rio_red

One more thing, should I replace the wheel bearing as well? I believe the previous owner put new Timken bearings in all around shortly before I bought it, and it doesn't seem to be making any noise or grind. And yet another thing, if I plug the brake line like in the tutorial BratRod linked, will I have to bleed the brakes? Again, I'm no mechanic - apologies for the silly questions Thanks again

Thanks a lot everyone, one more thing... When it's all said and done, can I set the alignment by myself? I took it to an alignment shop after it happened, hoping something just got knocked out of place - they told me they weren't even going to try and adjust the rear because it is a weird configuration or something along those lines http://www.superpro.com.au/find/superpro-suspension-parts-and-poly-bushings-for-subaru-leone-gen-ii-sedan-wagon-1979-1994-/cid-999500431

Hi all, I'm brand new to the forum - thanks in advance for any help, and apologies in advance for any forum faux pas my unaware self may make. I acquired a 1991 Loyale a few months ago after owning several SF5 Foresters, I'm loving it but I've ran into some trouble. We had a heck of an "ice storm" here in Northern Colorado a few weeks ago, which led to me sliding into a curb with my rear passenger's wheel at 5-10mph at most. It was essentially raining, but the drops would freeze on contact with anything they touched, literally every exposed surface - including the road- was a sheet of ice. Excuses aside, I can't say I blame myself too much at this point, I was lucky to get home alive that night (6 people in the Denver area weren't). To the point... I believe I've bent my rear lower control arm (trailing arm?) and I think I need to replace it. The affected rear wheel is toeing out fairly significantly, I have to keep the steering wheel turned about 25 degrees off center to go in a straight line. Visually, nothing appears really mangled and I think I've narrowed it down to the "inner" control arm being bent. I tried an alignment procedure I found on AllData (with sh***y hand tools in the cold), which did very little if anything at all. I've read mixed reports whether the rear suspension really adjusts for alignment in these cars so I'm not sure if it was a fault on my end. Anyways, my main concern is the difficulty of swapping out the LCA, I was hoping to hear from someone that's done it. I'm employed and a full time college student - I'm very much reliant on having a car, and naturally I'm broke as well. So I'm hoping to accomplish this in a weekend. I have very limited experience with suspension work, I'm not sure what special tools I'd need to do this and what parts will need to be replaced along with the LCA. I'll be getting the LCA from a local yard, they take off the parts for you by appointment so I'm probably gonna ask to watch them take it off just so I can get some preliminary experience. $100 is what I'll be charged. The replacement is coming off a pretty rusty junker, but my vehicle along with the rest of the suspension is in very good shape. Looking at my 1985 factory manuals, there seems to be a fairly large array of bushings and other various bits. Can I take bushings out of my old arm and put them in the "new" one? Where would I order replacements if not, from Subaru? Is there a complete kit out there? What tools are needed for the replacement? Any particularly difficult aspects of the job that would prevent a reasonably mechanically inclined youth to do the job himself with basic tools? Can I swap the entire drum brake carrier (sorry not sure what the part is called) onto the new arm with ease, or should I look for an assembly in good condition? Everything but the metal arm seems to be toast on the junkyard Loyale, so it would be nice to just swap it over. There's probably lots more I'm forgetting, but any helpful info (or best case a rough "procedure" to follow) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot