[Koffer]

Since Im the 1st to get one from Mot im going to go about the install in a well thought out way and have many pixs to show .

I have a 95 test truck sitting in my shop that gave it life to help some of you who needed parts as so since it donated it self to science (and the dash is trashed) Im going to see just what needs to be removed ,unbolted, cut and drilled so that it goes well for everyone .
The air bags went so I'll be looking into what it looks like with the bar installed and the bag blowen up to see if there is any problem with the bar being in the way.
I will be starting this little project tommorow after work so stay tuned

[loquito]

cool

[mot]

Quit teasing us already and get to work!!!

Mot

[airlaird]

I'm back in.....after getting it, I realized I gotta have it on my truck A couple of tips since I have since put mine back together.

1. Removal of the pass A/C vent is a must. (this is because the ducting behind the vent is attached to the entire ducting)
2. The ducting behind the pass A/C vent is attached by a screw..behind the dash...this has to be removed.

I look forward to your "Dash dremeling excercise"...this was my only hesitation for fear of the padding/vinyl cracking in the cold or heat. We all appreciate your help!!
airlaird

[Koffer]

Alrighty then
I have a nice new grab bar mounted on a totaled truck

This is a job but not for the faint at heart


Hand tools only needed and only a few
heres a list

2 Phillps head screw drivers 1 reg and 1 stubby
1 10mm socket
1 10mm gear wrench (flex head I used )
1 awe
1 Xatco knife

Now onto the fun

before starting disco the neg batt. cable

1)Pull the glove box
two screws hold it at the bottom then remove the latch hoop at the top

2) next pull the speaker by removing the screw that holds it at the bottom .

3) remove the one screw that holds the glove box light

4) once thats out behind it is the factory radio amp which is held by 2 screws (4a)that are seen when you pull the speaker once they are removed you can unplug the 2 connectors (4b) and slide the amp out to the side through the glove box hole

5) here comes the fun part there is a air duct that runs from the air vent next to the A piller over to the center of the dash above the glove box opening. there is 1 screw (5d)that holds it but is a bugger to see as its right above the hole (5a) for the left side of the tab for the speaker . Use the stubby driver to remove .

Getting it out of the dash is a little tuff so I pulled the screw and the bolt (5c)that holds the lower part of the dash below the speaker hole to give me a little more wiggle room .

6) once its out you can reach up behind the dash and feel the round hole on the back of the pad that is one of the holes for mounting. Its right above the right side opening of the glove box door .

7) The point of no return
Take the awe and push it through the hole to the outside of the dash pad . (8)
Now that you got a cool metal spike sticking through the dash its time to find the other side .

8) pull out the awe and now use your handy dandy grab bar to get a good idea where the left side hole will be .

9) I used the bar as my guide for that hole and then push the awe through the front as there is no access to that one from the back .

10) once the holes have been made take the grab bar and put it in them till the welded washer with the tab hits the pading and draw around them as this is what will be cut out . (10)

11) once marked use your Xacto knife to cut through vinyl on the lines ..

12) pick out the vinyl so you can see the foam core under it . cut that out and you will see the holes for the stud and the tab on the welded washer . (11)

13) the right side nut goes on easy but the left has the other part of the duct and this is where little fingers and the gear wrench is needed to tighten it up .

14) grab bar is mounted

At this point I was at the 1 hour mark with getting tools etc . (that and working off a lift arm 6 feet in the air )

15) put it back together and have a and






Pixs will follow with the step #s next to them

[mooker82]

Do you think the bar would be in the way in the event of airbag deployment after looking into it?

[nakman]

Excellent!! thanks for the write-up, Todd, looking forward to the pics. The big question on everyone's mind though is what's the potential for deploying the airbag during the install? Now that you've done it, any new insights there?

[Koffer]

pixs

[Koffer]

more pixs

[Koffer]

even more pixs

[Junk]

Koffer, where is the torch?

[Koffer]

Originally Posted by mooker82

Do you think the bar would be in the way in the event of airbag deployment after looking into it?

I dont know , it may . I need to use the air gun and blow the bag back up (after taping a couple of holes in it ) and see just what it looks like . The other thing is I wont know if its right as the windsheild is gone so I may not be able to tell just right .
If someone can find a pix of the airbag deployment on the pass side from a crash test I would be able to tell for sure .

[Koffer]

Originally Posted by Junk

Koffer, where is the torch?

I couldnt find it

[mot]

Todd,



I think I would have been able to tackle it myself before/unless someone had done it like you did.

I, too, am curious to see what it would look like with the airbag deployed. Do you know if the lid flip up or down?

Thanks for taking/posting pics.

Mot

[Koffer]

Hello Mot

The lid goes up towards the windsheild so thats not in the way . I will be messing with it later this week when I get more time .

Originally Posted by mot

Todd,



I think I would have been able to tackle it myself before/unless someone had done it like you did.

I, too, am curious to see what it would look like with the airbag deployed. Do you know if the lid flip up or down?

Thanks for taking/posting pics.

Mot

[Josh83]

So wait, do you remove the air duct and leave it removed, or just remove it for access and put it back in?

[Koffer]

Originally Posted by Josh83

So wait, do you remove the air duct and leave it removed, or just remove it for access and put it back in?

Its just pulled for access to the mounting holes then its put back in .

[airlaird]

When I pulled the guts out ( A/C vent) I believe you could have installed the bar without ANY fear of bag deployment. I really don't think there is a way to deploy the bag with this type of installation...the guts of the airbag were tucked in pretty deep behind the ducting.
Airlaird

[Koffer]

Originally Posted by nakman

Excellent!! thanks for the write-up, Todd, looking forward to the pics. The big question on everyone's mind though is what's the potential for deploying the airbag during the install? Now that you've done it, any new insights there?

As for the air bag going it shouldnt but disconnecting the battery will keep it from if something goes way wrong like have Junk help

[Godzilla FJ80]

Can you post pics of this grab-bar?

[gbell210]

Well there is a picture of it above in post# 10
But here are many more mounted pictures:
http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.p...light=grab+bar
And more detailed pics on page 4 of that post

[4x4CPOSEADOG]

Koffer,

That was a great job! It is a very detail job even wanna be mech can do this job. I love those pictures, very precise. Good Job!

[Josh83]

Originally Posted by Koffer

As for the air bag going it shouldnt but disconnecting the battery will keep it from if something goes way wrong like have Junk help

I believe the airbag circuit has a capacitor, so disconnecting the battery will not disable them unless you give the capacitor ample time to discharge.

[Walking Eagle]

here's a non-stock option

http://www.chirco.com/cgi-bin/chirco...View/CPR857115

[nakman]

Yahoo!!! Finally got my grab bar, did the install tonight. That air duct is definitely the toughest part, getting it out that is. I dented the heck out of it on the ECU on the way down, but it bounced back just fine once out.

[nakman]

What made it easier to put back in was taking out the vent. There are two clips on each side of the vent, that you have to mash down to get it to pull out, takes a minute but is worth it, much easier to install the air duct with the vent out of the way, and with the amp & speaker out of the way it's easy to reach up and support the back of the air duct when reinstalling the vent.

[nakman]

Couple more pics of the holes in the dash, man I can't believe I just shoved an awl through my dash board.. twice

[nakman]

Final pic of everything buttoned back up, install was a complete success! I used a screwdriver to mash part of the duct out of the way to get the nut on the post on the left. Also there is a rubber end cap on the screw at the bottom of the dash piece that Koffer mentions above that he removed to get a little more "wiggle room," be sure to put that back on since it pokes right into the wires going to the ECU.

Thanks again Koffer for taking the initial leap of faith and posting up such good directions, total time for me was about 2.5 hours but I was taking pictures, plus any time I take something off I have to stop everything and go wipe it clean.. and thanks again to you, Mot!

[yellowchaosfj80]

Cool JOB KOFFER ! I'm looking forward to getting mine! And excellent write up!

[mot]

tim,

To have to cut out holes in the dash like in your pic would be more than a little unnerving, I think.

Nontheless, it looks like a super clean install job!

Thanks for posting and thanks for thanking me!

Yours,

Mot