Vauxhall Workshop Service and Repair Manuals

MAINTENANCE, BODY AND CHASSIS SHEET METAL PARTS, FRAME  

General Instructions  

Before beginning work on body sheet metal parts, remove body attaching parts, assemblies or fittings which interfere with the work. Disconnect battery ground strap. After carrying out repair work on the body, ensure that the ground connections are correct. Poor ground connections lead to faults in the system and, in extreme cases, to destruction of control units. The appropriate guidelines and regulations related to fire and accident prevention are to be followed in connection with welding or grinding work on the body. The same attention is to be devoted to following the environmental protection and health regulations.  

  Important!   

As the legal regulations are different in individual countries, it is not possible to go into detail in servicing documentation. Therefore, it is your own responsibility to obtain and observe the relevant regulations. The sectional repair work described in the individual operations are the result of extensive research. The welding work shown in the operations is identified by welding symbols. In principle, there is no difference between the welding of untreated body deep drawn sheet steel and alloy-galvanised sheets. Alloy-galvanised sheets should preferably be spot welded. All paint layers should be completely removed from spot weld flanges.  

Corrosion protection material from the programme of the "Service" department may be found in the current "CORROSION PROTECTION Brochure" issued by the department "GMIO Aftersales".  

During all separating, grinding and welding work, suitable measures should be taken to extract the vapours and to protect against flying sparks.  

Operations on these assemblies are primarily described and shown for vehicles with left-hand drive. The operations for vehicles with right-hand drive are generally the same, but as a mirror image. The functions of the different systems are the same for left and right-hand drive vehicles. Any basic differences are described in detail.  

The cut-points and cutting lines shown are derived from crash tests and crash research. Body sheet metal parts and underbodies) are mass produced from cold worked deep drawn steel metal. Restoration in the event of accident damage should be performed in a cold condition. All operations are mainly shown in picture form. Explanatory text is only inserted at places in which this is important for the purposes of special, skilled and structural repair work. The diagrams with inserted information regarding the course of the work are in the same sequence as the course of the operations. No special reference will be made to recurrent standard tasks such as separating work or the grinding down of mating surfaces, as tasks of this kind are sufficiently well known in service workshops. If the degree of damage is so great that restoration is no longer possible, the mating surface should first be straightened. The damaged body part should then be replaced. In areas in which both the separation and the connection influence the strength and traffic safety of the body, the repair methods specified in this group should be observed.  

When delivered to the paint shop, the surface of the body parts must be satisfactorily prepared for painting. The surface is paintable when damaged sheet metal parts have been repaired (dents removed, seams welded and soldered, overlapping seams in cases of partial replacement) in such a way that the paint shop does not need to apply more than 3 thin filler coats. These operations belong to the sheet metal worker's working area and should be included in his specified repair time.  

After accidents indicating considerable stress on the chassis, the following components in particular should be checked, independently of checking axle alignment, which should be carried out in all cases: Check steering and steering linkage for correct operation through the complete turning circle, check visually for deformation and cracks. Check all components of the chassis for deformation and cracks, including spring strut, steering knuckle, control arm, axle body and stabiliser and their fastening parts. Test wheel rims and tyres for damage, examine tyres for cuts in the tread and the side walls and check for true running and balance.