Ford Galaxy / Ford S-MAX. Manual — part 1009

Advantages of a partial replacement

A partial replacement repair offers many advantages for a professional repair of accident
damage:

Repairs can be made both in the outer panel area (e.g. side frame) and in the inner areas
(e.g. structural member, trunk floor).
The repair can be limited to the actual damaged area.
Reduction of repair costs, as aggregates and other components can usually remain in the
vehicle.

Complete replacement

In a complete replacement, the original connections are largely reused.

A complete replacement is advantageous if the damaged body part can be detached from
its original connections and a completely new part can be fitted without creating additional
joints (e.g. liftgate).

A complete replacement is necessary if there is no sectional replacement solution.

Body Repairs - General Information -
Corrosion Prevention

S-MAX/Galaxy 2006.5 (02/2006-)

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Description and Operation

The corrosion protection provided in production must be carefully maintained and
reproduced during body repair work, in order to ensure the long-term warranty for Ford
vehicles.

NOTE: Please take the notes in the model-specific repair descriptions into account. Please
also note the manufacturer's instructions when handling the different anti-corrosion
agents.

Only Ford original bodywork components and Ford approved repair materials are to be used
for body repairs. The Ford logo is stamped onto every Ford original spare part.

Panel coatings and corrosion protection

Body steel panels are provided with a coating for corrosion protection purposes. The coating
material is predominantly zinc in a variety of composition forms. Aluminum is also used to
some extent. Basically, all types of steel sheet can be coated.

A variety of coating processes are used:

Hot dip zinc coating (no longer used in vehicle construction).
Electrolytic zinc plating.
Organic coating.
Hot dip aluminum coating.

NOTE: Welding fumes are harmful to health. Make certain that the workspace is well
ventilated and use welding fume extraction.

The following points must be noted when welding:

Zinc starts to melt at about 420°C.
The zinc vaporizes at a temperature of about 900°C.
The amount of heating determines the damage to the zinc coating, and therefore to the
corrosion protection.
Resistance spot welding is particularly suitable for welding zinc-coated panels, because
no widespread warming occurs.
With electrolytically zinc-plated panels there is no need for any special preparation
because the zinc coating does not need to be removed.

NOTE: Coated panels have a higher electrical resistance, but this can be compensated for
by increasing the welding current by 10 - 20% .

Corrosion protection measures during repair work

CAUTION: Always be extremely careful when handling solvents, sealants and

adhesives. Some products contain substances harmful to health or give off harmful or
poisonous vapors. Always follow the manufacturer's instructions. If there is any doubt as
to whether a particular solvent is suitable, it must NOT be used.

All Ford bodywork components have a cathodic primer. Moreover, most parts are zinc-
plated on one or both sides. If possible, these protective layers must not be damaged.

Before welding

Interior surfaces of new bodywork components which will no longer be accessible after
installation must be painted beforehand. The welding flanges are treated with a special
welding primer. The joint areas are not always accessible from inside later. Therefore,
prepare these areas so that no soot is produced by burning paint during welding.

NOTE: In order to ensure that the corrosion protection produced in production is not

destroyed, the working area must be kept as small as possible.
NOTE: Do not touch cleaned bare metal any more with the bare hands. The dampness of
your hands will corrode the metal.

Procedure:

Remove the primer or paint/zinc layer in the welding area using a tress wire brush to
prevent the formation of soot from the paint.
Thoroughly clean the welding area with a metal cleaning agent and rub dry.
Coat the welding flange with welding primer on all sides and allow to dry.

NOTE: The welding primer must only be applied thinly to the spot welding area, to
minimize spattering when welding.

After welding

During repair work, body panels are often heated at very high temperatures, which results
in the destruction of the corrosion protection.

Reworking of the affected areas is therefore vital:

Grind the welded seams flat and clean thoroughly with silicone remover. Dry with a lint-
free cloth.
If the join area is accessible from the inside, the transition area to the paint must be
abraded for all types of join so that good adhesion of the primer is achieved later.
If the join area is not accessible from the inside, the cleaning and sanding work is not
done. For this reason, ensure that there is as little contamination as possible in the area
of the repair. This allows the cavity wax applied later to penetrate the join area without
hindrance.

NOTE: Only apply a small amount of panel cleaner to the cleaning cloth when cleaning the
repair area. Make sure that no cleaner reaches the connecting flange, so that the welding
primer is not washed away again.

Priming after welding

Primer is applied to the welded flanges after cleaning. A check must also be made that the
production corrosion protection is present in the area of the flanges. Any damage must also
be re-primed.

Sealing work

Depending on the type of repair, the clinched flanges on the hood, doors, tailgate and trunk
lid must be sealed with clinched flange sealer.

Clinched flange protection with flat nozzle

Clean the clinched flange area of the new component with silicone remover and dry with a
lint-free cloth.

The sealant must be applied to the dry primed surface (i.e. dip priming as for delivery).

Apply clinched flange protection to the clinched flange using one of the flat nozzles

supplied. The nozzle must be cut to the necessary width beforehand and the guide stop cut
as required.

During application the clinched edge must be covered with an overlap of at least 3 mm. The
beginnings, ends and edges or interruptions in the sealer bead need to be reworked by
forming with a brush or a spatula, to ensure a 100% tight sealing of the flange.

The speed and angle of application are decisive for a good appearance and a bubble-free
bead. Always apply the sealer with as few as possible interruptions to avoid sealer rework.
Never use solvents or thinners as this will considerably slow down the hardening process of
the sealer.

For an application thickness of 3 mm of the clinched flange sealer it is recommended to
allow to dry over night at room temperature. A minimum hardening time of 5 hours is
required anyhow before a 2-component primer can be applied.

Clinched flange protection applied to the correct width and thickness.

Underbody protection/stone chip protection

The underbody protection is used as corrosion protection and must also be applied such
that it matches the original condition, from a visual perspective.

Two main application methods are used in production:

The underbody protection is applied as a sprayable sealing compound.
In the area around the structural members, the underbody protection is sprayed on and
spread across a wide area.

Because of the coarse surface structure of the stone chip protection material, it is
recommended to only perform a repair over the whole surface, if there is damage over
visible areas. Otherwise there is the danger of serious irregularities on the surface.

The thickness and appearance of the underbody protection and stone chip protection must
be matched to the original. Special spray guns are used to work the materials for this
reason. A test spray must always be performed beforehand however, to determine the
correct appearance and layer thickness.

Cavity protection

After painting work has been completed, a general check is made of the work that has been
done. Before final reassembly of the vehicle, the cavity wax protection in the area of the
repair must be renewed. Cavity wax protection must be performed carefully so that the
quality of the repair conforms with Ford standards:

Guide the cavity wax probe carefully in the area of the repair so that targeted corrosion
protection is achieved.
Pay special attention to edges and swage line on stepped joints, the wax must cover the
inner edge areas.
The cavity wax must flow along the stepped sheets so that the wax is drawn between
them by capillary action.