I Got in an accident a few months ago and bent the hell out of the lower cross member. Is it welded to the rest of the frame since it's a unibody? I found replacements online for a decent price, so I'm thinking it is just interchangeable. Has anyone ever replaced one? If so, how do I go about it?

 

Are you referring to the transmission cross-member or the one behind the bumper?


The transmission cross-member bolts in, the one behind the bumper is welded in.

 

I am referring to the one behind the bumper. So I would have to bring it to a body shop and have them cut out the old one and weld in the new one?

 

If you can weld or know someone who does it's a pretty easy job. A body shop definitely could do this, though they'll charge you plenty for it (especially a dealer affiliated shop, an independent shop should be more reasonable, but don't expect it to be cheap, I'd expect at least $500 labor and likely more) so it might be worth trying to find a local welder that does work on the side if you don't weld or know anyone who does, as a bonus a welder/fabricator could probably build you a cross-member out of plate and box-section/angle iron that would be much stronger than the stock stamped steel part for close to the same price.