Rebuilt (Salvage) Titled R1T/Subframe woes.

[Eds Rivian Adventure]

Great News on my salvaged R1T I took a chance on.... It has passed the $850 Rivian Safety test. It had a leaking battery vent but it was replaced and has passed the HV battery leak test. $1250 later Rivian will now work on my R1T at my expense of course. That is the good news the rest of the news is all bad. They found the front Gen 1 welded subframe has cracked welds and want to replace the entire front subframe and suspension to the tune of $21K.... they won't work on anything else until that is replaced..... looks like I am going to replacing the subframe myself. Anyone attempt this at home or at an independent shop?

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[Parsival]

Best of luck to you, you're a pioneer at this point. Rivian has been slow to come around with any self support with buying parts, providing manuals, or right to repair. That needs to change and FAST! Perhaps buying another R1T that's totaled to remove and replace parts from would be a lot more cost effective all while learning how it's assembled. I've worked on a lot of cars/trucks and I really under estimated what level of self support I would be able to do on my R1T. The good news is, nothing on the Riv looks that difficult to take a part, I think the bigger issue is calibrating all of the sensors once you put it back together. I know useless post here and it's no help to you but I'd like to see your progress if you make any.

 

[Eds Rivian Adventure]

Thanks, There needs to be a "Salvaged Rivian" topic on this forum right? I needed it to pass their inspection so when I do get to the point of needing calibration I can run it over to them just 45 minutes from me. The service manager is really cool and he is on board with me on the journey as far as he can go without getting in trouble with corporate. He says everyone there is rooting for me, ha ha.

 

[NY_Rob]

Rivian has been slow to come around with any self support with buying parts, providing manuals, or right to repair. That needs to change and FAST!

1000% agree and seriously this is one of my largest concerns going forward with Rivian.

Not everyone lives in an apartment complex with no tools or a place where they can effect repairs. Some of us have the tools and years of experience repairing autos, we could easily carry out most non-high voltage related repairs on our Rivian vehicles if we had easy access to diagrams, procedures and most importantly access to affordable replacement parts. Tesla finally came around and now makes self repairs/part procurement accessible to owners like the other large auto manufacturers.

If Rivian somehow thinks wall gardening their vehicles is beneficial to themselves or customers, they have a rude awakening heading their way!

 

[SACDFJC]

Check www.car-part.com and see if there are any sub frames at a local junk yard. There were a couple of totaled R1T and R1S in Rancho Cordova, CA. There are a couple of sub frames for R1S's on marketplace as well. I bet you can find one. Cool project for sure.

 

[Eds Rivian Adventure]

Great Idea thanks for the input. I found 4 or 5 on fleabay but looking around is a good idea. The quote I got from Rivian shows it for $2,000.

 

[SACDFJC]

Great Idea thanks for the input. I found 4 or 5 on fleabay but looking around is a good idea. The quote I got from Rivian shows it for $2,000.

I have to imagine labor is the big ticket item on the estimate. If I were in your shoes and I had the time I would totally DIY it. I've restored and built a few cars and this sounds like a lot of fun. Electrical aside I think it would be a lot of fun to do.

 

[mkhuffman]

Thanks, There needs to be a "Salvaged Rivian" topic on this forum right? I needed it to pass their inspection so when I do get to the point of needing calibration I can run it over to them just 45 minutes from me. The service manager is really cool and he is on board with me on the journey as far as he can go without getting in trouble with corporate. He says everyone there is rooting for me, ha ha.

There are a few threads with relatied topics you might find helpful. Here is one: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...-software-salvage-titles-where-are-you.52416/

 

[Eds Rivian Adventure]

I have been able to successfully remove the old subframe. The Rivian tech told me I would have to drop the entire front drive train with the subframe. That looked like a lot bigger job than I wanted to do so I attempted to remove the subframe from the drive train while leaving motor & dampers attached to the vehicle. It is entirely possible to do this, you just have to lower the subframe/motors low enough to remove the rear motor mount bolts. There are also a couple of 8mm bolts holding the rear HV leads down that are tough to get too but doable. You have to also unbolt the steering rack which is also bolted to the subframe. There are two hanger brackets that need to be unbolted (10mm) and are accessible after removing the frunk. Here are some pics of my R1T with the old subframe and with it removed.

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