ok my fellow j-body owners my air bags went off after a accident and i need to know how to replace the airbags in the passenger side and steering wheel. like where the bolts r, what do i need to take off and such. the detailed the better thanx

if you are doing it yourself, the best thing to do would be to buy a Haynes or Chilton manual and read up on it. they are usually around $15 in autozone and have step by step instructions for your car's application (you'll probably be going there for a wheel puller anyway). either that, or im sure there are instructions floating around here somewhere....but IMO its better to be safe and read what the pros say so i still suggest to buy a Haynes manual.

BTW you have a pm

If you need a passenger airbag I'll sell you mine. Mines an 02, but cav interiors are same between 00-05, only thing that changes is steering wheel and vents iirc. Theres 4 bolts I think, bronze ones, 2 on the top, 2 on the bottom then the wire peice that comes out.



I want to share something with you - the three sentences that will get you through life. Number one, 'cover for me', Number two, 'oh, good idea, boss', Number three, 'it was like that when I got here.'

ok so on the pass. side, as far as the plastic covering how do i re install that?im guessing that clips back on or what. o and thanx for the offers on the replacements but i got some coming in tomorrow.

The covering is screwed on top and bottom 2 rows of like 8 screws. I think when the bags pop it tears the cover off. You'll probably need a new cover.

I think its designed so that it CAN be reusable though. just from the way its built I doubt it is any good.

first thing you want to do is disconnect the battery!!! also take out the fuse for the bags. wait about 10 to 15 min. remove the two screws on the backside of the steering wheel. there is a wire that connects the air bag to the clock spring. disconnect that wire. take out the clock spring, because you will need to replace that also. it's a round yellow plate. on the pass side you will need to remove the top of the dash pad. you can do this by removing the side panels in the door jambs. there are two screws on each side. inside the the glovebox you will find two or three more screws. under the defroster vent on top in the middle of the pad there is a screw. once the screws are out you can lift the pad up. there will be a couple of pins that push in the speedo bezel, you can pop them out. the air bag assy. has eight screws in it bolting it to the dash and one wire connector. the pad on the cover has four screws and guide tabs. if you need pics pm me and i'll send you some. also i have a driver and pass air bag out of a 2000 cav, charcoal color i'll sell if you need them. also have the clock spring and sensors. i removed mine for neww wheel, and monitor. good luck.

^^^^^ good write up, just to add. usually the dash pad gets twisted around the cover. most wreckers will include the dash pad with the air bag.

there is also 2 7mm brass bolts inside the glove box. theres a hole in the top of the glove box and you can see them. they need to be removed to get the dash pad off.


http://registry.gmenthusiast.com/images/my2005cav/my%20car%20the%20bash.jpg

forgot about the screws in the glove box lol thanx for the addition

ok so i took apart the dash and completely removed the pass. air bag so far but im running into the problem of taking the steering wheel bag off. ive already removed the 2bolts from that and all it wants to do is honk im guessing sum kind of sensitivity thing. also is there sum way i can bypass or disable the air bag light in case i decide to not put one in?

when you take off the steering wheel bag, there are two wires. one is for the bag, the other is the horn. the bag wire is hooked to the clock spring. disconnect that on from the spring. the horn wire you have to push in and turn counterwise, and it pulls out.
as far as the light, you can take out the cluster, and on the back side there are led's for lights. find out which light is the air bag light and cut that led out. this is a permanent disconnect so make sure you don't want the light anymore.the led's are only about 1/8" dia.
if you need to, pm for more info.

first thing i would do....is replace the damn sensor that made them go off.. perhaps the one attached to the front bumper? depenging on where you got hit. Good way to waste money if you dont start there.

Well if your getting the horn honking you certainly didn't follow the instructions above. Since your bags are already blown you don't have to worry about those going off but your new ones might just pop as soon as you plug them in.

If you mean on your 2004 cavi then once you take the 2 screws out pull plastic cowl back a little and you will see the air bag has a dowel in each corner with a notch cut out of it. There is a spring that locks in each notch and secures the air bag. Use a screw driver and pull the springs away from the dowel and that corner of the bag will pop free. Do all four corners and the bag will pop right out.

You CAN disable the air bag with a simulator which is pretty much a resister soldered into a plug. I want to say its something like a 220 ohm resistor. Search the forums there have been lots of posts about airbag simulator, I think there is even a sticky or FAQ about it.

well i didnt get hit i jumped up on a curb goin like 80 and it made the bags go off which ended up breaking my front windshield. i got that fixed already though. but ok ill try that on the steering wheel. but wheres the sensor that ur talking bout in the front and why would the new bags go off

on the core support

Airbags go off for the stupidest reason when you don't need them, and they don't go off when u need them.
You don't need to replace that sensor in the front, I never replaced my sensor and the bags worked fine. I found a company that says they can reset your stuff airbag module under the seat. PM me and I can get you their name. It costs 110 dollars. So all you need is the driver and passanger. 95-99 is the same, 00-02 then 03-05.

ok so i dont have to replace n e sensors then? i mean the only air bag that im really having to deal with i think is just the driver side 1. becuz i dont need the one on the pass side. the only reason i ask bout it is cuz of my parents wanting me to have it. i figure its just a waste of aspace and weight becuz it did even work like it should have.
and if i get another steering wheel air bag from the junk yard will any year cavy work

ok if you decide to take it back to stock heres what you need to replace and thne maybe someone else could elaborate on thses items for you.both deployed bag units, air bag modules, i/p upper pad, diagnostic unit sensors in the area of accident damage,seat belts being used at the time of collision,.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT AN SIR SYSTEM THAT WORKS PROPERLY AND SAFELY, PLEASE READ!!!!!
If your air bags have gone off and you want to replace the system, (or need to replace if the law requires it in your area) here are some important things to keep in mind:

YOU DO HAVE TO REPLACE THE IMPACT SENSOR. I don't care if you think your sensor still works fine and the airbag light stays off, you don't know what an impact
has done to that sensor and this is not a system you want to take chances with! On our cars, the sensor is near the hood latch.

YOU HAVE TO REPLACE YOUR SDM(sensing and diagnostic module) This is the controller under the passenger seat. It also contains an impact sensor. Yes, it's true,
there are those who can try to reset an SDM for a few bucks. DON"T DO IT!!! I don't know about where you live, but in Canada there are laws against this sort of thing. The
businesses that do this also may offer repacked airbags, also against the law and here's why: An inflator module has a carefully measured amount of a specific type of
explosive to ensure a proper restraint in an accident. In the past few years, inflator modules have shown up on the market that have enough explosive charge to decapitate
you!

I don't mean to sound like a preacher, but I'd rather have you all properly informed about the airbag system than to take the cheap way out and end up with a system that isn't safe and won't work properly when you need it most.

well said framescraper

ok i just checked with the dealership and they want 3 grand to fix the air bags. thats outlandish. they said its 725 per bag and that they need to replace the seat belts and the diagonistics. the seat belts are fine and they still lock when needed. i think this is a scam

ive got both driver and pass bags if you need them. also clock spring and sensors. let me know by pm. i dont have the dash cover though.

when the air bags go off there are charges in the seat belts that retract the belt to pull you back in the seat so the air bag doesn't damage you these are one (1) shot deals and should be replaced when the rest of the system is done

Even if you dont want to admit it the dealer Is RIGHT

ministock64 wrote:when the air bags go off there are charges in the seat belts that retract the belt to pull you back in the seat so the air bag doesn't damage you these are one (1) shot deals and should be replaced when the rest of the system is done

Even if you dont want to admit it the dealer Is RIGHT

Are you kidding me. I sooooo do not believe that nor think you are right. If you look at a seatbelt you would see that isn't right, unless i'm missin something.
The only reason the dealer says that is so they can make more $$$ and because it is prolly policy. They don't want to fix the bags and then have somebody get in a wreck and sue them because the bags worked but the belts didn't because they got tweaked in the first accident or something.

When we replaced mine we put in the new bags and a new sensor that goes under the passenger seat. Pretty much self explanatory. Some years have the sensor on the front and i'd replace that too if I were you.

-Seth

You should get air bags like this ....





dan

Actually, our cars do not have seat belt charges (seat belt pretensioners), but many GM vehicles do have them. Even without the pretensioners any collision with enough force to deploy the airbags can cause damage to any seatbelt that was in use at the time of the collision even though you might not be able to see the damage. If you think about the G forces exerted on a seatbelt during a collision, this becomes a bit clearer.