Firewire is dead. But what do you think about this idea?

Question

I know that the firewire port is saudered onto the logic board on my computer and I use to use it all the time but I was connecting my 12" powerbook to a powermac G4 through target disk mode and I accidently plugged in the firewire end in the powermac upside down. I had the other end alreay plugged into my powerbook and since then I got my firewire port has been unresponsive. I also got the ozone smell of death which made me wonder if the smell is the computer chip that controls the throughput of the firewire port or the actual firewire port itself? Because I use to use firewire a lot and so I am very sad to see something that I did, kill the port.
I had 2 hard drives and dv camcorder and my ipod and of course a firewire hub so I could plug it all in simultaneously. So what I am willing to do is take apart the computer and try to sauder on a new firewire port but now we are back to my original question, is it the port or computer chip. One thing I do know is that my ipod will still get charged even when its directly connected to the computer but nothing will mount.
If anybody has an input on my dilemma please feel free to add to this.
Thank you, Kenny
12 PB 1.5 Ghz 100Gb 5400 rpm, 1.25Gb ram,8x superdrive, 40Gb ipod, 120Gb ext hd   Mac OS X (10.4.6)   B&W G3/350, 640 mb ram, 2/120Gb int hds,2*FW800 hds 240Gb, dvd-rw, 100mb zip

Answer 1

Hi!
I had coffe all over my 12" powerbook and was forced to resolder much of it to get back my ethernet, firewire and usb. Here is what you'll need to care about when you decide to open the machine:
The keyboard assembly is held by 4 screws, 2 of whose are hidden under function keys F1/F2 and F11/F12. Remove caps by gently lifting up their LEFT side.
Heatpipe assembly must be removed too. I managed overtighten one of screws, and part of it which is soldered to the mainboard got loose. Don't do that.
Almost everything else must be removed, which involves many different screw lengths. Keeping track of them somehow helps later when you put everything together.
Don't start the machine with any components (such as hard drive or screen) disconnected. Hardware identification takes ages to perform and will confuse you, because machine appears to be dead most of the time.
Soldering: Use antistatic iron, lead-free tip and solder. Residue-free flux-pen helps a lot. Almost everything you'll find onboard is SMD, which means that removing components with improper tools or using force will damage the board.
Using camera to document how components were placed before you remove them gets handy later.
Good luck!
powerbook g4 12"   Mac OS X (10.3.9)