How to remove aftermaket stereo

[Hot Sauce]

I totaled my '93 Corolla in an accident Saturday morning .


On either Wednesday or Thursday I'm gonna go pick up my personal belongings from the car, and I also want to take out the Pioneer head unit to see if it'll fit in whatever new car I get. I'm not the one who installed it (Circuit City did it when they were still in business), so I have no idea how to uninstall it. What tools would I need? And can anyone give me a general idea of how to remove it?

[iToaster]

And so the curse continues...

You'll need a flathead screwdriver and a phillips head to remove the stereo. Essentially, pry off the panel around the radio with the flat head, then unscrew the four screws that mount the radio. Depending on how the radio was installed, you can unplug the adapter harness from the car's factory wiring, or if it was installed (the wrong way) with the wires attached directly to the factory wiring you'll need some wire clippers to separate the radio harness from the factory one.

[Hot Sauce]

Originally Posted by iToaster

And so the curse continues...

You'll need a flathead screwdriver and a phillips head to remove the stereo. Essentially, pry off the panel around the radio with the flat head, then unscrew the four screws that mount the radio. Depending on how the radio was installed, you can unplug the adapter harness from the car's factory wiring, or if it was installed (the wrong way) with the wires attached directly to the factory wiring you'll need some wire clippers to separate the radio harness from the factory one.

Damn, is there some kind of Corolla-getting-totaled curse around here?

I've done a little Googling and this thing called a "DIN tool" keeps popping up. Am I gonna need a DIN tool as well?

[iToaster]

We've been having bad luck around here with Corolla wrecks ever since an old lady ran a red light and totaled my white one in December. It's quite strange...

Anyway, I've never heard of a DIN tool, nor have I ever used one in any radio install/removal. You should be fine without it.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by Hot Sauce

Damn, is there some kind of Corolla-getting-totaled curse around here?

I've done a little Googling and this thing called a "DIN tool" keeps popping up. Am I gonna need a DIN tool as well?

You don't need a DIN tool, but it would certainly make the removal much easier (that's if the place that installed it even bothered to use the metal sleeve the head-unit comes with, but I assume they would have). They are basically like two little rods which slide down each side of the head-unit and allow the sleeve to be popped so that you can remove the head-unit quickly and easily. Most aftermarket head-units come with them in the box, so if you've still got the packaging have a look in there. They're not really needed, but they will make the job easier.

[gameguru1360]

for whatever car you'll get next, you can get another aftermarket wiring harness from crutchfield.com for that pioneer model.

Yeah what's the deal with totalling corollas?? Maybe for the remaining Ford Escorts out there, someone should set them in gear and set them on fire like the starter problems they had in the Escort recall.

[cipher93]

93s do NOT have a sleeve. They mount on screwed in brackets. First, you need to take the face plate off the stereo if it is removable, and pull off the four tabs on the climate control levers You'll need a small flathead. Pop out the ac switch (the little bezel around it, not the button itself) and feel the left and right side of the black plastic piece of the clips that hold it in with the flat head screw driver, and it will pop out. Then you'll need to disconnect the wiring harness from the hazard light and defroster switches. After that, just unscrew the four screws that hold in the radio. and disconnect the harness. Make sure once you have the harness it out, you get the harness that plugs into the radio off of either the harness adapter or the factory harness if it was wired in.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by CJRocker

93s do NOT have a sleeve. They mount on screwed in brackets.

That's true, but considering it's an aftermarket head-unit, it depends on how the person chose to install it. When I bought my head-unit, I had to take it to a professional to be installed in order to get the 12-month warranty, and we discovered that there were no brackets holding in the existing head-unit at all. So I had two options - To source a pair of original head-unit brackets, or to grind the DIN opening slightly larger so the head-unit and sleeve could slide through the hole. I opted to just grind the opening larger as it was quicker and easier. It is more than likely that a previous owner had removed the brackets from my car before I bought it, but it is still possible to install a new head-unit with just the sleeve.

[Zain]

hey i need that trunk opening lever under the seat with tha fuel tank opener
i just need the trunk one
if u have it
i will buy it from u

[Hot Sauce]

Ok so the head unit was mounted via metal brackets. The screws that connected those brackets to the inside of the console were so tight that I nearly ended up stripping them. So we just decided to use bolt cutters to cut the brackets off. My question now is were those brackets specific to my car or specific to the stereo? Would I need to buy a new pair (i had to break them in half) to install it in my new car (most likely will be an '07 Accord)?

EDIT: I'm looking at Crutchfield right now, and they have this: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1209978...&ssi=0&tp=3121

Would those two brackets at the bottom right of the picture serve the same purpose as the ones I had to break?

Originally Posted by Zain

hey i need that trunk opening lever under the seat with tha fuel tank opener
i just need the trunk one
if u have it
i will buy it from u

Sorry man, didn't see this post until today. I no longer have possession of the car. But checkout iToaster's thread here Finally parting out my '95

[cipher93]

Those brackets are unique to the car. If you want to put the stereo on another 93-97 Corolla, you'll need those brackets from a junkyard. If those those screws are hard to turn, I think you can turn them with a small (metric) head on a socket wrench.

EDIT: That said, you shouldn't need the brackets unless you're putting them in a car missing the stereo. Sorry for not clarifying

[Rip The E Brake]

This is f**king retarded. THE F**K.

[Hot Sauce]

Originally Posted by Rip The E Brake

This is f**king retarded. THE F**K.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

^ Pretty sure he's meaning 'what the f*ck' in regards to seeing another Corolla involved in an accident. Yours is about the 7th or 8th one that has been involved in a crash and/or written off this year (that we know of). It's almost like there's some sort of Corolla curse going around at the moment, so it's crazy to see a photo of yet another one all smashed up.

[Hot Sauce]

Two things:

1. Thought that just occurred to me: Is there a possibility of the stereo not working anymore due to the accident? Like maybe it got shorted out or something when the car battery got smashed (along with everything else under the hood)? Forgive me if that sounds noobish or improbable, my knowledge of car electronics is minimal.

Looking back on what happened, I remember listening to music at a moderate volume while I was driving, but upon the final impact of my car no music was playing. I'm not sure if any electronics were working anymore. I tried using the power door locks to unlock the doors so I could get out, but they didn't work and I had to unlock them manually.

2. And I never really explained how my accident happened, just in case anyone's curious. I was driving on the freeway on my way to work during a rainy morning. I was in the #2 lane when all of a sudden a Lexus swerves into my door (you can see the gigantic dent in the pic in the first post) at about a 30 degree angle. I lose control and spin out, ending up going over the curb separating the main freeway and an off-ramp, and then crash head-on into the guard-rail. Here's some more pics:









Airbag hurt like a mofo; it broke my glasses and left scratches all over my face. But I know it prevented more serious potential injuries.

Anyways, hopefully I'm the last victim of the "7th gen curse." I'd hate to see any more damaged Corollas