Just one example is that Mercedes-Benz recommends that structural repairs be performed on a Celette or Car Bench. The Mercedes approval is for the dedicated — not universal — fixtures only and they are not rentable — they have to be purchased. Note that Car-O-Liner has a Global Mercedes-Benz certification. Car-O-Liner also has USA approvals from Audi, VW, Porsche, Tesla, Ford and an exclusive approval from Honda... The Car-O-Liner universal fixture kit called EVO is Universal which means it works on all makes and models.
I received an e-mail from a shop owner praising the article, but he had one problem. He stated that his frame straightening equipment did not have fixtures like the Car Bench and Celette. For him, it was not economically feasible, nor did it make sense to make a capital investment in a piece of equipment for such specialized work.
I wrote him back, explaining that he could use a Celette Bench for other vehicles (Honda, Volvo and Ford, for example) as well. He then wrote me back stating that he could not afford purchasing or renting the jigs. Moreover, two insurance carriers in his market refuse to pay for jig rentals. I responded that with Car Bench, he could make the jigs that are needed. Another frame manufacturer, Globaljig, uses multiple components to build the jigs to fit the vehicle that is being repaired.
Around this same time, I received a call from Robert Hornedo, the owner of Pacific Collision Equipment Co. in Signal Hill, Calif. Pacific Collision is a distributor for Car-O-Liner. Hornedo says Car-O-Liner has its own solution called the EVO system. He asked me if I could come to his training center and check it out. I agreed.
A few days later I arrived and Hornedo began his sales pitch on the system. Hornedo is a great person, and I am honored to call him a friend, but being a salesman, I realized he might be a little biased. Therefore, I knew I had to be a bit skeptical.
Hornedo proceeded to show me EVO, and he pushed the fact that there were no jig rentals and that the system is easy to learn and provides a before and after print out on the vehicle. Being the cynical person that I am, I said, "OK, Robert, here is what I want. I will take off the frame rail on a vehicle and replace it using your system. You tell me how to do it and I will do the work myself. I will write an article and tell my readers if it really works."
He said he was fine with the proposal and added that the system will make me a believer. The following week I came to the Car-O-Liner training center, also in Signal Hill, and began testing out the system.
Before I begin describing my experience with the EVO, I need to stress two very important points. One, I am not a technician, and two I have never physically removed and replaced a frame rail (including welding) on a car.
Also, let me remind all of you that there are a number of great bench systems and dedicated rack systems on the market, and I would suggest that everybody does their homework prior to investing in any new system.
Now, here are the steps I used on replacing a frame rail of a 2005 Ford Focus with the EVO system.
Step 1: Check the rail position
I began by centering the Car-O-Tronic arm and measuring the right frame rail (see Fig. 1), which turned out to be out of spec (see Fig. 2). Also, the length, width and height needed to be corrected prior to removal of the damaged rail. I pulled to correct the mash, sway and sag conditions.
After pulling, the length was within 1 mm, width was within 1 mm and the height was within 2 mm. Tolerance on this vehicle was plus or minus 3 mm (see Fig. 3).
