Drilling Precautions

For information on Ford Color Coded Illustrations refer to OEM Color Coding

Repair 

1. The drilling of the frame sidemember presents no unusual difficulty. Standard high-speed steel drills of good quality will serve provided they are sharpened properly and not overheated during sharpening or use.
2. Never drill holes into the restricted areas of the side of the frame rails as outlined:
   • Without reinforcement: 1.6 mm upper / 2.0 mm lower.
   • With inverted L reinforcement: 1.9 mm upper / 2.0 mm lower.
   • With outer C reinforcement: 1.9 mm upper / 2.4 mm lower.

3. Use existing holes whenever possible.
4. The minimum edge distance between any 2 holes up to 15.88 mm (0.625 in) in diameter must be 25.4 mm (1.00 in). For holes larger than 15.88 mm (0.625 in) in diameter, the minimum edge distance must be 1.5 times the diameter of the largest hole.
5. There should not be more than 3 holes located on a vertical line.
6. Bolt holes should be no larger than is required for the size of bolts being used, in no instance larger than 19 mm (0.75 in).
7. If reinforcements are used, avoid drilling holes closer than 13 mm (1/2 in.) from the ends of the reinforcement.
8. Bolts must be periodically checked to make sure that the proper torque and clamping force is maintained.
9. Addition of holes to crossmember is not recommended.
10. Drilling in upper or lower flange of frame rail is prohibited.
11. Welding of the crossmember is not recommended.