Joining Techniques

Material : ValuGard™ Premium Undercoating / VG101, VG101A Material : ValuGard™ Rust Inhibitor / VG104, VG104A

Repair

1. WARNING: Before beginning any service procedure in this section, REFER to Safety Warnings

in section 100-00 General Information. Failure to follow this instruction may result in serious personal injury.

Refer to: Body Repair Health and Safety and General Precautions (100-00 General Information, Description and Operation).

2. Verify the vehicle is dimensionally correct on a frame machine. Straighten if necessary.

3. Remove damaged panels. Remove only large portions of the damaged panel. Avoid cutting into mating flanges or adjacent parts. Use the General Equipment: Air Body Saw Use the General Equipment: Plasma Cutter

4. Drill out the spot welds and remove the remaining portions of the panel to be replaced. Use the General Equipment: Spot Weld Drill Bit

5. After removing the damaged sheet metal panel(s), repair any damaged flanges on the vehicle using a hammer and dolly.

6. Using an appropriate grinder, carefully grind around the entire receiving flange area following the original welds. Be sure to remove all E-coat, paint or galvanized coating from the mating surfaces of the joint. Use the General Equipment: Grinder

7. Be sure to remove galvanizing on metal. Metal should have a shiny appearance. Be careful not to damage the corners or thin the metal. The E-coat should also be removed on the opposite side of the flange only where the spot welds are to be placed. Clean the surface.

8. Repeat the procedure on the mating surface of the replacement service part(s). Use the General Equipment: Grinder

9. Prepare the new service panel for plug welds.

10. Using the original panel as a reference, drill or punch holes in the exact number as the original spot welds. The holes should be positioned as close as possible to the original spot weld locations, without lining up exactly on top of an original spot weld site. To make sure of correct weld performance, grind the immediate perimeter of the plug weld hole. Grind only in the area of the plug weld; this will keep the potential of corrosion to a minimum. Use the General Equipment: 8 mm Drill Bit

11. Clean all mating surfaces on both the vehicle and replacement panel. Material : Motorcraft® Metal Surface Prep / ZC-31-A

12. Dry-fit and clamp the replacement service parts to verify a correct fit and alignment.

13. Remove the service part after verifying correct fit and alignment.

14. The vehicle prepared flange areas where plug welds will be located must be kept free of adhesive. Apply 25 mm (0.9843 in) tape to the plug weld areas to prevent contamination from the adhesive.

15. Prepare the adhesive. Dispense a small amount of adhesive from the cartridge to make sure of an even flow of both components. Attach the mixing tip and dispense a mixing tip length of adhesive to make sure of correct mix ratio. Material : Metal Bonding Adhesive / TA-1, 3M™ 08115, Fusor® 108B

16. NOTE: Refer to the product label for cure times and handling instructions.

Apply a 6 mm (0.2362 in)-9 mm (0.3543 in) wide bead of adhesive to the vehicle prepared flange surface. Remove the tape from the plug weld areas.