Diagnóstico e avaliação de danos

501-25-16 Body Repairs - General Information 501-25-16 DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION Diagnosis and Damage Evaluation Assessment of the extent of the damage includes visual inspection and dimensional inspection of the vehicle. In order to correctly determine the extent of the damage caused by an accident, in-depth technical knowledge, practical experience with the technical equipment and the testing and measuring devices is required. Noticeable damage to the bodywork structure Positive accidental damage assessment can only be achieved if the service technician is able to reconstruct the effect of an impact on the body structure. For example: If the impact occurs on the front left-hand side member, the right-hand side member will usually also have been damaged. Often the length of this side member will not have changed, but because of the rigid body design, it may have become deformed. This damage can be detected through the size of the gap between the door and fender or by measuring the vehicle. In the case of more severe impacts, in which the front part of the vehicle cannot absorb all of the impact energy, the passenger cell is also used to absorb the energy. Here, the energy is transferred via the A pillar and distributed there. This results in deformations in the roof and the door sill. NOTE: Because of existing damage to the bodywork structure, damage diagnosis on a vehicle lift may give extra incorrect diagnosis results. NOTE: Training courses are offered on this subject. For an overview, please refer to the Ford Service Organisation's training course brochure. If for instance the Ford Focus Coupé/Cabriolet is raised on a vehicle lift, the dead weight of the vehicle will cause the front end to drop by approx. 2 to 3 mm. The altered door position is clearly recognizable by stiffness of the lock; the door moves upwards. This causes the lock pin to contact the guide element of the door lock. It is possible to draw conclusions about the extent of the damage through a visual inspection of the external damage. In general, the following areas are to be checked during the visual inspection: ‡ Outer panel including seam seals for cracks or flakes in the paint caused by the accident. ‡ Size of the gap on doors and hoods for evenness. ‡ Freedom of movement of door and hood/tailgate locks. ‡ The vehicle roof for folds (gap measurement on vehicles with sunroof) ‡ Dotted flange in door section for deformation and cracked weld spots. ‡ The side members and crash components for crumpling and folding. ‡ Trunk floor and floor pan from above and below for crumpling. No noticeable damage to the bodywork structure In addition to external indicators such as flaking paintwork or cracks in the underbody protection, it is vital to check for damage to the body structure that is not visible from the outside (hidden body damage) during a damage assessment. Unless ancillary components are removed, it is often impossible to achieve accurate diagnosis of the underlying body parts. NOTE: In order to determine the damage as accurately as possible, it may be necessary to remove ancillary components in the area of the damage. Particular attention must be paid to the following components: ‡ The A, B and C pillars in the roof area. ‡ Floor pan. ‡ Rear ancillary components, such as bumper, lights, etc. ‡ Trunk floor, spare wheel cavity. ‡ Rear coverings, such as interior trim, carpet, etc. ‡ Lower rubber seals, e.g. in door area (welded flange). ‡ Area under the rear seat. ‡ Attachment points of transmission system, steering, engine, drive shafts, front and rear axles. ‡ Electrical components, e.g. the radio (damage through shaking or through voltage peaks).