- 5/19/2025
Welcome to the first episode of the trilogy video showcasing an expert repair of a Tesla Model 3 rear end, precisely executed by Gerry Whelan from the YouTube channel @LuxuryCarRepair.
In this comprehensive video, Gerry guides us through the entire repair process utilizing the highly accurate Celette Bench. Whether you're a car enthusiast, a Tesla owner, or just interested in automotive repairs, this video is filled with valuable insights!
Join us for this captivating experience and see how Gerry rejuvenates a damaged Tesla Model 3! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more incredible automotive repair content
In this comprehensive video, Gerry guides us through the entire repair process utilizing the highly accurate Celette Bench. Whether you're a car enthusiast, a Tesla owner, or just interested in automotive repairs, this video is filled with valuable insights!
Join us for this captivating experience and see how Gerry rejuvenates a damaged Tesla Model 3! Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell for more incredible automotive repair content
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MotorTranscript
00:00all right everyone so what we're doing now is we have this model tree behind me you've probably
00:06seen a video on my social media there a while ago about measuring it on this so it was out at the
00:11rear end the whole rear end it got pushed right in here and it pushed the rear end over that way
00:16so through with tesla you're not allowed to pull tesla so what we're going to do is this thing's
00:21getting a whole end back end like it's getting a quarter panel it's getting two frame rails
00:27getting a trunk floor fuel floor it's getting an m panel it's getting it's getting the whole
00:32rear end basically so what we're doing now is we're going to set up this select bench here let me show
00:36you so here is the select bench and here is our data sheet so what we're going to do is we're going
00:46to set up these four points here because they're the front subframe and we're going to set up these
00:52ones here the rear subframe we're going to set them up here we have our mz's there our pistons are in
00:56there and our other uh points are there as well sorry when i set it all up here slide that under
01:03there i'm going to drop this car on top of it and then we'll be ready to do the back ends let me just
01:09show you the car again real quick all the airbags are gone to the car seat belts you can see there it's
01:14pushed right up there put a big kink in the quarter panel you can see the tailgate won't even close
01:21because the latch on the striker aren't even lining up so anyway let's get this one going
01:39so
01:53hey everyone so now we have the car here i am going to do a lot of more rni as we have to take off like
02:13these cause a hockey bracket around there take off the rebar take off this bracket this bracket take
02:18out the charge port hello um i'll be taking off quite a bit taking a few trims out some stuff over
02:27this side as well so a bit more or nice and then we'll be able to get this showing the road
02:35of all the parts here end panels sorry end panels trunk floor frame rails uh trunk floor extensions
02:46end caps for the frame rails quarter extent uh wheelhouse extension the only thing i don't have
02:50here right now is a quarter panel but it's just down in parts um what i have here i got all the rivets
02:58there's loads of rivets here as well but i have them here already so i haven't opened them bags yeah
03:02i have put a few in here i like to try and be as organized as i can so these are the ones we're
03:07going to be using s18s we're going to be using so8s we're going to be using structure 6.5s we'll be
03:15using your standards 6.5 structural we have counter sunk uh structural we have we're using some of these
03:27nuts we're going to use these bolts we're going to be using some 4.8 we're going to be using a bit of
03:31everything anyway so this is the express 800 comes in this box here i just have what i have what i need
03:38oh sorry this this this and these are all the fittings for the top there uh the pneumatic glue gun
03:45we're using fuser 2098 never just see but that's what it's that's what a big big um structural rivets
03:54this is for the 4.8s it's a lot easier but anyway yeah you can see it's all creased in there
04:01it's all pushed in there this is where the initial impact was it showed that them frame rails over
04:10that way then a kink in that quarter panel right up so if anyone doesn't know you're not allowed to pull
04:16on tesla's they do not want you to pull so like i can't put this up in the car liner and yank that
04:22car over so literally it's just chop it off put new ones on so let's get going
04:38okay people so we are finished or nine actually just take that rubber off but
04:59have everything out here all this is coming out all this have everything back there just
05:05gonna wrap all that up now as well and then seats are all out everything seat belts
05:13so now i'm gonna mask all this up or put a fire blanket over and start getting this panel off
05:18back panel everything let's go before we cut this quarter panel i just i just roughly done that with
05:24my auto writer what it does is it gives you measurements here as you can see
05:28from a point down and that's going to be 75 mil so it's asking us to go from this line here
05:36sorry it's asking us to go from that line there down 75 mil now that's where the cut is going to be
05:44probably for the finishing cup i'm going to cut down here just to give myself plenty of room so when i
05:50overlap the new panel i'll measure it down 75 mil and do that there it'll also give us a measurement from
05:55here as well i think it goes from the hinge here gives you a certain mill same kind of thing here
06:02so that's what we'll do
06:08okay so what i'm using here is just your normal air saw with like a hacksaw blade on i just cut it
06:13to size also i use a belt sander here with 80 grit just go through all your spot wells or rivets just
06:19go through the first layer of the panel and back to where the cut is what i usually do is put a little
06:24bit mask and tape along it just to give you a guide as well i didn't dare now because i'm just used to
06:27it but it's a good tip if you're just new to the game and you're learning how to do your cuts here
06:32along the arch we just grind along the arch and we just separate the panels from the outer wheelhouse
06:36and then i'm just getting a chisel there there's a little heat gun just give a little bit of heat
06:40just to separate the panel okay here i have my saws off in milwaukee i'm just cutting away bits of
06:47material i don't need just give me more access to more spot welds so i can get in there with the
06:51belt sand there just make it easier for me for removing dry okay just got the quarter off still
07:04have to get a few up here the belt sand a few of them off just to get this bit off and i'm gonna take
07:11the rest of this wheelhouse extension off and then we're gonna get all this off just gonna get this
07:16sawzall this thing's an absolute beast few of the lads have used it one or two uh nodes if anyone
07:21knows that is nearly half the car is missing this thing chopped it all off so we're gonna get in
07:26here we're gonna cut all this off now and it starts cleaning it all off let's go
07:38so yeah like previously in the video i'll just get the air saw or the sawzall and i'll just take off
07:43big chunks of this car that is getting replaced i'm just gonna cut the trunk floor over here
07:48and then i'll get the belt sander and i'll take off this wheelhouse extension just to expose the
07:54frame rails a bit more and then once i have good access to them i'm just gonna chop the frame rail
07:59off just so i can get to the inside of that frame rail at the back there i had to get some spot wells
08:03and rivets out there with the belt sander
08:17so once i can get in here and do all my belt sanding what i'll do is i'll just get a heat
08:34button there just to generate a little bit of heat and then what i'll do is i'll put a clamp on here
08:39just to help me get it out there with the slide hammer once i do that it gets right in there you
08:44expose the hole inside of it where we're gonna have to clean it all off and get ready for the new
08:47frame rails once again once i done just move over to either side and just repeat the process
09:00belt sander get in there and get all them rivets uh shout out to milwaukee with our flashlights here
09:07really helped me out brightened everything up for me
09:09uh belt sander and then what we'll do is we'll just get a bit more heat as well and then we'll just
09:14um chisel that out as well same thing again put a clamp on it and pull it out
09:19myself that's on me east west north south all scenes worldwide big waves off seas
09:27same call same close still me only thing that changes is it changes on me
09:38hey folks i am done for the day absolutely naked let me show you how far we go so as i've seen a few of the
09:45time lapses there anyway but quarter off obviously got the extension off got all the lower extension
09:52off here m panel off um the floor extension pieces floor out as well i'll tell you one thing though see
10:01these uh frame rails obviously i just chopped them off that's where they came off easy with the sawzall
10:05but then trying to get the inside of it out jesus christ there's a top layer a middle plate and a bottom
10:11layer of the frame rail let me show you over here so the black one here is the lower frame rail then
10:20you're gonna have a plate that goes in the middle of it and then the top layer on top of it but see
10:29right here look i i had to get probably from here all the way to here out of
10:35that and it was a nightmare i think trying to get the spot of this no spot wells rivets that are all
10:44the way in down there all glue to give it a little bit of heat to get it out we got there in the end
10:50though it was a bit harder than i thought but got it done you're back a sore monday morning we'll come in
10:58we'll tidy it all up we'll sit our panels in we're gonna put two points back here on the bench they're gonna
11:05show us where the frame rails go so yeah anyway thanks for watching so far i'll see you on monday
11:11morn and have a great weekend
11:21so
11:23so
11:28so
11:30so
11:32so
11:36so
11:40right i have them sitting on there now they look all right but they're probably not in the right
11:57position so what we're doing is we have the paperwork here let me show you how you do this
12:01so this is your bench these are all your beams which is these here
12:05this is mechanical now mechanical in you can see mechanical in has less points here you have way
12:14more so what we're trying to do is we're mechanical in because we have the subframes in there so
12:20it's going to show you the difference mechanical now you have way more points than you do here
12:26but what we're going to be doing here is we are going to be using this last one we can still use it
12:33because it's just for the m panel see here we're going to get our mzs which are them blue things
12:38you get our pistons here which are them mention them there and then we get our top fitting which
12:43is that other bright blue kind of fitting which is going to be this here and what that's going to do
12:49is that's going to go from one bolt let me hold on we don't have one there so that's going to go from
12:55here across to that bolt right we have that fixture on here and then we have that all lined up when it's
13:02lined up then we know that that frame rail is in the correct position all right so anyway let's
13:08get this point together and make it all make more sense for you all right let's go right i went to
13:15got it all these are mz 260s there's the pistons and this is a kit that we get this is for the model
13:21tree we have all the other ones over there model s model x but inside here is the pieces i was talking
13:26about piece that goes up there so we have it all here let's get it on
13:42so
13:48so
13:50So
14:15got the fixtures on, got the frame rails in, got the end caps on
14:19Got all the holes lined up there, got the nuts and bolts on, everything's fitting up nice
14:24Have me old gapper sweater there, has a part number now
14:29Right, so it's all lined up, it's all lined up, next thing is what we need to do is
14:35We need to start making the holes here for the new rivets to go in
14:39Same down here, rivets here, the bolt is in there now, the bolt goes into this frame rail here
14:47That's in, I had to look at the procedure as well
14:50I don't know what the, I think it's a 6.5 structures to go along here, along here as well
14:56Same with this, same with this
14:58So that's what we'll do now anyway, we'll get all that
15:02The holes drilled for that and then we'll go from there
15:05But she's coming along anyway, grand job now
15:08I like this select bench, I like the car liner though, but I like the select bench as well
15:13It's kind of like, fill proof, it's just a fixed bracket system
15:17Doesn't line up through the holes and you know it's in the wrong spot
15:21But it's uh, yeah
15:23Let's get going
15:25Howdy Connor
15:27That's not nice
15:29Let's get going
15:31Okay, on to the next stage
15:33We have our rails on
15:37They're all lined up, like you know
15:39I'm gonna just mark them where the rivets are gonna go
15:42We have a lot of these 6.5 structural rivets
15:45So, it's gonna be 8 in this side
15:48It's gonna be 8 in that side
15:50Then we have some here
15:52Now there's all measurements where this has to be
15:54150mm all the way back to here
15:57And that's that rivet there
15:59Then this rivet here has to be 36 in from the edge
16:02Which is that orange one there
16:03They do not want you to put one here
16:05Then there's more here
16:0768 back
16:08Is for this orange mark here if you can see it
16:11And then you want 22 down
16:14So, you can see it's all here
16:17And then I'll show you now
16:20There you go there
16:21All the measurements
16:22And then it will show you on the next page
16:25There you go
16:26So, they have to be in specific spots
16:29And the same under here
16:31I've got all measured as well
16:33So what we're gonna do is now
16:34We're gonna start making the holes
16:36For these 6.5s
16:37Then we take it all off again
16:39So what we're gonna do is now
16:41We're gonna start making the holes
16:43For these 6.5s
16:45Then we take it all off again
16:47And then start putting the back gate in sections
16:49Start putting the rivet in
16:51Then we'll be putting the end caps on
16:53Then we'll be putting the little extension on here
16:55In the corner
16:57And the cap on
16:58But anyway, let's get going
16:59Just like me block
17:00Look at that
17:01It has a parent number and everything
17:03Grand job
17:04Right
17:05Let's go
17:15Let's go
17:17Let's go
17:18Let's go
17:19Let's go
17:20Let's go
17:21Let's go
17:22Let's go
17:23Let's go
17:24Let's go
17:25Let's go
17:26Let's go
17:27Let's go
17:28Let's go
17:29Let's go
17:30Let's go
17:31Let's go
17:32Let's go
17:33Let's go
17:34Let's go
17:35Let's go
17:36Let's go
17:37Let's go
17:38Let's go
17:39Let's go
17:40Let's go
17:41Let's go
17:42Let's go
17:43Let's go
17:45so have all the holes drilled here we go here we go all there same on this side so what i'm
17:53going to do now is i'm going to take them all off i think the top section off the middle plate i'm
17:58just going to scribe a line along it when this is off just so i know exactly where it's to go back
18:02in take the plate off take the bottom section off same on this side and then what we need to do is
18:07put the plate back in first glue and riveting but not rivet sorry we've slide it in here it wants
18:13bolts in there so i think it wants three or four nuts and bolts in here and then when we have that
18:19all glued in then we can start with the rear top so anyway let's get going i'll show you as anyway
18:25when we're doing it so just took the top piece off there it is there so this is the plate what i was
18:31talking to hold on let me zoom out this is the plate that goes in here so what they want here by the
18:38procedure is nuts and bolts in here okay so i want to make sure this is in the right place still now
18:43i have the rivets in that i drilled just have them all in there so i know it's lined up clamped i'm just
18:48going to run an auto rider just along here so i know it's in the right place because i have to take
18:53this bottom section off as well so we'll go ahead and do that and then we'll take everything off start
18:59prepping for glue and rivets there's connor everyone loves being on the camera you all right buddy what's
19:05going on huh huh never seen that before hey let's get back to it
19:29right so what i'm doing is there's my mark i'm making sure this is in the right position which
19:39it is and i'm just marking these holes here and then i'll take the plate back out and i'll drill
19:45them because the problem here is i have one of these kind of right angle drills but won't fit in
19:53doesn't fit underneath either so the only way i can do it is gonna mark these and then you see
20:03i'll just mark them and then just drill a hole take them back out and drill a hole
20:11crazy get one all the way in there look
20:15mad hell setup anyway we'll get it done take them off drill the holes back in
20:23okay so what i just done was i just scotched where it's getting glue and rivets what we're
20:46using is fuser 2098 it's approved by tesla so what i do regardless of eco if i am bonding two materials
20:53together that are the same material i'd bring it back to bare metal basically but if i'm bonding
20:59aluminum to steel or steel to aluminum because they're both different metals i will leave the eco
21:04on and just scotch it just so that it just gives it an extra barrier but that's what we're using
21:11so anyway let's go ahead and get this done
21:23so
21:40so like i said what i'm going to do here is i'm going to clean off all the panels
21:46and then what i'll do is when i have them all cleaned off i'll get some like wax and grease remover
21:51and i'll clean off all the panel that we just sanded off the eco make sure everything's nice and clean
21:57and then we'll go to the body of the car and we'll also do the same on the inside of the frame rails or
22:02anywhere where we're going to be putting structural glue and after we have that we'll apply our structural glue
22:08and then what i usually do is after i put her on i'll get a spreader and i'll just kind of spread
22:12her all evenly on the panel and on the inside of the car there before we attach the piece
22:38okay people so there's the plate in as you've seen it was just four bolts and four nuts underneath it
22:56and you have to tighten them to 13 new meters that's why we had a little torque wrench here i still have
23:02two structural rivets to into this corner but i'm not going to put them in until we have all the rest of it
23:06then i'll bang them in so moving quickly let's get the lower section done let's go
23:36so
23:38so
23:40so
23:42so
23:44so
23:46so
24:20Right, okay people, that is the frame rail is in, give all the rivets there, see it in
24:34the time-lapse, it's up here, it's under there, underneath,
24:49so what we're going to do now is, we need to put this on, it's called a glove, there it
24:56is there, the funny thing about it is, this lower frame rail piece here, that didn't come
25:05with the glove, but on this side, this frame rail piece, from the far side, it came with
25:10the glove, I would have obviously preferred it like this, and then another funny thing
25:14is, this one here, I just gave it a few little taps, nothing crazy, just to kind of get the
25:18frame rail in there, and this fell off, just literally fell off, and it has a spot weld
25:24here with glue, spot weld here with glue, and a spot weld here with glue, from factory, and
25:28I just gave it a few taps and it fell off, I couldn't believe it, unreal, so what I'm
25:32going to do is, I'm just going to follow the procedure for this one, which is just a structural
25:36rivet, and some glue, and then we have to put that on, but also, what we have to do is,
25:43we have to put the rear end plate on, which is this, so, this has to go in there as well,
25:50so what we'll do is, we'll take this mount off again, we're going to sit that in, and
25:56then I'm going to drill the holes, because the holes were here, go through here, well,
26:01the drill holes for the bottom one, so we'll get ahead and do that now, right folks, unfortunately,
26:06I'm going to leave the video there, for this weekend, I'm currently editing the rest of
26:12the video, so I'll have that out probably during the week, or next weekend, definitely, I just
26:16wanted to get something edited to give to you this weekend, this is a big job, so that's
26:20what I'm going to break it up into probably two videos, the next one should have the whole
26:24rear end, the quarter panel going on as well, so, if you like this video, and you haven't
26:30already subscribed, please subscribe, give it a like, or a thumbs up, and if you have any questions,
26:35just hit me up in the comments, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, these are just
26:39a little bit, a few photos of the progress we've done through this video, so, yeah, hopefully
26:43you enjoyed it, and I will see you all in the next video, take it easy!
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