Acura RL (1996-2004 year). Manual — part 4

Checkpoints

• Accurate Inspection of Damaged Parts (Visual)

Seat Belts

Replace the seat belts if:

1. The airbags have been deployed.

2. The belt material is cut, punctured, burned or in any way damaged.

3. The buckle or retractor does not work properly.

4. They were being worn at the time of a collision (check for damage at the seat belt anchor points.)

5. Their condition is questionable.

Front Section:

1. Is there any bending, splitting, denting or other damage to the suspension and its related parts?

2. Is there any deformation of the front bulkhead or radiator core? Have any of the connected sections come apart?

3. Are there any creases or distortion in the front wheelhouse or side frame? Have any of the connected sections come apart?

4. Is there any bending or twisting of the whole front area?

5. Is there any deformation like creases, bulges, or dents in the front pillar, dashboard, floor, etc.?

6. Is there any vertical twisting or misaligned clearance in the door?

7. Is the windshield seal broken?

8. Is there any deformation in the vicinity of the top part of the roof panel's center pillar?

9. Is there any damage inside the automobile (is there any twisting of the dashboard, or anything irregular with the clearances

or sheet-mounting parts)?

10. Is there any damage to the steering wheel? Is there any deformation in the column and the column-mounted parts?

11. Is there any oil or water leakage and damage to the engine, transmission or brakes?

12. Is there any irregular noise in the gear changing operation, engine and transmission rotation?

13. Are there any traces of contact between the engine block and the dashboard lower panel?

14. Is there any damage to brake or fuel lines, or wire harnesses?

Rear Section:

1. Is there any twisting, bulging or denting of the rear floor and rear bolsters? Have any of the connected sections come apart?

2. Is there any irregular bulging or denting in the rear fender?

3. Is there any distortion in the rear inner panel? Is there any bending and denting in the vicinity of the rear pillar?

4. Is there any distortion or creasing is the rear wheelhouse and arch sections? Have any of the connected sections come apart?

5. Is there anything irregular in the rear glass seal clearance?

6. Is there any twisting or misalignment of the clearance of the trunk lid opening section?

7. Is there any bending, splitting, denting or other damage to the suspension and its related parts?

8. Is there any deformation of the rear floor, rear floor cross member and damper base? Have any of the connected sections

come apart?

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Preparation of Work

Correction of the Damaged Area

Set the frame corrector on the car body.

The side sill is flangeless to allow reshaping by pulling it out.

Use the horizontal pinch welds for anchoring the car.

Underbody Clamp:

AMERICA KOWA SEIKI, INC.

20013 South Rancho Way Rancho Dominguez,

California 90220

TEL 310-638-1000 FAX 310-638-3005

Underbody Clamp Specifications:

UNDERBODY CLAMPS

UNDERBODY CLAMP (Special tool)

Clamp Number

AT-63

Clamp body
Side clamp
Under clamp

(Without side clamp thin
and attachment)

ATTACHMENT

NOTE:Use a side clamp thin plate,

clamp the side flange of the sides
sill when the door is closed.

ATTACHMENT

Number

Frame Correctors

Standard type:

AT-63-AL

• Dataliner

• Celette

• Car-o-liner • Flex-o-liner

• etc.

C-type:

AT-63-C

Inner diameter
65 mm (2.6 in)

• Korek

• Auto pole

• etc.

U - type:

AT-63-U

Inner diameter
20 mm (0.8 in)

• U-Base

• Pro-Tec

• etc.

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1. Apply load to the damaged section and pull it out until

the section is almost restored to the original shape.

2. Check that the parts of the body they cover have been

more or less restored to their original shapes.

NOTE: Check the original position using the body

dimensional drawings (see

section 6

) and the position-

ing jigs (see page

1-7

).

3. Remove the parts that require replacement.

4. Decide whether to replace all the affected parts or

whether to cut the weld joint parts and replace them.

5. Cut off and separate the damaged parts.

NOTE: When cutting the parts off, take special care

that you do not damage adjacent parts on the automo-

bile.

Setting Condition of Replacement Parts Joint Sec-

tions:

• Make sure that you can perform straightening work

after welding.

• Make sure that the locations are not susceptible to

distortion caused by other parts.

• Make sure that there are few removable parts and

that the location allows safe welding.

• Make sure that the joints are short, and that paint

repair can be performed easily.

• Make sure the locations are such that the joints can

be finished in a way that does not affect the outward

appearance.

• Make sure that the locations do not hinder the

removing and attaching of parts.

NOTE: Bear in mind all of these conditions, and after

determining the joint locations, cut the joints for an

overlap of 20~30 mm (0.8~1.2 in).

6. Mold the related parts.

7. Set and tack weld the replacement parts.

NOTE: Temporarily mount the related parts and check

the clearance and level differences.

8. Weld the replacement parts.

Welding methods (see

section 2

).

NOTE: Use of the positioning jig is recommended.

CAUTION: Protect body parts with the heat-resistant
protective cover to prevent damage, when welding.

The paint film, which is designed to prevent corrosion

caused by moisture, is destroyed around the edges of the

locations which have been repaired by welding.

Therefore, in such places and especially in those areas

which are not visible, apply another coat of the paint,

referring to the anti-corrosion painting manual. This

operation is designed to maintain durability and quality

(see

section 7

).

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Preparation of Work

Measurement (Excluding small damage)

POINTER A

If there is any twisting to the body, measure using a frame centering gauge.

Pointer B - short pointer (height adjustment 15 - 290 mm (0.6 - 11.4 in))

- long pointer (height adjustment 185 - 450 mm (7.3 - 17.7 in))

SET RING

HEIGHT

SET SCREW

When measuring body dimensions, use a universal tram gauge.

Whenever possible, make judgements and conclusions based on measurement. Measure the wheel alignment (see page

1-2

) so as to

prevent any future trouble like unsymmetrical wear of the tires or catching of the steering wheel.

If there are any deviations, use a tram tracking gauge and measure parts of the body.

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