1996 HZJ77 radio removal, how?! (1 Viewer)

[whiteysrampage]

Hello,

In an attempt to do all the maintenance myself to learn and save money, I've hit a road block with my stereo. I bought the cruiser off auction and the previous owner and installed quite a few things, DVD player, GPS, back up camera. They left a whole boat load of wires and stuff everywhere. I wanted to clean it up and remove the old headunit. But I cannot get to it. I can access the right side but not the left. Does anyone know of a guide for this?

Here's my new pain in the ass:

Here's what the previous owner had done:

What I have pulled so far:

I've pulled enough to access the right side of the head unit. I don't know what to do from here. Everything is blocked or damn near impossible to get to. I already snapped a clip trying to remove the dash above the gage cluster.

This is where I'm stumped...

Any advice?

 

[scout14j]

Bourbon.

That's a mess of wires.

 

[jblueridge]

On mine, there are 4 small bolts, 2 on each side of the radio. They have hex heads and Phillips, both.
They sit back maybe 2 inches from the plane of the dash face.
The radio and the device under it come out together with the bracket.

 

[janyyc]

Wow, that’s a lot of cables! The Japanese love their weird vintage-esque tech. Nice 77!

This might sound super obvious, but you take off the front Toyota bezel from the dashboard - just unscrew the screws. Then you’ll have clear access to the head unit. Here you’ll find my rats nest and what I mean (secons photo, zoom in): Builds - Aussie HZJ78 in Canada: "Ozzi" (simple build) - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aussie-hzj78-in-canada-ozzi-simple-build.1217903/post-13264105
Another post - you’ll find the bezel lying on my desk here: Builds - Aussie HZJ78 in Canada: "Ozzi" (simple build) - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aussie-hzj78-in-canada-ozzi-simple-build.1217903/post-13264140

 

[whiteysrampage]

Bourbon.

That's a mess of wires.

*cries*

On mine, there are 4 small bolts, 2 on each side of the radio. They have hex heads and Phillips, both.
They sit back maybe 2 inches from the plane of the dash face.
The radio and the device under it come out together with the bracket.

Correct, I cannot access the left side, and that's where I am stuck. I also cannot pull the front faceplate off. I'll post pics below.

Wow, that’s a lot of cables! The Japanese love their weird vintage-esque tech. Nice 77!

This might sound super obvious, but you take off the front Toyota bezel from the dashboard - just unscrew the screws. Then you’ll have clear access to the head unit. Here you’ll find my rats nest and what I mean (secons photo, zoom in): Builds - Aussie HZJ78 in Canada: "Ozzi" (simple build) - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aussie-hzj78-in-canada-ozzi-simple-build.1217903/post-13264105
Another post - you’ll find the bezel lying on my desk here: Builds - Aussie HZJ78 in Canada: "Ozzi" (simple build) - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/aussie-hzj78-in-canada-ozzi-simple-build.1217903/post-13264140

Ok, so I did try and pull the faceplate off, no luck. There's an extra dash piece pinching my faceplate on. The previous owner broke the faceplate in a corner already.

Runs the length of the dash, held down by 4 conveniently placed 10mm and some retainer clips:

this is above the head unit itself

on the left side of the head unit above the ac vent.

I didn't have a ratcheting box-end to attempt these last night. I Will get one today and loosen those bolts up enough to pull the faceplate. Then I can start trying to figure out what is factory and what isn't and un-junk this situation.

Thank you for the help.

 

[roscoFJ73]

What a mess, I cant understand why people would want all that crap in their landcruiser

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

Oops.

When removing the radio and its associated components, it is wise to start from the center, i. e., from the rectangular bezel around the radio.

In a nutshell:

1. Remove the radio bezel. Six Phillips screws.
2. Remove the radio. Four bolts.
3. Remove the side plates/gussets that hold the radio.
4. Unplug the radio.
5. Remove the lower center bezel. Six Phillips screws. This gives you extra room to work.
6. You can also remove the instrument cluster cover. Six Phillips screws. This is also a way to have extra room.

There are a few steps after these, but you have already taken them.

Watch the edges on the radio bay. They are sharp enough to cut you.

The harness is behind the radio. Remove all the wires not bundled into it.

Hope this helps.







Juan

 

[jblueridge]

Break the faceplate/bezel and remove bits?
Buy a new one and sand/file away top edge to fit under dash overhang.

 

[whiteysrampage]

SUCCESS!

I loosened the bolts holding down the dash cover (?) and was able to slip the faceplate off. I was able to pull the head unit out and sort the rat's nest.

The rat's nest, this is not including the s*** I pulled earlier. Some of this was smashed in behind the glove box and in the dash. Nothing really was spliced in, just a few things wired into a harness that I think I can just replace. I also pulled the 24v to 12v converter, wasn't hooked up to anything after I ripped out all the guts, and it was falling apart. There's still some wire for it running towards the steering column, I'll find those later, I taped them up for now.

Cleaned up a bit:

Put it back together:

This was everything that I pulled out.

Now to figure out how to install door speakers. That's a future problem. I have a Bluetooth speaker for now.

Thank you for the suggestions and info.

Till next time.