How hard to install airbags??????????????????????

[redgtxdi]

Cliffs..............

Bought car..........passenger airbag either reeeeally faded or wrong color.........

Found airbag to replace w/ nice matching color on top.

Up in thru glove box?? Rip whole dash apart, etc.????

It's on a '95 Corolla/Prizm


TIA!!

 

[Yossarian]

don't you have to, like, know what you're doing to install an airbag without killing someone?

 

[redgtxdi]

No, they're just assemblies. What you see on your steering wheel or passenger-side dash is just the cover. Vinyl wrapped over a plate of thin aluminum and directly underneath that is all the junk completely wrapped & ready to go.

You simply bolt it in & snap the connector into the connector that goes to the ABS computer module (mounted remotely within the vehicle).

I just haven't done any myself & was wondering if anybody had. Lotsa' folks buy salvage vehicles & make 'em like new. New airbags & all.

 

[smack Down]

You can screw up the computer ie get the SRS light on if you do it wrong.

 

[redgtxdi]

Really? If you snap the one-way connector in the way that it can't go????

 

[jemcam]

Make sure you ask someone who's done one before. Those things have killed mechanics who don't know what they're doing. It only takes static electricity to set one of those off. Please pay the dealer or a bodyshop that's been trained to do this. I've been in the auto body business for 25+ years and you don't fvck around with these things. This IS NOT a DIY job.

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Really? If you snap the one-way connector in the way that it can't go????

I always thought the biggest issue with doing those yourself IIRC was the fact that they're designed to go off even if battery power is cut in the event of an accident...meaning you can accidentally set them off anytime. Short the wrong terminals, or bump it funny, and it can blow up in your face...

 

[MX2]

Originally posted by: jemcam
Make sure you ask someone who's done one before. Those things have killed mechanics who don't know what they're doing. It only takes static electricity to set one of those off. Please pay the dealer or a bodyshop that's been trained to do this. I've been in the auto body business for 25+ years and you don't fvck around with these things. This IS NOT a DIY job.

Good advice. Be safe please

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Cliffs..............

Bought car..........passenger airbag either reeeeally faded or wrong color.........

Found airbag to replace w/ nice matching color on top.

Up in thru glove box?? Rip whole dash apart, etc.????

It's on a '95 Corolla/Prizm


TIA!!

Pics of the replacement assembly? If I can see the back I can tell you how to install it.

 

[redgtxdi]

Pic

 

[BooGiMaN]

i believe in that show 'dirty jobs' on the episode where he worked in a junkyard..one of the crazy guys would take the airbag apart and use the mechanism to blow a pail high into the air.... that think went off with a loud and powerful bang

he said dont fvck with them unless you know what your doing becasue the are very dangerous..when a crazy guy says that id take his advice...

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Really? If you snap the one-way connector in the way that it can't go????

I know in my car if you turn it on when the air bag is out it will generate a fault and will need a special computer to reset it.

 

[Pepsi90919]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
No, they're just assemblies. What you see on your steering wheel or passenger-side dash is just the cover. Vinyl wrapped over a plate of thin aluminum and directly underneath that is all the junk completely wrapped & ready to go.

You simply bolt it in & snap the connector into the connector that goes to the ABS computer module (mounted remotely within the vehicle).

I just haven't done any myself & was wondering if anybody had. Lotsa' folks buy salvage vehicles & make 'em like new. New airbags & all.

ABS? what does this have to do with ABS?

you shouldn't be let near a car

 

I bet you can bribe someone at a salvage yard to do it when they get off work. Its not that hard.

 

[Maximus96]

i changed both airbags in my 96 maxima. i'm sure its different from your car, but the concept should be the same. i disconnected the battery over night. then just unscrew the tamper-proof torx bits, unplug old plug and take out old airbag. installation is reverse process.

 

[MX2]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
No, they're just assemblies. What you see on your steering wheel or passenger-side dash is just the cover. Vinyl wrapped over a plate of thin aluminum and directly underneath that is all the junk completely wrapped & ready to go.

You simply bolt it in & snap the connector into the connector that goes to the ABS computer module (mounted remotely within the vehicle).

I just haven't done any myself & was wondering if anybody had. Lotsa' folks buy salvage vehicles & make 'em like new. New airbags & all.

ABS? what does this have to do with ABS?

you shouldn't be let near a car

Air Bag Sensor?

You shouldnt be let near threads

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: Maximus96
i changed both airbags in my 96 maxima. i'm sure its different from your car, but the concept should be the same. i disconnected the battery over night. then just unscrew the tamper-proof torx bits, unplug old plug and take out old airbag. installation is reverse process.

That's pretty much what I figured. Found some hidden bolts to remove glove box unit, then looks like airbag fasteners are underneath. Will just have to get some tamperproof bits & get at it.

Thanks!

P.S. Ya..........meant SRS, but Pepsi's just gotta get his post count up, so there ya' go Pepsi.......another post for ya'!!!

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi

Originally posted by: Maximus96
i changed both airbags in my 96 maxima. i'm sure its different from your car, but the concept should be the same. i disconnected the battery over night. then just unscrew the tamper-proof torx bits, unplug old plug and take out old airbag. installation is reverse process.

That's pretty much what I figured. Found some hidden bolts to remove glove box unit, then looks like airbag fasteners are underneath. Will just have to get some tamperproof bits & get at it.

Thanks!

P.S. Ya..........meant SRS, but Pepsi's just gotta get his post count up, so there ya' go Pepsi.......another post for ya'!!!

Sounds like you got it. :beer:

 

[redgtxdi]

Quick thanks to those who helped earlier. Here's an update.



In case anybody ever searches "airbag" I hope they come to this thread.

The following is instructions for R & R on a Gen 7 Corolla and/or '95 to '97 Geo Prizm (pretty much same car) PASSENGER AIRBAG ONLY!!! For anyone who didn't get the story before, I bought this as a 3rd car when gas went to $3! Interior's charcoal grey, driverside AB is charcoal, but the passenger AB was TAN. (Somebody was seriously color-blind??) Anyway, these are simply instructions for passenger AB. Here goes.........


Step 0...............ALWAYS DISCONNECT YOUR BATTERY CABLES BEFORE PERFORMING WORK ON YOUR CAR...........ESPECIALLY ELECTRICALLY SENSITIVE ITEMS LIKE AIRBAGS!!!



Step 1 ..............remove glovebox assembly....(that means the whole thing).

It's not hard. Simply find the bolts & screws holding it in. There are a couple 'blanks' that need to be removed in order to get to some screws. Simply pop them with a small blade screwdriver & voila......your bolt heads will be unveiled. *****DON'T YANK THE GLOVEBOX ASS'Y UNTIL YOU READ STEP 2!!!!!!*********

Step 2............remove the bottom door sill trim piece.

This is even easier. It will expose the last screw you need to remove the glovebox assembly. So nobody's confused it's the door sill trim at the bottom of the doorway. Not the little piece with the grooves in it that the car wash wipes down when they wash your car, but the piece that actually covers the edge of your floor carpeting so nobody sees a raspy edge.

Simply pull up on it & it'll come up. Then the last thing you need to do to remove it is to go down under the glovebox area in the corner and unscrew the plastic threaded nut/handscrew so you can slide the bottom portion of the kick panel out & voila.......door sill trim removed.

Step 3..............Pull the glovebox ass'y out.

(Kinda' like it says. It'll almost fall out in your hand. If you think you missed screws......follow the front of the glovebox door down to the bottom & keep going. You might have missed a bolt down there nearest the center console. (there's one hidden, but easy to reach once you find it)

Step 3.5..........Don't be alarmed when a small (2" x 3") piece of rectangular plastic dangles after you've removed the glovebox ass'y. It's a retainer holding the connection point of the airbag itself. Look over it good & you'll be able to see how you can remove the wire loom from that plastic retainer, then you'll see how you can disconnect the 2. (One part stays with the airbag, the other part is the wiring loom in your car's dash.) Make sense?

Step 4............Remove the airbag.

This is a matter of finding the bolts & one screw. 2 bolt heads are starin' right at you. 12mm socket & they're done. The other 2............well..........get ready to curse. !^$#!!^ Followed by......!!&!&!^*!& and maybe a lil' Son of a %&!& mother !^%&!%&! !%!^%!!!! Ya, they're tucked up under there pretty good. Me bein' 6'2" and about 230lbs, I was a little pissed to say the least, but if I can get 'em, you can get 'em. They are both 10mm, BTW. After that, there's only one screw (phillips head) right near the little loop that your glovebox door locks itself to. Look up under & you'll see it right there. Unscrew that sucker & kinda' get your hand under the airbag ass'y & push up & forward. (there are a couple springed tabs that also "locate" the airbag so the airbag won't just fall out, you'll have to push it a bit.)

Then, you're done!! Reverse the procedures for installation & you can go like I did..............from a charcoal interior w/ a tan airbag, to a charcoal interior w/ a charcoal airbag.

Also, while you're in there, you can do what I did and use some motherboard packaging foam (anti-static) to brace & pad anything that you found might be that noisy little culprit rattling inside the dash. (Doesn't everybody have mobo foam laying around?)

I'm done. My back hurts. My fingertips hurt, but I'm done & she looks normal again, & I made some improvements during the process so it's all good. Hopefully this post helps somebody in the future.