Hot selling trucks and SUVs have made the full frame the reigning king of vehicle supports. Here's a look back at the issues posed by these frames along with a peek into the future.
"The frame is damaged beyond repair. You're going to need a new one." Arguably, few other phrases in the collision repair world cause as much hand wringing and anxiety on both sides of the service desk. Customers hear "frame replacement" and almost immediately envision soaring repair costs and higher insurance premiums. Suddenly relevant are old tales from friends and relatives whose otherwise repairable, frame-damaged vehicles were totaled due to prohibitive repair costs. In the customer's mind, you might just as well have said, "Say goodbye to the family vacation. It's time to break your already over-extended budget on repairs or maybe a new ride."
On the other side of the desk, repairers hear "frame replacement" and begin preparing for a potential pitched battle with an insurance adjuster who might balk at the replacement cost and instead contend the frame simply needs repaired. So begins what could be a time-consuming debate over repair practices, costs and liability. As this debate lingers, planned work on the vehicle stalls, and an already upset customer must be informed of the dispute and the possibility that work on the vehicle could be postponed for days or longer.
Ah, the many joys and easy life of the collision repairer. Fortunately, this unpleasant picture doesn't turn ugly as often as it could. Still, it does arise often enough to leave repairers wondering if framework will ever get easier or at the very least, less controversial.Good news — change is on the way. Next generation aluminum frames could remedy many of the headaches associated with steel frames. Along the way, they'll also pose some interesting and formidable challenges of their own, particularly in the areas of cost and training.
This month, ABRN gets you ready for future replacement jobs by reviewing current repair methods and issues with an overview of the fascinating new world of aluminum frame repairs.
Back to basics: Full frame
The full frame is back. Actually, it never left. Unibody engineering designs may have taken over the car market, but trucks and SUVs, still wildly popular in the North American market, sit on full frames and account for over half of all new American vehicle sales. The Inter-Industry Conference On Auto Collision Repair (I-CAR) Tech Center reports that fully one third of all repair inquiries it fields involve full frame vehicles. Ninety percent of these involve the Ford F-150 frame, with the Ford Ranger/Explorer accounting for a good part of the rest.When it comes to performing the work, swapping out an old damaged frame for a new one, the task itself isn't rocket science. Typically, a shop needs only the following prerequisites: proper equipment and space, along with a trained and experienced tech. According to some industry analysts, finding a qualified tech can pose a bit of a challenge since many newly educated techs lack training and experience due to the prevalence of unibody designs. Even so, full frame replacement still falls well within the capability and means of most shops.
The irony of a frame replacement is that the actual work is a small part of the job. The real challenge lies in making the decision to perform a full replacement. Complicating this decision are factors such as cost and locating the appropriate repair guidelines.
Frames are large, expansive and expensive to replace. This means insurers need to be convinced, and justifiably so, that full replacement is necessary in lieu of repair. Each manufacturer has its own set of recommendations regarding frame damage and repair. These recommendations vary by vehicle model. Sometimes, guidelines for a particular repair or damage type may not be available — hence the many calls to I-CAR. Or, the degree of damage — whether the damage can be defined as a bend or non-repairable kink — is debatable. Further, in many cases, an option such as partial replacement — or sectioning — is an option.Add to these factors challenges posed by new technology, such as hydroforming, a manufacturing practice used to construct frame parts. Hydroforming utilizes high-pressure liquids forced through molds to form special lightweight designs. This technology — along with other engineering developments like crush zones, welded brackets, and factory assembly — requires special three-dimensional measuring systems to accurately diagnose diamond and other severe collision damage requiring replacement or sectioning.
Ultimately complicating all these issues are questions of safety and reliability. Modern frames do far more than simply support a vehicle. They're an integral part of vehicle safety systems, feeding crash information into restraint and airbag systems and providing lifesaving crumple zones. Should an "incorrect" repair decision compromise any of these systems during a future accident, the shop is responsible. Little wonder that many shops, when in doubt over a frame repair job, feel more comfortable recommending a full replacement. Although typically more expensive than repairing, it's the most comprehensive response to a safety issue that could turn deadly.High strength controversy
Repair answers, updates and new technologies all can be handled over time. A far bigger, more complex challenge facing frame repairers occurs at the atomic level — specifically, with the mechanical and thermo-chemical properties making up High Strength Steel (HSS).
HSS properties shift when subjected to the stress of a collision. Lee Gamboa, general manager of Gamboa's Body and Frame in Sacramento, Calif., explains that grain structure damage in critical areas prevents the transfer of collision energy away from occupants. He also points to studies that show HSS losing at least 10 percent of its tensile strength after a conventional repair. Future crash performance is diminished in energy absorption and collapse mode. Even a strengthened area may fracture or fail to absorb impact in another subsequent collision.These structural changes have the potential to change the timing sequence for effective airbag deployment during a collision. A single millisecond of change during this critical timing period very well could mean the difference between a life-preserving proper deployment and a fatal, failed one.
Collision damage is just one source of eventual problems with an HSS frame. Repair stress from pulling and straightening, for example, can similarly compromise the metallurgical structure of the frame. HSS provides a variety of other challenges for repairers when compared to materials such as mild steel. For one, HSS can't withstand the same levels of heat as mild steel, making bending a problem.
Straightening is difficult as well. "[HSS] has a kind of material memory that makes it want to return to a previous form. After it's been bent in a collision it will try to return to that form after it's been straightened," says Gamboa, adding, "You need to keep your eye on it throughout the repair."
So critical are the issues surrounding HSS frames that Gamboa maintains an extensive on-site library containing HSS repair bulletins and other information. Whenever a full frame vehicle is brought in for repairs at any of Gamboa's three shops, a three-person team reviews the frame damage and discusses repair options. "The rule here is: Don't let a tech make a decision that can affect the entire company," he says.
Gamboa wishes insurance adjusters took the same dedicated approach to frame work. "Many of them are more familiar with old school steel frames and aren't always aware of these issues," he adds.
Just as worrisome to Gamboa are shops that may not be fully aware of HSS issues and who therefore may perform repairs on a frame that really should be replaced. Gamboa says the industry needs to take better heed of the advice from manufacturing engineers.
"Engineers at the manufacturers all give the same warnings. These frames are sensitive. They can't be treated the same way as old steel frames. If you even begin talking about them this way to the engineers, the people who made them, they get insulted and point out the info on them that's already available," he reports.
Aluminum answers
When Len Verheyen, owner of Len's Auto Body in Oceanside, Calif., recently spotted a display model spray booth for sale, he immediately picked it up. Verheyen is expanding his shop to 50,000 sq. ft., but he didn't eye the booth as a means to increase paint production. He instead was looking for a proper structure to open his shop up to what promises to be the next great frontier in body repair: aluminum frame work."Our goal is to work on everything," says Verheyen. For aluminum frame work, that means investing heavily to repair a limited (for now) number of vehicles — namely high-end stock like BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars. Performing this work starts with partnering with a dealer, in Verheyen's case a BMW dealer that wasn't interested in aluminum repairs.
"You have to work through a dealer for these repairs," says Verheyen, noting how manufacturers are strictly controlling aluminum frame work. From there, Verheyen sent two of his techs to BMW training to become certified in aluminum frame repairs. BMW will only sell aluminum frame parts to certified shops, according to Verheyen.
Next, he purchased the spray booth along with tools designed especially for aluminum work. Verheyen had air conditioning and heat added to the booth to allow the techs to work in comfort during the long hours they would spend isolated away from the rest of the shop. Final investment cost: more than $200,000 — $12,000 of which was for just one aluminum rivet gun.
To date, Verheyen has used his investment to repair 10 vehicles with many more expected to come. The Oceanside community is experiencing a population and development boom, attracting wealthy newcomers from Los Angeles along with their high-end rides. Because of this growth and technological changes he sees coming in the auto industry, Verheyen expects his investment to pay off soon.
Of course, such an expensive setup isn't going to fly everywhere. Verheyen runs a large operation that can absorb these costs. But his experience provides a window into the future of frame repairs.
In their continuous pursuit for lighter structures that offer greater energy efficiency, manufacturers are turning to aluminum. Aluminum parts already are lightening the load on a variety of vehicles, particularly the hoods, body panels and tailgates of trucks and SUVs. It's only a matter of time before engineers begin adding aluminum frame rails as they have done with cars like the BMW 5 series.
Aluminum frames should offer certain advantages over HSS structures. Namely, the repair process will be more tightly defined. Aluminum can't be stretched or pulled. Instead, it must be replaced. The advantage here is that aluminum is more easily sectioned than HSS. Verheyen explains a typical aluminum frame repair is performed as follows:
For a front-end collision, the frame alignment is checked from the front to the back. The technician locates the area where the damage begins. This area forward will be replaced. BMW is then given an order for a rail piece in that particular length.
Inside the spray booth, the aluminum techs make a trial run, piecing the new aluminum to the old. Next, they thoroughly clean the aluminum and use special glue and rivets to piece the aluminum together. The glue is permitted to dry overnight. With that done, the repair is complete.
During the course of this work, shops must take certain repair factors into consideration. Foremost, they need to place a premium on a contaminant-free work environment, hence the dedicated use of a spray booth or other appropriate clean, ventilated structure. Inside, much like operating room doctors, technicians dress in white uniforms and wear respirators.Metal must be avoided. Technicians must ensure tools used for the aluminum never contact metal. "Getting even a small piece of metal trapped in an aluminum repair can be a disaster. Over time it corrodes the aluminum, turning it to dust," says Verheyen, who keeps his aluminum tools locked away in special storage boxes. Only he and the two aluminum techs have access to keys. Also, technicians must take special care when cutting aluminum since the resulting dust is explosive.
There are some real challenges here, but according to Verheyen, all these factors are quite manageable. Techs can expect to spend the bulk of their time performing a fascinating, innovative repair that in time could become a normal operation in every shop.
Final word
Can the collision repair industry expect someday soon to say goodbye to full frame replacement? No. Even with these sectioning repairs, full frame replacement will still be necessary in certain cases. What should change is the absence of controversy that so often precedes an HSS replacement.
Aluminum has the potential to alter the frame debate by making the frame repair/replacement process more defined and certain. It promises to banish questions over weakened structures, molecular changes and best repair practices. The proper repair would be far more obvious.
All this translates into safer, better repaired vehicles. That's good news for shops, insurers and customers. For the HSS present, shops can expect to keep educating themselves on frames, stay current on repair literature and take every possible step to make the right repair choices.
Tim Sramcik is a freelance writer who has covered the automotive service industry for more than five years. He has received national and regional awards for feature writing from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). He also has 15 years of experience in the technical writing industry.
