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Air Bag permanent improvement
The Air Bag cover should have a part number on it. When I had my airbag out, it appeared to be an individually replaceable part.
I installed the XM receiver into my truck a few months ago and had to deal with the airbag. I started to try to work the dash past it, but gave up when I started distorting the cover too much. I then elected to remove the airbag..... The two screws that go into the module from the bottom were easy. Got those without too much trouble. The two nuts on the forward side of the module were a different story. Flashlight an mirror to locate them and a combination of 1/4" drive socket extensions and a universal joint in the middle were required to remove them. A real stinker of a job. Thanks to the Service Manual for the excellent diagrams on the locations....
I elected to NOT reinstall the two nuts on the forward facing studs when I re-installed the airbag. I saw no reason to hold in something that is pushed in harder when it deploys. The two bolts that come in from below are more than enough to keep the module from falling out into the passenger's lap.
When my stereo lost its mind on the way home from Kingsburg and could not remeber that it had 5 CDs in it, I had to have the dealership replace the head unit. I told the Service Writer that the two nuts were not on there any more and he noted such to the tech that did the work. When I picked up the truck later that day, I had a very gracious thanks from the service tech. I guess that those two nuts are a dreaded part of the instrument panel access.
I highly recommend that anyone getting into the dash go the extra mile to remove the two nuts on the forward side of the air bag module. It is a real pain and takes an extra 20 minutes, but will be a real time saver in the future. I was amazed at the amount of dash board material behind the airbag. I would have surely messed something up trying to force it past.
Regards,
Mike
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