87WS6

iTrader: (1)

Well it finally happend. Some lowlife broke into my Trans-AM last night. Stealing my stereo and smashing my passengers side window into a million pieces.

So I have glass all over my new carpet.

My technical question is this. They shattered my turn signal lever and that part of the colum entirely. How the hell do I fix this? I'd post pics if I had a digital camera. It looks like they just pulled the turn signal lever down as hard as they could. Then shattered all the plastic around that part. Theres some wires hanging out as well as the module the signal lever connects to.

How much does this cost? And how the hell do I fix it. Any advice on this is appreciated.

Dave Y

it is a common repair, if it is just the stuff that is normally broke when a column is broke, you can get all the pieces from the dealer, I'll see if I can find a walk through

ThraxXx

man I keep reading about peoples 3rd Gens getting broken into...I am really starting to wonder if it was a good idea getting this car. Maybe I will invest in a good high end car alarm.

Morley

An armed guard to watch over it when you aren't around would be better.

87WS6

iTrader: (1)

I just wish it had been a pro. Not some amatuer. Because breaking into an F-Body is not a hard thing to do. It can be done with little to no damage if done right. It would take about the same amount of time to do right.

Oh well. Its the first vehicle out of 8 that I have owned that has ever been burglerized or vandalized.

So you think I would have to go to a junk yard or to the dealer to get everything I need to fix this? Even the plastics?

I know I can probably get the plastics at the yard. Maybe.

MrDude_1

yes, goto a yard... MUCH cheaper...



does yours look like this? : http://josh.swoca.net/board/mrdude/stolen/


thats what happened to my car when they tried to steal it


theres a plastic collar around the column.... GM has used that same collar for years and years and years...

you can goto a junkyard and pull one apart, take the plastic parts and stick them on your column.... its not too hard, just a bit of work..

you'll need 2 "special" tools that you can buy or rent from almost any autoparts store.... a steering wheel puller, and a locking plate remover/installer.

this isnt exact directions, but its a basic rundown...

remove the airbag or horn button
remove the nut holding the steering wheel on
screw on the steering wheel puller
tighten down the puller and the wheel comes off.
screw on the locking plate remover
put the "U" on and tighten it until it depresses the plate.
use a small flathead screwdriver and remove the wire clip....
take off the remover and the plate comes out

everything else is pretty much in your face easy.... if you find a car with the same options as you ( cruise, wiper speeds, ect) you can take the switch too...

the collar unscrews from the column

and the reverse is how you put yours together.... the clip in the locking plate is almost impossible to get in if you dont have the tool though... you'll need it.

Morley

Strong hands and a will to come out on top. But it takes lots of brute strength and ignorance without the tool.

MrDude_1

hence the almost...


with me pressing on the plate as hard as i can, a friend managed to push the clip in.... but i never want to do that again..... with the tool, its a less then one min job.... most of the time is spent putting the tool on and taking it off

FastElectrics

Another option if it's a big problem down there is this device.. not sure how well it works though.
http://www.davidt.com
Complete Theft Repair Area: This is an area we really wouldn't need if all vehicles had a LOK-ITT Column Lock / ANTI THEFT DEVICE. This products puts a 1/8" steel shroud around the complete column and completely prevents tampering and theft. A little bit of protection goes along way to saving you unnecessary dollars in the future, not to mention the aggravation of possible repair costs incurred.

MrDude_1

for GM cars thats a pretty good car theft deturrent....


athough i prefer my VATS..... its the only thing that kept em from taking my car... it just flat out works... no matter how much you may hate it when working on FI stuff.......

CALIROCZ28

iTrader: (3)

My car also was broken into on x-mas eve. If I ever catch the bastards I will hurt them badly! Thats what I want for x-mas is to find the lowlife/s that did this.

ThraxXx

well luckily at home the TransAm will be in a garage...just worried about when I take it other places.

Then again...north bay isn't really as big of a place as Toronto or NewYork. Its only a population of 56,000 and most of which are elders. I might not have as much to worry about as some but I still want to protect my investement.

FastElectrics

Ya, the Vats has saved my car once already... the guy needed a car, didn't care about the stereo equipment at all. never even touched it.

dcm01003

recently my buddy's car was broken into and a week before that two cars were broken into in a parking lot next to the house I was in one weekend...they all had one thing in common. what i like to call "plug n' play" aftermarket stereos. This series of thefts has caused myself and my friend to attempt to design some form of plate that could secure the entire deck, not just the chasis, to the inside of the car. There is only one problem with this...one of my other friends had this modification in his VW and the people that broke into it decided that since they couldn't have the stereo that no one could and smashed in the front of it...however, it does do what it was built to do...only thing is we have to modify it to work with my 89 rs....but i will keep u posted once we get the final result...oh and if u have theft on your car...dig up your receipt for the stereo, call you insurance company..and let them know...because they will cover it if you have proper documentation and they have it on file...later

Dave

CaptPicardsZ28

Talking about all this is really upsetting...I am upgrading my alarm system.

ddn69

ya its unfortunate when camaros are basically one of the top cars to steal along with g bodies. Ive got my cutlass supreme stolen right at the *** damned registry!...Lowlifes have nothin better then to make someone elses life that much worse

nate

junkyarddog

Wishing for a pro thief???


You are luck you came out and found your car!! My car was stolen and the only tool used must have been a hammer or crowbar.

All you vats guys who think you are safe...there are only ten or so resistors which can mimick the key. seems pretty weak to me. There are good alarms. A cheap Viper is a start...but there are way better alarms.

Install it yourself, and do it right. Pro installers don't always do the best wiring and it's in a standard location.....under the column convenient for the thief to disarm. Do yourself a favor and use multiple theft deterents.

No offense to real installers, I worked at a place with skilled people and also some real jagazzes at Discount Auto Sound. One guy in particullar constantly had cars coming back, at least 1/3 of my work was fixing his garbage installs, the sad thing is that other installers were fixing his work too! Some very horrific wiring, I might ad.


I have a message to thieves: My cars will all have a CCTV link with a pinhole camera, pager alert...silent alarm......me with a bat, long pry bar, bat with drywall screws....maybee a .45, you will never walk again and if I get my chance, I will hog tie you and drive you halfway across the country and leave you in the middle of a national forest to live off of pine cones and drag yourself to safety.

I've had two home break ins, a home invasion with a $3500 reconstructive facial surgery, one car stolen and another petty burgulary in another.....three CD collections vanished (I hardly buy CDs anymore and never keep them in one place)

I hate Low life thieves and criminals!! i would love to make an example out of someone, don't even think about bringing me to jail with you punks! I will hurt you and get away with it too. My anti theft stickers will read: gun control is using both hands! You will prowl in my nieghborhood looking for some stereo goodies or ashtray change and go home looking like a vietnam war veteran.

There are great posts about extensive overkill systems, do it!!

i would be happy to assist in my free time, I am MECP certified and i like to hook up systems in my spare time for some extra change. Some systems are installed only when sold, just be sure the shop people are skilled and the MECP is a plus, unless you know they are good enough without it. there are several 'tricks' to making your vehicle secure without any real alarm system, you can configure some bosh relays for example, to do several anti theft funtions on thier own or in addition to an alarm system.

I can't stress how important anti theft is even if your car is only $1000 worth, if you like it and plan on keeping it to restore. I always thought my car would get wrapped around a tree with me driving, not stolen and foolishly vandalized.

Whenever you feel you need rims, paint, stereo system......stall those plans because you will feel like a fool when someone drives away with your car and you've put several thousand in mods and still no real security system. You can always remove the elctronics and transfer them from vehicle to vehicle, it adds a little to the re-sale of the car, and takes a little off of the insurance if you carry full coverage. Think about the mentality of a car thief, they would kill someone on the road and get out and run. Having no alarm system is almost as neglegent as leaving your keys in the ignition at 7/11. if you ever saw a thief in action, you would think twice about leaving your doors unlocked or whatever.

when my car was stolen, I wanted to drive down the same city street with a military humvee and make mince meat out of all suspicious looking induviduals while manning a mounted 7.22mm mini-gun, I'm over that now. I can't be occupied with anger my whole life. I can actually laugh about it now, but I still have a strong will to hurt someone badly simply because they like to steal things. i often look outside my front and rear windows hoping to see some punk looking kid peeking inside of cars just so I can go running after them and send them home bleeding.

CaptPicardsZ28

Whew!! Feel better?? I do.....

BZcamaro28

Words can't even describe how I felt when I walked out to my car in the morning getting ready to go to work only to see wires and crap hanging out of my hatchback. I knew instantly my stereo was gone... I looked inside and my column was completely busted and shards of plastic were everywhere. They took my CD's, even my registration and my owner's manual. I was so pissed off... I don't even want a stereo in my car anymore. I'm fine with listening to the low rumble of the engine and bobbing my head to the little bumps I feel on the street. I won't even go to the sound section of a retail store for fear I might be stupid and buy another $400 CD player. I'm putting in a an alarm and lining my box with razor blades.

GTA-SPD

Ain't that a bitch!! Sorry to hear all of this crap about break-ins and stolen vehicles. It does make me feel a little better, in a weird way, knowing that it isn't just me getting the ****-end of the stick this year. I had my 90 Chevy K1500 stolen from an RTD Park-n-Ride on March 3 and never got it back. Then right before Christmas, some jerk-off broke in to my wife's car thru the right front window, pried the face-off cd player face off with a screwdriver, mutilating the chassis of the radio and then swiped the Rosary off the mirror that her grandfather gave her before he died. To place the cherry on top of that **** cake, it was snowing and about 10 degrees when I got to the car, after putting in about 10 hours that day. The only reason that the car was even still there is because she installed a switch,that is so well hidden, that even if you know where it is, you still have a hell of a time finding it, that cuts the fuel pump so it wouldn't start. I used to talk smack to her about that friggin switch, but that little bastard saved me from a 9 mile walk in the cold.

After that day, I invested in a $100.00, 87 Honda to drive to work. If someone wants in there, they need the thing way worse than do. It's pretty nice on the inside, so you don't even realize that is as ugly as iot is until you get out.
Good luck finding the culprit, kick him in the crotch a couple time for me if you do.

BZcamaro28

I'd like to cram my stereo they took up their asses and drop kick some heads. They were trying to steal the car and couldn't for some unknown reason. They were punk kids probably and saw a stero in a nice car. What pisses me off more, is that the deck is useless without the faceplate!!! They took my deck and my box with 2 12's in the back. I was pretty pissed.

SuperchargedRS

I've been fortunate with my cars. The only time I thought I might have a problem was during a BBQ at my property. I was up top looking down waiting for the chicken to get done when I say some guy walk past the open gate and start really checking my car out (about 75 yards away), none the less the dogs chased him off.
The best cure for scum is a garage and a 90lb pit.


-SuperchargedRS

mist1006

I believe I'll join this group.

I had someone break into my Camaro in my Inlaws driveway... right behind my father in laws skylark (which was unlocked and untouched)

I couldn't believe it when he called an told me my hatch was hanging open in the pouring rain. got there.. sure enough they had my stereo and my 3 10s in a box. I cried.. hard.

the keys were in the car too.. the motor wasnt... so they have a set of my keys

Well my motors in.. i have the following ways to keep my car in the driveway.

1) my steering wheel is off my car. we're replacing the keys an just havent gotten that far.

2) i have an ignition line to my ignition box that i disconnect each time i leave it. floods out if someone tries to start it.. trust me... i did it accidently

my mother in law bought me another head unit for my car. its in my apartment. and will be til i get an alarm in it.

i was lucky tho.. they left my column alone. they even unwired my stereo... took the stereo harness.. annoyed.

anyway... an alarm will be put on the car. good luck to all you guys.

dcm01003

my friend came up with some idea to install high pitch security speakers in his car above the driver and passenger side and next to the stereo so that they will go off when someone tries to break into the wiring to the car or attempts to remove the stereo. This of course would be in addition to a normal alarm system...but i thought it would be pretty interesting. He showed me the speakers and I gave them a test...all I can say is I was talking very loudly for the rest of the day...damn they were painful. But just thought that may be a good idea for those of you trying to inflict some pain on car thiefs. It was very effective in making me confused for a little while too, so maybe it would hold them until someone notices. You never know....he seems to know that it wont get u sent to jail because it is life threatening or permanently damaging.

Dave

Dark Man C

Sorry to hear about your break-in.The sorry guy who did that needs to get a JOB a 9 to 5 like the rest of us.The sorry low life.

tbfirebird

i think that if i was trying to steal someones stero the second i hear loud sound i would run so if i were you guys i would get some of the loudest speakers i could get even like a mega phone and rig it up to go off when the door opens or the window breaks or shatters.

FbodTrek

My monte carlo (mint condition, thug bait) had an old school aftermarket kill switch. In the glove box there was a steel box bolted to the cross plate That housed a heavy switch that could only be turned with a phone booth key. The switch was wired between the battery and the starter. I had the original Am radio in the car so I never had to worry about stereo theft. There was no way to bypass that setup. A neat cheap theft deterent.

Conv90RS

My 90 RS conv. was recently broken into as well. They couldn't get the stereo out, but ripped the face off as well as the plastic covering under the face plate. They did get away with my 6 disc changer (Both Alpine) full of discs (My favs too: Pink FLoyd-dark side of the moon, Seether, Saliva, Incubus, DefTones and Dream Theater...ouch). The kicker is that they put about five holes in my conv. top. It's been freezing here lately, and it sucks.

I've been perusing these boards trying to get input on different alarms. I've also been searching Ebay, they seem to have some pretty good deals. I'm leaning toward one that has a paging option, as well as remote starter and motion detector (not that I leave the top down much, but think it would help with detection, esp when ppl cut through my top.

These boards are great, thanks for any input you have.

91rsv6

My 87 Iroc was stolen a couple months ago and the shattered the plastic around the column and when i went to pick it up. The cops showed me how to start it with a flat head screw driver. theres rods in there that have a notch and you have to break the little collar that connects the rod to ignition. and then you pry the rod towards you and it roars to life.
I stress to all those with Pre-Vats to get collar and/or alarm.
I lost a 320 dollar four channel, tops case, spare plastic and about 400 miles of burnt tires(brand new).
Then the rear end blew up one week later.

thirdgen88

I would encourage even VATS-equipped cars to get a collar for the steering column... Some low-life tried to steal my brothers '91 Firebird (this was right before we bought it (got it cheap because of a leaking front seal and steering column damage)).. They didn't get away with the car because of the VATS, but if they would have seen a collar they probably wouldn't have even tried... The previous owner said that they had apparently pushed the car almost a block.. Maybe they were trying to push-start with a 700r4..

Most theives don't know from VATS or non-VATS, they just see that GM column and go for it...

89_IROC_98U

This may sound a bit dumb (and possibly illegal, but I have a complete disregard for that when it comes to my IROC), but what about wiring something up to send electrical current through the body of the car? Would the painted metal surface conduct electricity? Is this even feasible?

- 89_IROC

vernw

iTrader: (2)

I like the sound of this idea (pun intended!)

What speakers would a guy have to get for this? Do you wire them into the alarm horn under the hood, or some other idea? I think I'll also look into the idea of a hidden kill switch somewhere (or the fuel pump power feed.....)

Thanks for some great ideas!

- Vern

vernw

iTrader: (2)

double post - sorry!

Charged350

iTrader: (1)

I wanna wire up a kill switch for the battery, starter, adn fuel pump, on top put a alarm, and get teh removable grant steering wheel kit....and carry my gun with me...i think that would be enough....


how to wire upa fuel pump kill switch...

what about the baterry....

EmoDork138

Hah, to make light of this crappy topic.

Last summer I woke up to head to work, only to see wires comming out of my CD Deck area..

Yes, it was gone... with all of my CD's too (90% of them burned).

Well the jokes on them! My CD player quit working 2 days before they stole it! I really hope they take a long *** time installing it into some crappy car.

Anyways I bought a new one, and had it installed for free. Turns out my other CD player created a short in my electrical... now my power locks, horn, and interior lights now work (they never ever did before)

I would just like to note, that I have broken into my own car 3 times with a 3 dollar slim jim bought from any auto store. It's so freakin easy to unlock these thirdgens with that slim jim, so just beware out there...

ROCK THE DEVIL!

vernw

iTrader: (2)

I still wanna hear about how to install and connect the high pitched interior speakers. That ought to at least drive them crazy while they're trying to get it started or the CD pulled!

Anyone actually done this?

Have a Grat Day, Y'All!


- Vern

89_305TransAm

do a search for the auto tazer, from what i understand they dont make it anymore but you can still find it online some places.

DeathStarr89

iTrader: (1)

i have a double switch system on my T/A, and an ignition kill from my alarm. first of course, the alarm has to be dis-armed, then you gotta turn the key to "on" then there is a momentary electronic key-switch that's gotta be turned on to start the car.

If anyone wants to steal my CD player, there is something wrong with them. It's a Delco out of a John Deere Tractor, a real POS but it plays CD's

It's sad what people will do for a CD player, my buddy just had an old Alpine ripped off out of his '65 Plymouth show car. they messed that thing up real bad too, he's gotta get the pass door repainted cause they used a screwdriver to pry out the lock instead of breaking the window.

Fu**in kids

badapple

No one taking there face plates off? Everyone makes fun of me when I do it, even if its just a 15 minute stop at Wal*Mart. You guys know the saying a little goes a long way.

JP86SS

iTrader: (1)

One one of my old cars I got so fed up with putting in the fourth stero that I soldered a couple of razor blades to the bottom of the housing.
I, and anyone who should have been in there knew (or was informed) they were there.
It was never stolen after I did that, and never found stains on the carpet but I liked the security to know they were going to pay for being a lowlife if they tried!

dcm01003

hmmm...it was the fourth stereo, you informed certain others that the razor blades were in there, and now no one has stolen it. Sounds to me like it was an inside job.....

breakthelawinaz

with the screwdriver.. i thoguht i was the only one that knew that... the actuator rod in my column broke one day at a gas station so i had to pull my column apart and now i use a screwdriver to start my car, until i find a new column... im so glad i put my tool kit in my car... actually it was the day before... talk about luck... coul you imagine seeing someone under the dash of a car at a gas station and then starting the car with a screw driver and driving off.. needless to say i still get some strange looks when i start my car with a screwdriver everyday...

*eric*

GirlovFyre

Anyone want to know the best way to break into a Firebird?

I managed to lock my keys in the car about a month ago, with the engine running.





.........Ok so now that you're done laughing, I managed to pull the passenger side window OUT of the rubber guide, away from the car, and get my teeny little arm in there and just unlock it. Luckily I'm not strong enough to have just snapped the window OFF, but hey, a rather large bruise later and I still got to where I had to go on time.

That's right, small people still rule.