Structural Sectioning Procedures: Subaru

Details Posted on 10 April 2017 | Share:

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Ask I-CAR receives many technical inquiries referring to sectioning. The collision repair industry wants to know where can you section, does the OEM have a sectioning procedure, and where can I find the sectioning procedure? Most OEMs allow sectioning to outer body panels and the front and rear rails. Sectioning reinforcements is not as common, as most reinforcements are replaced at factory seams.

Parts are made from various materials including HSS, UHSS, aluminum, and carbon fiber. These parts also have complex designs to collapse or transfer collision forces in a specific manner. Introducing a sectioning joint to many of these parts will alter how the part reacts to those collision forces. For this reason, sectioning a part is only allowed if supported by vehicle maker repair information. Let’s see what Subaru says about structural sectioning.

Vehicle-specific Subaru body repair manuals offer structural sectioning procedures. It is important to read through the Foreword – Use of This Manual area as it will provide what each of the various symbols mean on the actual procedure.

The Notes area of the Foreword has information on the precautions to be taken when spot welding 980 and 1500 MPa high-strength tensile steel. A key caution stated in the 2016 Subaru Forester body repair manual is “Shape correction by heating and splice welding shall not be performed for components using 980 MPa class and 1500 MPa class high-strength tensile steel because this may decrease the strength of the material.”

Subaru also offers recommended settings for spot welders and hole size when plug welding.

Subaru vehicle-specific body repair manuals can be found at www.techinfo.subaru.com.

For additional Subaru information, check out the Subaru OEM Information page.

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

• Step-By-Step: Accessing Subaru Repair Information

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