Frame pulling tutorial on our 2015 GMC Terrain salvage rebuild project. 

I'll probably never attempt repairing any frame rails but I enjoy watching and learning how it is done, especially when it is done by someone who is very competent and is interested in doing a top quality job. This was very quick, to the point and insightful.

I have never rebuilt a wrecked car, but i want to give it a try and see if it would be something I can do. I have watched hundreds of rebuild videos on RU-vid and most do them in time lapse. I have been a subscriber of your channel for about 3 years now and doing this video was the kind of ones I look for so I can get an in-depth look at what's involved. So I personally would like to see more in real time. Also thank you for taking the time to do these videos and showing some of use no how's what's involved.

I like how you had 2 cameras setup instead of moving one all over the place,great explanations on every step. I feel that it was very professional. You nailed it, great tutorial

I really enjoy when you explain as your going along

I'm from Peru, and lately labour costs (which used to be dirt-cheap) have gone up a lot, and I was asking some shops why weren't they investing in state of the art frame machines and the answer was "if a car is so messed up that needs expensive equipment to messure and pull, it's probabbly going to be totaled anyways, so why bother". I really like this tutorial a lot, please keep them coming.

I appreciate the narrative. Seeing and hearing what you're doing in real time really gives insight into how you accomplish these repairs, how much work you put into them, and if it's something that I would want to dare try. You're helping us average Joes, man. Thank you! (Edit: don't stop making the time lapse videos though, they're unique and strangely addictive.)

Watched a lot of pulling vids this is by far the most informed vid I've seen very helpful and safety tips

I like these live tutorials.

Dude this was good. I smashed the rear end on my car and now my rear wheel has been pushed in pretty good. Thanks

I’m a brake operator and whenever we bend something you’ve always gotta over bend it a real little bit because steel has memory and we call it spring back, exactly what you just said, cheers.

I like how you kept it real and said how the do it yourself we could do the same thing and the truth about manufacturer don't want us to work fix our own cars they want more money to replace it. Very informative thank you

thank god, refreshing to see someone on youtube that actually knows what the hell they are doing, as a bodyman myself, some of the stuff i see actually scares the hell out of me.

Great to watch a pro work and explain the process- nice mix of still shots and the live pulls

This was my first time watching a video like this. Live tutorials were a big help. Thank you.

Another good video, it's cool that you are showing people what goes into the repair process. Ideally you want to give it a yank before replacing parts anyways. It tends to help the new parts line up better.

the live video was great, but i also liked the fact that you spoke of it after. Great tutorial keep it up.

The fact you took your time to share how you did this to show us in a video was fantastic. Thank you and keep that up vehcor

I was extremely skeptical about this truck a few weeks ago. I am now extremely amazed! You seem to have that touch. Awesome

An excellent how it's done video. I have heard of "pulling it". I now have a much better idea of what is involved. Thanks. Looking forward to the series. I would have no worries buying a vehicle you've repaired. No cut corners. Hard to find these days.

I prefer these over the still pictures with narrative personally. It's nice to have explained as you do and show it. Good work!!

This is the first time I've seen one of your tutorials. I thought it was pretty good. All of it. I'LL have to look at and see if you have any on the repair of my 2008 Outback and 2006 Forester.😊

Dude I’ve got to say I’ve watched other videos, and always come back here. You do a great job at explaining what you’re doing and approaching it from a beginners view props 👍.

I enjoy watching your videos showing how the work is done. I also appreciate you doing things the right way and replacing the parts. You are doing things with right way.

I’ve watched dozens and dozens of videos on this subject and read myriad articles and papers form the manufacturers and comprehensive studies on the metallurgy going on here. Truly incredible what they are doing today with ultra high strength steel. I really dug in when I went to level a dimple on the frame rail of my daughter’s Magnum. I’m a pretty big guy, and known to “make” things submit to my will, strength, and most of all, thorough understanding of leverage and physics. I used to only drive cars made before 1972, and have plenty of experience straightening out “mistakes”. My best friend totaled my 1968 Country Squire, and although he hit a tree at only 35ish MPH, the damage was astonishing, with the right headlight pushed back, massive steel bumper folded in, fender folded in, the works. I took a 28oz Estwing framing hammer and out of anger and curiosity to see what it took to bend that steel, did an overhand swing on a smooth section of that fender. On a modern car that hammer would go through that sheet metal. On this fender, it barely left the waffle pattern of the fresh hammer. Anyway, I used a hand sledge to massage that slight wrinkle, maybe 3/8” tall, where the steel is layered/laminated, and bent just like the vehicle in your video, it made the inner layer wrinkle back towards the point of impact. I don’t know the gauge, but that layer was maybe 1/8” thick. Annnnnnd. Nothing. It was near the brand new strut I had installed, as I replaced the entire front end suspension parts. But I didn’t want to scratch it. So to hit that point from afar I used a tire spoon, about three feet long, round butt end, flat spoon on the end against the rail. I wailed on that thing for three hours. My wife told me the “CHING” got ALMOST therapeutic for HER! Easily over a thousand very hard hit, leaving the end of the spoon mushroomed over. It left marks in the steel, but did not bend it. So I applied some MAP gas torch to it until it got a cherry glow in that area and that helped. That just blew my mind. That’s what led me to learn about the steel used, and found out that section used DP 590, dual phase, two different types bonded together, and the metallurgy used to create each type is incredible. They have figured out how to make relatively light weight steel also ultra strong, hence the name. I have a tow car garage with a support post in the middle. I used that, big ass eyebolts into the far wall, and some floor anchors to keep the car from moving towards the drivers side, all anchored just act of the cowl, under the car and on the pinch welds I used some beam clamps which worked great. On the impact side to pull the apron and rail, I used a two ton electric winch with a pulley to get close to four tons, but not really, plus a come-along, plus two large 2” wide ratchet straps, all progressively attached from behind the strut halfway to the cowl, then at the strut below on the rail, and then two more points along the rail to the bumper mount, of course the bumper was removed, and the headlight support, which is the main cross support framing the top of the radiator, headlights, and binds the fenders together, with the radiator support below that. It was bent slightly annd I fixed that in five minutes. In fact, I really didn’t think the frame was bent, initall, that’s how subtle it was. The hood was saved and the drivers door, with all the impact being at the knuckle and strut zone. The knuckle was bent over and pinched the tire. The upper A arm broke, as well as tie rod end. That headlight got cracked, but almost spared. So it was concentrated. So I rebuilt the front end, all good, easy, took maybe 6-8 hours, doing both sides since she had already been prepping for a front end upgrade before the accident, she already had the parts even before insurance did their thing. On that note, they wanted to total it, of course, but it’s was in the ragged edge. She loves the car which is not replaceable, kinda, and the damage honestly didn’t look too bad. We ordered a new painted fender and bumper cover, easy bolt ons. Surprisingly, the fender bolted right up with perfect gap to the door, and the mount holes on the apron lined up perfectly too. Hmmm. Still not sure why. Cause the hood on these cars has no adjustment, and did show a gap on the passenger side and a little overlap on the drivers new fender. And when I loosened the bumper and the cross support, the drivers side rail snapped back about 3/4”. Everything seemed to line up, except the hood. But I was wrong. BOTH fenders/aprons were pushed to the passenger side about 1”. And hence this story and why I’m watching these videos. I have pulled, and pulled some more, and I can see everything moving, A LOT! Easily more than the 1” needed. But when I release the tension it always goes back to about 1”2 shy of where it should be now. I even had plumb bobs up and down the chassis, and the shop manual has spec measurements in it, so I made a grid under the car to keep track. The grid is worthless if the car moves at ALL, and it always does. Hence your frame rack. I know I can get this right. Question is, how do YOU measure the big picture to make sure everything is where it should be. These pints are so far apart and measuring is so difficult, I even made a tram gauge, but even then, 1/8” here and there is 1/4”, and then combine that with imperfections in measuring a diagonal from one corner to the other, it will never be precise enough to be right. I’ve measured on this car maybe 20+ times. But I am determined. This is my daughter’s baby, and of course I got one new in 2006, and she’s always loved my hot rod wagon, mine is black, she bought a nice cherry one in Inferno Red, Flowmasters, and of course both are RT Hemi cars, cause, why breathe otherwise? I’ve even used my car for reference. Some parts are dead on. But how do you know that your reference points are even correct. At one point I got a perfect isosceles triangle from tow rear corner points to the center front of the engine cradle and was convinced it was square. Went to do toe-in, with a laser down the side of the car referenced off the rear rotors, and even accounting for their own toe-in, and got the same thing as the hood. One inch, on the nose, was how much the drivers side rotor was closer to the rail than the passenger side was. Ugh! It almost like I bend it, maybe three or five inches last where it should be, release the tension, take measurements, and then over several hours or days it returns to near where it started. I have moved it, and of course the whole rail and apron didn’t move proportionally, but it’s still off by about 1/2” in some places to 3/4” in others and it turned out that the passenger side apron was harder to pull than the drivers side. Maybe stress hardening? Help. Just as a point of reference in a pull just like you did in the video, how far PAST the point of being square did you need to pull to leave it correct? I feel like I’m going to rip something apart if I keep pulling so hard. Of course I’ve had bungee cords and heavy blankets strategically placed to prevent any failures from becoming more damaging than needed. What is normal. Also, the papers said that on DP590, heat was not a good idea, but very localized and short term heat could be used to relived shallow wrinkles. Otherwise, it can make the steel more brittle, or more soft, depending on lots of factors.

It gets hit, it will bend. Really doesn't matter as long as it's in alignment and crinkles worked out. Crumple zones are there to bend. It's a folk lore to replace every bent piece

Thank you for your honesty and integrity. Im a shadetree hobbyist and have repaired a few "totalled" cars using a winch, come along, slide hammer, 4 ton porta power another car as an anchor and a great old willow tree - saved a bunch of money, learned a fun skill and had an enjoyable time in the process! Keep up the great videos and in-depth explanation and be sure to tip the Afternoon crew well, ha ha. Merry Christmas from Upstate Ny

I enjoy your videos, you're about the best instructor I've seen so far. Glad that you mentioned that specialty tools are not needed if you have ingenuity. Sometimes you have to make the tool to get the job done.

Just stumbled across you looking up salvage repair. I'm mustering up the courage to buy and rebuild a salvage truck. Your videos definitely make it less donating. Thanks for all the great content keep them coming and good luck on the siverado! Can't wait to see that one done 👍

Right On Point!! People Are Scared; as a Shop may not know if Vehicle is for End User or ReSale in which Potential Liabilities and Approaches are Best and Today Many People Are Afraid of Actual Work, as They Just Want To "Flip" It. In My Case; My Vehicle Was Wrecked as Last Owner Neglected The Brakes For Whatever Reason. Minor Frame Damage was Easily Fixable but a 2wd Jeep Isn't Worth Much, especially in New England With All That SNOW! It Was Worth It as I am the End User and I'm Gonna Run It to the End while Taking Care of it Of course...

My 99 Tahoe is at the shop having the frame straightened right now, I landed on your video because I was curious to understand how it's done. Thank you for sharing! I can only hope mine is done right.

both ways you did this was done very well i have been doing this kind of work for well over 30 years and i think you did a tremendous job. I cant decide which way was better so i would try to incorporate both methods. you did a great job my complements to the chef

I used a Chief Easy liner for many years to do frame work. You did a good job explaining what you were doing.

Thanks for that, Never saw a frame puller "in action". Great explanation!

Thanks for posting; I really dig your videos.

Nice to see someone fix a vehicle the right way. The rebuilders I worked for were cheap and almost never replaced parts like you did. They would have me straighten those rails and apron because that's "good enough"! I hate that statement!!

2 cameras 2 angles, brilliant idea

Great video. Both tutorial, and pictures with narrative. Explains it all throughly.

This way is good with the narative

Excellent video and very interesting,I very much enjoy your videos in either format,keep up the great repairs.

good tips and those alignment benches are crazy expensive. can put a vehicle on jack stands chain it down to floor anchors with frame rail clamps for a pull. frame rails engineered designed to crumple to pass modern safety tests or the product won't sell. when i was in autobody/collision college seen some worse than this on frame car/trucks. they had us use heat (better not to) but like you said once the potholes & vibration gets to it the cracks open up. we always hung alignment gauges right away to see it the vehicle was salvageable. your is a easy one. they told us to stay away from side cowl & pillar damage. also only certified technicians should do collision damage or there's a liability issue

Keep going. This was very entertaining + informative. Your insight and comments were thought provoking. Be you. We’ll watch.

Live video and still drawing were great and very informational

Great video!! I liked the mix of both... video of the process and the narrative explaining. My car was recently damaged and IT will be undergoing this process to be restored soon. This helps me understand the work that will be going in. Granted mine is a unibody honda, but I can see the physics of it and how the frame machine can reverse the damages. Thank you!

I loved this, definitely continue with this method of tutorial with both live video and stills with illustration.

Wow,1st video? No wonder you’re looking at 200k subs already. I know a good teacher when I see one.Thank you!

Mind blown....never realised there were so many ways to bend stuff.... fantastically informative.. Neil uk :)

I built my own rack, as even used ones are expensive here. I work on pre 1990 cars so it's handy. One i have on the rack right now is a high end car that was wrecked ,may 40 years ago and seriously badly repaired. The two front rails were replaced and brazed into place.... then the car was in another wreck a few years later and the left front rail was simply left bent, about 15mm pointing down on the front. The owner had complained of tire wear and the hood wouldn't fit.He had bought new hood and it didn't fit either... Not surpising seeing as the car was lower on one side and 50 mm shorter than it schould have been... I've replaced most of the front but i have to remove the tunnel as that is concertinaed too .The engine left two big bolt head shaped dents in the firewall. . Such fun!

I liked your video with your narrative. Do more, I always liked your stories, even with note crew coming in late

Love the tutorials. You are imparting lots of knowledge and I really appreciate it. I really like how you explain the "why's" of what you are doing. That's where the real knowledge transfer happens! 👍👍

Great video I liked the explanation on how you straighten the frame. My Jeep Wrangler needs a whole new frame. Not so sure I want to tackle the job. Keep up the good work

Appreciate your time to make this video.

I'm a diy and your talking about how you pull etc is very helpful

I love your video! I just wish you could smile from time to time ... you got the face for it! Keep them coming!

Great info. Thank you for being full honest about that the industry is change to.

Great video! You explained everything very well and I like how helpful you are to the every day person.

Great video, illustration are very helpful. Patiently waiting for next one!

Great video on frame straightening, good to know you have to brace area where rail is kinked when pulling back. Very interesting and informative

Hi Vehcor. Really enjoyed this video. I think this is the way forward for you video's as you are teaching the correct methods for repair as you go along with audio. This is imperative as young ppl taking up vehicle repair as a career will find this invaluable. Furthermore you methods will keep incorrectly repaired and unsafe vehicles off the road where they belong. Personally I would like to see your welding methods for attatching a new (chassis leg) frame rail to the bulkhead wether it be gas/mig or factory spot welding showing the exact weld points. Love your channel. Thankyou.

I caught your very first video AWESOME it was great and very helpful THANKS Every job is easy with the proper tools and proper knowledge

Hope you are well looking forward to the new videos. Have a MERRY Christmas to you and your family as well

That was good! Doing any type of tutorial video on collision repair is tricky just because no two jobs are the same. You showd some handy tips to know and that's the stuff that saves you down the road!! I think so anyway.

Thank you very much. very informative .I never understood how that was done. I do now. Good narrative bud understood you easily. Please keep them coming.

Great info, I had a question about if you are a novice but you answered it in the end, thank you 👍👍

Great vid for a first try. Succinct and full of graphical aids (the red arrow) to explain. The hammering of pressure stresses was an eye opener. Getting new parts is the way to go, for safety reasons. Save a few dollars on reshaped bent parts will cost more the next time the vehicle takes a hit.

Great video and format. The only thing that I would do differently is reinforce the buckles in the frame after straightening, and keep on trucking! Unless it's not possible, because components have to run through the repair area, anyone sectioning a frame should have enough knowledge to reinforce the existing frame. Thank You!

Thanks for sharing. Very helpful

Simply Awesome! This guy is a straight shooter, rare these days!

This is a good Video, it gives the uninitiated an idea into what it takes to repair damage 👍

Keep them coming,Love learning this type of repairs...............................Fort Worth,Tx

You are doing so excellent job. The chassis was like new .

Good afternoon, I think it's a great video, I like the tutorials because you always learn, I hope you keep doing them, greetings from Spain.

You explain what you are doing well either way. Thanks

Both views make it easy to understand

I like the narration and appreciate that you explained why you need to hammer it. I would like to see you do a pull on a 2018 Ford Fiesta that has front end damage on the passenger side. I would love to hear what other tools you could use if you don't have a puller.

I like these! My only critique would be maybe give us a little more content in each video. We don’t mind 25 minute videos!!

... you did a great job.. both the still photos, narrations, and the live action footage, this was excellent. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I came across your video, I was searching for Chevy Uplander/Venture front frame repair videos. I own a Buick Rendezvous, which has the same front end, because it's build on the same U-Platform chassis. I was looking for a way to modify the front rails or subframe, as a Concept Only, to be able to pull the engine, so that it could be slid out a bit, like 8 inches. So repairs can be performed on the side of the engine which is nearest the Firewall. It's just a thought process at the moment, both myself and a buddy of mine think about this, when we talk about working on our cars. We both have front wheel drive vehicles, and they shouldn't be such a PITA to work on, but they are. Thanks again, Alfredo Keep making the videos.. ✌

live video for sure. I would love to see some videos of repairing it the right way, start to finish. Techniques used to determine where to cut damaged rail and replacement.

Cheers mate, very interesting I’ve always wondered what they hammer the box section when pulling it!

i like to follow your examples, and explanations,

The still diagrams perfectly described what you were doing.

Your explanation was to the point far superior video

Thanks for the great vid. I think both methods (live video and stills) is really helpful keep up the great content.

I appreciate the encouraging words at the end 👍🏽

Yet another production done right on the sweet spot. Good on ya mate!

Sir, this video was and still is top notch.

Starting my Collison school next month and these videos are calming my unpatienceness

I like your commentary as you progressed better than the still shots. The shop was probably scared to pull the motor and transmission in order to fix the frame rails (I've never seen a shop around here do it). Did you say this is going to be your wife's ride? Great video, keep them coming!

I enjoy learning. You do a great job.

I like all of your videos! Keep up the great work

I learn so much here, i wanna go into fixing cars

Great video, good narration and explanations

Love these videos. I'm teaching myself collision repair and body work and it's great to see things up close and personal with the commentary. When you talk about measuring, where is the best place for a newcomer to get body measurements other than finding a similar vehicle? I've looked around but don't really have the work load for a fancy subscription service at this point. Keep up the good work.

Great video. Keep them coming. Both action and still are helpful . Thanks

Great display of talent.

I like live video you explain the repair process very well.

Thank you.I love learning.

Your narration was great

Great video, keep'em coming!

Awesome thanks for the video I like the live video and commentary

Very informative and thorough.