• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Removing panels over airbags

PeppermintPatty said:
Leave the airbags alone. Do not remove those plastics, the airbag is an integral part of those pieces. You cannot safely remove, paint & install those pieces back into the car. Airbags have to be installed by a professional in order to work correctly, it is not simply a "plug & play" device. If this is a "U Pull It" yard, the owners won't be very happy when you've pulled & trashed over $300 in airbag equipment & they can't resell it. To replace it from the factory will cost you twice as much.

You guys really need to leave well enough alone on the interior of these cars...you are turning them into **** at an alarming rate & then you are going to b*tch down the road when the resale is even lower than it is now & why? because you are trashing your car, plain & simple. These are plainjane contours for chrissake, not showstoppers...stick to painting the removeable smooth plastic bezels & leave it at that, if you really can't resist the urge to paint something.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I find this humerus because both my car and my brothers car were salvage vehicles, that had their airbags deployed, we replaced both air bags and air bag modules in our cars.... I fail to see why it's so hard... :shrug: Of course there are the risks involved with replacing the air bags, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's an easy cake walk. I'm not saying you should just run out and start replacing yours because you think you can.... You need to make sure you take the most precaution as possible to make sure you don't do something like deploy the airbag in your face while installing it.... We used common sense and a hanes manual to work on our removal and reinstall... I believe you would know if your air bag was not installed properly... You'd probably get an airbag light if it was not hooked up properly. I would suggest having someone who has done it before do it for you if you feel uncomfortable doing it...

Also in response to the thread starter... not so sure about the dash, but I know that the passenger side air bag cover my brother got from the junk yard had to be dyed to match his interior.... I assume though that you could sand down the dash and paint it though...
 
PeppermintPatty said:
www.hicksairbagcovers.com is your best bet if you want spare panels to paint. It requires you removing your original bags & replaces them w/ empty covers (they are ok if you aren't worried about having airbags, there is no law stating that they cannot be removed). I bought my contour totalled w/ low miles CHEAP & this is the route I took. The covers are very nice & easily paintable...helluva lot cheaper than buying used bags from the recycler. If you're hell bent on doing this, that's my advice. Keep your bags & use empty covers, don't mess w/ used ones, I wouldn't trust 'em anyway.
Click to expand...

i think those look cool, but the problem is, if i were to remove my dash, and therefore my airbags, assuming what you say is true (which i'm not doubting), then, since i won't be able to reinstall the airbags, those custom dashes really aren't necessary, using your logic, i'd just be able to put the dash back in without airbags (and hell, my passengers are always mooches, let them have a good surprise when the bag doesn't deploy!!!).


secondly, striker, thanks a ton for posting that, i really need to get my hands on the cd, but in the meantime, i'm concerned that there's no mention at all about airbags in that. i think airbags could be categorized under "components" to reinstall. although, you say you've done this before, and the bags don't have to come up with the dash, or can go with the dash without being separated?
 
CSVT_2004 said:
Sorry but I find this humerus because both my car and my brothers car were salvage vehicles, that had their airbags deployed, we replaced both air bags and air bag modules in our cars.... I fail to see why it's so hard... :shrug: Of course there are the risks involved with replacing the air bags, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's an easy cake walk. I'm not saying you should just run out and start replacing yours because you think you can.... You need to make sure you take the most precaution as possible to make sure you don't do something like deploy the airbag in your face while installing it.... We used common sense and a hanes manual to work on our removal and reinstall... I believe you would know if your air bag was not installed properly... You'd probably get an airbag light if it was not hooked up properly. I would suggest having someone who has done it before do it for you if you feel uncomfortable doing it...

Also in response to the thread starter... not so sure about the dash, but I know that the passenger side air bag cover my brother got from the junk yard had to be dyed to match his interior.... I assume though that you could sand down the dash and paint it though...
Click to expand...

yeah, sanding and painting is exactly what i have in mind. and by sanding i mean completing removing all texture from it, so that it becomes almost like hard plastic in its appearance, aided by some good paint and clear coat.

as for knowing if you have your airbag installed incorrectly, i'm starting to believe you're right, but i guess there's only one true way to know for sure....
 
every car i have ever taken a dash out of the airbags stayed in the car and were removed separately from the dash.
 
striker2 said:
every car i have ever taken a dash out of the airbags stayed in the car and were removed separately from the dash.
Click to expand...

I believe the drivers is one piece, cover and all, the passenger has a cover and then is mounted in behind that separately if I remember correctly... Which I'm trying to find pics from our rebuild of it, but I'm not seeing any to know for sure... I can't really tell... someone else needs to chime in..
 
CSVT_2004 said:
I believe the drivers is one piece, cover and all, the passenger has a cover and then is mounted in behind that separately if I remember correctly... Which I'm trying to find pics from our rebuild of it, but I'm not seeing any to know for sure... I can't really tell... someone else needs to chime in..
Click to expand...

i think i got what i need. next time i get to a junkyard, i'm gonna snatch up a dash, take it home, and do my work on it. i'll definitely take pics and the lot.

btw, will a contour dash fit in a contour? hmmmmm...the logistics are perplexing.....
 
dyaballikl said:
btw, will a contour dash fit in a contour? hmmmmm...the logistics are perplexing.....
Click to expand...

did you just say that... are you trying refer to the differences in year or maybe how they assembled the car as you might not be able to change the dash???
 
Yes the airbag is mounted separately from the dash, It is mounted to the support the runs across the front. You can take the dash off and then the cover, but you have to watch out not to ruin the little Christmas tree clips on the cover. Take your doing taking those out and you'll be fine with the rest. Ive been a collision tech for many years and never had a problem with the airbag systems of any car. Most cars the passenger side airbag is separate and is mounted to the sub frame inside the dash and the cover is attached to the dash and can be easily taken off. Most only have 3 bolts on the top on the metal support on the dash itself and Christmas tree clips on the front. Hope this helps and good luck, If i can find my cover ill take pictures tonight to show you.
 
Last edited:
how hard/ possible is it to bend the cover back and reclip it, without buying a new one? if lets say the airbags already went off and your replacing them.
 
It all depends on if the back got bent and if those Christmas tree clips got damaged. If the hinge is fine and it goes back down fine you should be able to use it again, Ive done a few cars the that airbags went off and I was able to save the cover. You should be able to go to the yard and get those clips.
 
Last edited:
devanmc said:
did you just say that... are you trying refer to the differences in year or maybe how they assembled the car as you might not be able to change the dash???
Click to expand...

haha, yeah, i guess that did sound a bit confusing. i meant, would the dash from a contour be able to be transported in a contour, like in the trunk or soemthing, cuz i'm going to get the dash there, take it home, then sand and paint. i don't think the seats fold down, that could be tough.
 
dyaballikl said:
haha, yeah, i guess that did sound a bit confusing. i meant, would the dash from a contour be able to be transported in a contour, like in the trunk or soemthing, cuz i'm going to get the dash there, take it home, then sand and paint. i don't think the seats fold down, that could be tough.
Click to expand...


How about moving the passenger seat all the way forward and the back of it all the way down, then putting the dash sideways in your car. that might work
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top