Pull oem stereo 94'

[Dan Skye]

I need to plug a new antenna cable into my stereo :
Anyone ever do this from behind?Pull the ashtray housing for access?
Can the radio be pulled out far enough to get the new antenna jack in without needing a dealer reset?
How would one get it out?
Can the wood trim be removed without wrecking it?


What the bleep was toyota thinking(or not) having skipped a coax connector by the power antenna in the fender so it could be serviced/exchanged without having to tear apart the dash to diconnect the whole cable from the stereo.
If that's not bad enough there is ZERO slack to even pull the assembly out of the fender I tore the crap out of my hands trying to work on the thing insde the frekin' fender before chopping the wire and replacing the whole unit.
What a mess even Ford knows better .......

 

[Darwood]

You'll need to pull the center dash surround (what the wood is glued to). It's held in by 4 screws and some clips. The screws are behind the ash tray and the thing where the cup holder should go. There should be more than enough slack to unscrew the radio bracket and pull out the radio without unplugging it.

 

[roncruiser]

Its not so bad getting back behind the OEM head unit. With common sense, the wood grain won't get damaged at all. This link: http://www.sleeoffroad.com/products/products_switches.htm will get you started on removing the dash trim piece to get to the stereo. Click on the .pdf of the "Installation Instructions".

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Darwood's instructions are not for a '94 vintage cruiser.

I just had the OEM head unit in and out 5 times this past Saturday, so I'm rather familiar with the process at the moment.

Here are my instructions for getting the dash surround off and head unit out:

There are indeed 4 screws that need to be removed, 3 are in and around the ashtray slot(pull the ashtray and you will see one to either side, then look up and back into the ashtray and you will see another screw angled down towards you, undo these 3. You will also see 2 that screw directly up into the ashtray support in a vertical fashion, you do not need to undo these). The last screw is located where the factory hand throttle would go if US 80's were so equipped(near the ignition switch).

Once you have pulled these 4 screws, it's simply a matter of gently but firmly pulling the dash surround off. If it feels like it is binding, change your angle of pull, it will pop off eventually. BTW, it is one piece that goes all the way across to the area by the driver's window. Note, the dash surround will no longer be physically attached to the dash, but will be teathered by several wiring harnesses, so don't go pulling too hard once you've gotten it off.

Once you have loosened the surround you have two choices, you can see if you can unbolt the headunit and wiggle it forward enough to do what you need to do(the risky approach because it involves bending the dash surround to get the headunit out far enough) OR you can unplug all of the switches contained in the dash surround and remove the surround completely. The second option is what I would go with and it is honestly not that difficult to get all of the switches unplugged(took me 5-10 mins). If you are going to be in and out of the head unit area for a bit, I'd recommend removing the switches from the surround on the driver's window side as it makes getting the surround off MUCH easier, otherwise there is interference at the steering column(you can wiggle it by, but pulling the switches is VERY easy, they just pop out, and then you don't have to wiggle anything).

Lastly, I did not have any issues with my headunit needing to be "reset" once I reinstalled it. It was out of the truck for about 24 hours and even the presets were still stored when I reinstalled it.

Good luck!

Ary

 

[Darwood]

Darwood's instructions are not for a '94 vintage cruiser.

Crap I forgot there might be differences

Go with what Ary says.

 

[Dan Skye]

Thanks you all for all the great info.
You cruiser folk are the best!!!
I ll try it soon and let all know
Bonus question:

Anyone ever hear of a screw hole back of the stereo to adjust the radio'AM sensetivity to optimise the new antenna(read about it in the antenna's instructions).
Bought a Hirsh automatic off E bay looks and works great
Black too(badass lookin)
Dan