD Player "CD43" Head Unit Refurbished factory amp w/equalizer Bass blockers (300hz/4ohm) on stock front kick panel speakers Rear deck speakers: Alpine SPS-13C2 5.25" 2 way 175 Watt with bass blockers Subwoofers: 2 JBL GTO804 8" 4-ohm subs Subwoofer install: custom sealed enclosure mounted behind ski bag opening Subwoofer amp: Alpine MRP-M450 400w MONO CD changer relocated to driver's door bottom pocket actuated by bio- mechanical arm controlled by semi-intelligent nut behind the wheel Suspension H&R Lowering Springs (1/2 coil removed from fronts) Koni adjustable front shocks Stock rear shocks (self leveling) Racing Dynamics Stress Bar Stock front sway bar Dinan rear sway bar - 21mm M5 aluminum lower control arms Front tires: 245-40-18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 on 8.5" EuroTech rims Rear tires: 275-40-18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS1 on 9.5" EuroTech rims Exterior 25% Side tint 5% Rear tint BMW Mud flaps - rears trimmed to tire width Rear fender lips rolled Smoked side markers (after pic taken) Euro Smiley Headlights (after pic taken) Zymol wax Way too many paint chips touched up Brakes Front Rotors: 850CSi, 324 X 30 mm, cross-drilled and slotted Rear Rotors: stock size, cross-drilled and slotted Pads: Hawk Performance Ceramic (may switch to HPS) Stainless steel lines Racing Blue brake fluid

• Bent trailing arm? Check your subframe (pic) - erwin 2008-05-13 23:16:05 (172 views)
  • Re: Bent trailing arm? Check your subframe - my406cid 2008-05-15 10:49:32 (33 views)
    • Which job in particular? - erwin 2008-05-15 20:07:07 (36 views)
  • Thanks for sharing this rather difficult fix - Patrick C 88 750 160K 2008-05-14 23:53:05 (33 views)
    • Repairs can snowball if you let them - where to draw the line? (url) - erwin 2008-05-15 11:18:19 (82 views)
      • My wife would find other things for me to do so I would be away again ;-( (nt) - rv8flyboy 2008-05-15 12:06:21 (32 views)
  • Yes, another photo goof (pic) - erwin 2008-05-14 00:26:21 (105 views)
  • What's wrong with this picture? (pic) - erwin 2008-05-13 23:29:06 (106 views)
    • Great work. (nt) - alv12 2008-05-30 00:44:55 (16 views)
    • You can always cut the bolts into pieces. Dremel is you friend ;-) (nt) - Johan750 2008-05-14 11:03:34 (34 views)