Glossary
See page 5-10 in the Safety section of this book.
System of belts or harnesses designed to restrain and help reduce the risk of injury to occupants in the event
of side, rear, rollover or frontal collisions. Refer to the Safety section of this book for details concerning Ford
safety belt systems.
- Integrated body structure designed to work as a system to provide protection for occupants. Its major design features include:
- Front-end structure with a reinforced sub frame to provide energy absorption
- Cross cowl beam that helps provide an additional mounting point for the steering column and airbag mountings, reducing their movement in the event of a frontal impact
- High-strength side door intrusion beams
- Sheet metal at the front and rear corners that collapses progressively and predictably to dissipate some of the energy of an impact
Back of this individual seat is about as high as the top of the occupant’s head. It tapers in from shoulder
height to form an integral head restraint.
Measure of the strength of frame side rails determined by the cross-section area and shape of the side rails.
When comparing frames of the same material, the one with the largest section modulus will be the strongest.
When comparing frames of different materials, the frame with the highest Resisting Bending Moment (RBM)
has the greater strength.
Optional self-adjusting clutch, once installed, does not have to be adjusted again. When the release bearing
travel exceeds 1/2-inch, the self-adjusting mechanism returns the clutch and pedal free play to normal operating
conditions as the clutch pedal is actuated. A self-adjusting clutch eliminates eight to ten clutch adjustments over
the life of a clutch.