Hey Toby—We have an ‘06 Volvo XC90 in the shop and we have used over 20 drill bits trying to get the rear bumper reinforcement off. What’s going on?     —Mark in San Jose.

Mark—Guess what? You had your first close encounter with advanced steel alloyed with boron. This stuff is extremely hard and you need special tools or equipment to remove it. You can use a cut off wheel to grind the spot welds, but it will take some time. Volvo recommends using a plasma cutter (I use the Miller 375 Extreme—it can be adjusted so that you will only cut the outer panel and not the inner panel) or special 3 fluted drill bit at very low speeds (high speeds kill regular drill bits on this metal).

Kent Automotive is one distributor of these special drill bits. I would also recommend that you take the I-CAR classes VLV 05 (XC90 vehicle specific repair) and the new SPS 07 (Advanced Metals) to learn more about these new metals that are being used quite extensively.

Hey Toby—Does Volvo have a sectioning procedure for rear surround panel on the Volvo XC 90 and where can I get this information?
—Tim in Reno, Nevada

Great question Tim. If you were to replace the entire rear opening panel on the XC90, you will probably have to remove the roof.  You can get the information need on line by going to www.volvotechinfo.com that will show you the factory recommended repair procedures.   I will send you a picture of the cut lines, but if you need more info, check out the web site.  I would also recommend that you and your techs take the  I-CAR VLV 05 class, which is XC 90 specific.  Good luck.  

Hey Toby—We’re replacing a quarter panel on an 06 Camry where it joins at the upper B pillar. We came across what looks like brass at the joint. Question: is this brazing and can you replace it with an oxy- acetylene torch? —Matt in Santa Cruz, California

Matt it is brazing, but not what you might think. The process is called MIG weld brazing and it is not done with an oxy-acetylene torch, flux and brass rod, but with a  MIG welder, argon gas and copper-silicon wire.  First, using a MIG welder for this application reduces the amount of zinc being “burned off”. The zinc in the galvanization process burns at about 980 degrees Fahrenheit, but the temp with the bronze-silicon wire is about 910 degrees.  Second and most important is the heat affect zone. With the oxy-acetylene torch is about one inch, whereas with a MIG welder, it is about ¼ of an inch. Tests have shown that the larger the heat affect zone, the weaker the surrounding metal is.  Last, with more and more of the advanced metals being used, heat becomes a real concern. Ford is using dual phase steel on some of their quarter panels and they are recommending that the panel needs to be attached with MIG weld brazing. If you would like some more info on MIG weld brazing, go to www.i-car.com, click on technical information, then Advantage Articles, 2004 date and scroll to the August issue.

This is it for my first column, but please send me your questions and I will be more than happy to send you a response. Until next month’s Hey Toby!

Questions for Hey Toby! can be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or directly to Toby at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Questions and answers will be posted at autobodynews.com.