Pontiac Firebird 1967-2002 - Airbags deployed thanks to exploding rear U joint

Long story short, doing 5mph and went to move foward, boom and airbags deploy, rear ujoint grenaded... and now I have a perfect looking car with air bags deployed and a fucked windshield obviously.

so, am I fucked? Do I total this or can I really fix it. This car is CLEAN and i couldn't imagine totaling it. what am I looking at

i think you would just replace you busted stuff and call it a day. Just like anything else. man that sux. kinda scary that they will do that. never herd that b4

was funny i had it replaced by my uncle before, and the u joint had grease fittings... my dad said those are bad but i figured they cant be that bad. literally 3000 miles on that u joint.

the question is what am I looking at price wise

Is it that 1996 in your sig? For airbag deployment they may very well total out your car. Airbags,windshield,dash, and labor is gonna run over 3000 grand...

yes. i can fix it myself, i just need to know what parts i need.

Try to find the parts from someone parting out. Or just total it...collect money, and fix it. (But then you'd have a salvage title)

When you install a U-joint with a zerk fitting, you have to make sure it's under compression, not tension during forward acceleration. IOW, the threaded hole in the U-joint it should be squeezed, not pulled apart as the driveshaft tries to turn it.

I can't find any documention online about this but I know I've used greasable joints that had instructions showing how to install it correctly.

i just put the damn thing on... lol

A windshield should run you 200-300 bucks installed. I just had a place come to my house and install one in my '95 'bird last October. It was less than $300 installed.

For the air bags, you could just do what my '95 'bird had when I bought it. The air bags had previously deployed, so the previous owner just stuffed them back into their compartments. For the steering wheel, they just duct-taped the horn cover back together. For the passenger-side, they used some kind of epoxy to glue the flap back down. Since I was building a race car, I tossed the wheel. I now use the passenger-side air bag flap as an access panel for my pcm, fuse box & miscellaneous relays.

Insurance company might over it under comprehensive because I have no speeding tickets or accidents. and i have a good plan... so haha. we will see. If they don't i am going to buy airbags out of a junkyard or something. I want this car to be legal and legit :P haha

here's a drivers side airbag on fleabay for $69.99 BIN

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1995-1999-FIREBIRD-TRANS-AM-DASH-STEERING-WHEEL-AIR-BAG_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116Q QhashZitem518814def0QQitemZ350175420144QQptZMotors Q5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

and a pass side from a 94 for $75 (i think the 93-97 pass side airbags are all the same maybe even 98+)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Pontiac-Trans-Am-Airbag_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el11 16QQhashZitem3a4db9aa61QQitemZ250412116577QQptZMot orsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

You need the airbags, and the module that's under the center console. i JUST did this on my 01 camaro that bumped a pole. oh and a windshield obviously.

very nice. its not that expensive at least. the windshield will probably be the most expensive. how does that pass airbag cover reattach? epoxy sounds a little intense


i just hope the insurance will cover it so its all good parts and no blood on my hands :P haha

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/777/driveshaft.jpg

Damn that sucks. I would just fix it. Looks like a nice car.

haha im not getting rid of it

I have the stuff out of my 98 ta if your interested. Nate

I will let ya know. Im waiting on the adjusters word as to if i have to fix it or they will cover it :D. thanks!