General Motors: Spot-Weld Replacement

Posted on 16 April 2019 Print

There is sometimes confusion on how many spot welds to use when replacing body components. Sometimes you replace what you removed, sometimes you use more or less than what was removed. It all depends on the particular vehicle you are repairing and what the manufacturer requires to be done. Luckily General Motors (GM) has a good way of identifying how many welds to use to install the new part.

When looking at recent repair procedures for GM, you can actually follow the illustrations in the repair procedure. If the procedure shows installing 10 welds on a panel, then 10 welds is what should be used to replace the part. The location of the spot welds in the manual is also accurate. You can follow the manual weld for weld, which may help simplify the repair. Also, it should be known the squeeze-type resistance spot welding (STRSW) is not only the preferred method for welding, but it is mandatory where directed in the repair procedure. Keep in mind, if you are in a repair procedure that does not call out individual welds, then the number of spot welds must be duplicated from the original part.

Additional I-CAR Collision Repair News you may find helpful:

Related I-CAR Courses

Course General Motors (GM) Company Collision Repair Overview

Course Introduction to Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding

Course Squeeze-Type Resistance Spot Welding Hands-On Skills Development

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