Stereo Repair advice needed

I have a 1998 Outback Limited with 215,000 miles. Recently the CD player in the OEM stereo unit failed: it will feed a CD in, but doesn't seem to spin, and ejects the CD in about 10 seconds. The dealer said their only repair option is to have the entire unit "refurbished" at a cost of USD 400 and 5 weeks waiting time. The radio and tape player work fine.

Is there an easier and cheaper alternative for repairing the stereo?

TIA

Reply to
BobN
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That's insane. For that amount of money you could have a very nice aftermarket unit with better sound and features than the OEM. If you want to keep an OEM unit in the car, check out the classified sections on

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and
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You will find OEM stereos in good to like-new condition in the $100-200 range, including the 6-CD changer found in the WRX which will fit directly into your car with no modifications.

Reply to
mulder

Go to crutchfield.com and you can find a better than oem CD unit for under $120. Installl it yourself and save,

Reply to
jabario

That is totally insane. Go to Crutchfield.com or Circuit City or wherever and buy a replacement cd/receiver for under $150. I recommend Kenwood. You can buy a quick install wiring harness (install the harness onto your stereo in the comfort of your home (only need a crimper), then go plug it into wiring harness in car - much easier than connecting wires while sitting in car holding a flashlight in your mouth.

Reply to
lkreh

Let me second that. I bought a CD player from Crutchfield. I ended up calling them many times with questions, before I bought it, while installing it, and after installing. They were courteous, helpful, knowledgeable, and pleasant. Excellent in every way. They sold me a crimping kit, including the tool, for $3. The adaptor to make wiring easy was free. I bought a unit that plays MP3 CD's and also allows a cable input, so my daughter can hook her iPod in. The whole thing only cost $150. I'm very pleased.

Reply to
Tom Reingold

I live 80 miles from a couple large cities (in different directions) and Sony's tuners are the best in my experience. If you live IN a big city, the quality of the tuner is less of an issue.

-John O

Reply to
John O

recommend

Reply to
lkreh

What kind of CD player was it? If you have a brand name/model #, I would really appreciate it.

Reply to
K-dog

I got an AIWA CDC-X504MP which you can see here:

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They have a way to help you choose by checking off the features you want. That's how I found this model. The MP3 and the input cable were important to me.

I think I'll be able to fit about nine alba on a single MP3 CD. (As far as I'm concerned, "alba" is plural for "album".)

Reply to
Tom Reingold

I have one of these too and it's good. I'm actually about to replace it because I want more preamp outputs. If anyone wants to buy mine (I see that link says they are no longer available - mine is only about 5 Months old) I'd be interested in making a deal. It will be available in the next couple of weeks. Email this yahoo address and I'll get back to you. Thanks.

Matt

Reply to
MattB

If you buy from Crutchfield, they supply the adapter harness for free along with whatever else you need to install it. They aren't the cheapest retailer out there by far but their service is excellent, and they also allow you to return the unit within 30 days if you decide you don't like it.

Reply to
mulder

Thanks to all for the advice. I'm prepared to go up to $200 to replace the stereo, although if I could find a changer that fit in the glovebox, that might be even better.

I've gotten to wondering if the existing CD unit can be repaired. I imagine the problem is a broken drive belt or something jammed in the mechanism. This could be a $1.00 fix during the weekend if I can remove the stereo in under an hour without trashing the trim.

What do y'all think? How do I remove the trim without damage?

Thanks,

Bob

Reply to
BobN

You're probably wasting your time. Even if you were able to open the unit up and find something like a broken belt or gear, then what? Where are you going to get the parts? But, if you have nothing better to do with yourself then by all means go ahead. :)

Reply to
mulder

There's a specialty stereo repair shop in a nearby town and I think I can get parts there. The way I see it, the old unit is coming out anyway if I buy a new receiver/CD player, so it isn't much extra work to fiddle with it once it's out. And yes, on the weekend I do have more time than money.

Reply to
BobN

Well ok then, let us know how you make out.

Reply to
mulder

You're going to need to know who manufactured the unit, and if replacement parts are even available. I'm willing to bet you a beer that not only are there are no parts to be had, but that you won't even be able to locate documentation to identify the part you need...let alone in English :-)

Given that the cost of a replacement deck is ~$100, and that labor costs ~$75 per hour, and parts are a minimum of a few bucks...there's simply no economy in repairing them. Thus, docs, no parts. BTDT.

I could be all wrong, and honestly, there little more interesting than taking something like that apart and playing with it's innards. If nothing else, at least have fun with it.

-John O

Reply to
John O

Remove the trim by carefully prying it out, starting at the top. Probably will be 4 snap-in fasteners; two at the top, two at the bottom. Removal of the cup holder (does the OB have a cup holder above the stereo?) may make it easier to get started. From there, 4 or 6 screws hold the stereo brackets in the dash. These brackets will allow you to mount any DIN compatible stereo, tho you might need to find a storage tray if your OEM stereo is one of the double height ones, and you replace it with a single height unit.

By all means open the dead OEM unit up; nothing to lose there! Sounds to me like the unit isn't able to read the lead-in track on the CD, and so is spitting it back out. Since the insert/eject is functional, you probably have a working drive mechanism. I'd suggest using rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip to clean the lens of the laser diode (will be obvious once it's apart). Also clean the CD handling mechanism; use a soft brush and vacuum to remove gross particulate, and a tissue and alcohol for sticky spots. If you re-lubricate anything, apply white Lithium-based grease (try RadioShack) sparingly with a toothpick or similar. Should you find broken belts or idler wheels, it's probably time to give up, but you may be able to find replacements if you take the dead parts to a car audio repair shop.

I've never opened one of the newer Subaru stereos (the older ones were Clarion, FWIW), but usually there is a combination of small screws, and snap-togeather tabs. Look it over real well before exerting undue force; usually there will be a spot to insert a flat screwdriver to "pop" the cover off.

If repairs fail, look on ebay for a 6 CD changer as found in the WRX and others. It will drop right in to your dash, and is a pretty good unit. Probably get one for ~$100.

I'd suggest upgrading your speakers before spending much for a performance head unit; the OEM speakers (at least as found in my WRX, and in my wifes Forester) are pretty poor. Infinity Kappa speakers coupled to the OEM changer in my WRX sounded superb. I have an Alpine MP3 head in it now, but the speakers were the big upgrade as far as sound quality, not the electronics.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions. Good Luck!

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101

Reply to
S

Crutchfield sent me an illustrated manual that showed how to remove the stereo. Start at the trim around the shifter. I don't remember the rest.

With MP3 CD's, you don't need a changer. I just put 10 CD's on a single MP3 CD!

Reply to
Tom Reingold

How's the sound quality? I'm just messing with my son's castoff MP3 player, (he got a 40 GB MuVo) and as a guy who likes CD-quality sound, some MP3's sound awful. I'm experimenting with compression rates, and the highest-quality rate sounds ok in this cheesy MP3 player...

-John O

Reply to
John O
192kbps sounds excellent on my home system and my kenwood car unit with pioneer speakers. I fit about 100 songs on an mp3 cd at that rate.
Reply to
jabario

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