Grants85TA

I wanted to know if there is a difference between a firebird airbag & non airbag steering columns besides the airbag ones having vats & and a clockspring. I have a 98 T/A steering wheel w/radio controls which I'm trying to get to work. My problem is I got the clockspring with the radio control harness on it and then I put it on shaft. Everything went fine, then I put the steering wheel on and the clockspring is now making the steering wheel stick out too far that I can't bolt it up. Also even if I could bolt it up, leaves a nasty gap behind the wheel. So I was going to get a 90 Firebird airbag column. Is the shaft longer on those since they also use a clockspring to provide more room for the steering wheel. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Grants85TA

Well I went to the junkyard and got the airbag steering column out of a 90 or 91 camaro. To answer my question, the cover piece that covers the ignition and turn signal lever is longer by 3/4 of an inch. This would take care of the gap I was talking about. The shaft is longer by the same amount or maybe an inch total. This will allow me to install the 4th gen wheel. Hopefully this info helps someone else out that wants to do this in the future.

Justins86bird

Good info. I want to use the new T/A wheel myself, but didn't know the columns were diff lengths.