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Removing car radios

Awl--

I am about to dispose of, one way or another, a 1990 Mazda 929S. Effing great car, saw better times, got goodly rear-ended recently, time to call it quits. Replaced it with a Honda Fit--it's been weeks now, and the wife still won't speak to me....

The mazda also had a great stereo (cassette ), w/ equalizer, etc, which I would like to remove, for an interesting reason: Some queries a while ago revealed that the tuning circuits in car radios are

*fundamentally superior* to home radios/stereos, resulting in *much better* reception. Since I get miserable reception here, I figgered I just hook up a couple of car stereos. In fact, I used to park my car in the basement garage, to listen to the radio whilst I worked in the shop. While the house stereo on the top floor wouldn't pick up anything listenable.

It seems that the only way to remove this radio is with a chain saw. goodgawd, talk about theft-proof! Is there some technique/secret/trick to removing car radios? I pulled apart the center console, and that doesn't seem to reveal anything. Will the whole dash have to come off? Should I call my local drug dealer?

Alternatively, if I am beating a dead horse, mebbe I should buy a more modern car radio/stereo?

Any advice, pointers, recommendations for a new generic stereo, widsom?

Reply to
Proctologically Violated©®
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go to a dealer and ask to read a shop manual.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

If it's like my Mazda, you'll need a DIN tool. NAPA sells these for less than $5. Very simple to use, do a Google if search if it doesn't come with instructions.

Larry

Reply to
Larry W

Speaking from a european perspective - but maybe radios are the same all over the place:

You may see two pairs of round holes at the left and right of the radio front - alternatively a long rectangular hole. In there go mounting brackets that, when inserted, push little holding devices in and allow to pull the radio out front.

The mounting brackets are cheap and can be replaced by self made contraptions if one knows how things look in there. Which will be about

10 seconds after you pulled the radio. So go and buy a set, or borrow them from a dealer.

Some cars have in addition to this a screw that goes into the back of the radio. Typically that unscrews rather easily from the glove box or a similar place.

CD Drive that can read MP3 CD's is fun. Hours of music from a single disc.

cu .\\arc

Reply to
Marc Gerges

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote

On vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission, apply the parking brake and move the lever to the "L" position to gain sufficient removal and installation clearance. Protect the console and trim surfaces with soft cloth and do not attempt to pry the trim from the face of the audio system.

  1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
  2. Remove the three plastic Phillips head screws from the duct panel under cover located on the passenger's side. Locate and remove the single large plastic hex nut that holds the duct panel under cover in place.
  3. Reach in behind the audio unit and remove the two attaching nuts. Push on the mounting studs and pull the unit from the dash until the electrical connections are visible and accessible. Detach the electrical connections and antenna leads from the rear of the unit, then pull the radio from the dash.
Reply to
MasterBlaster

I've only seen DIN mounts on aftermarket radios. Most car makers (and especially the japanese and ford) like to bolt the radio to a subchassis behind the center console.

Reply to
AZ Nomad

Ford uses them.

Reply to
dahpater

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