Tape Stuck In Stock FJ62 Radio

[CaptHamster]

Well, like the title said, I made an oopsie. I made the mistake of buying one of those real cheap little $3 tape that had a cord coming out of it so I could plug in my iPod. Yeah, it's stuck. It went fully in the player, and is locked in. But, when I hit the tape button, nothing happens. When I hit eject, nothing happens. I tried fiddling with it inside the player and even tried yanking it, but it's in there tight. What's the most non-invasive way to get this damn thing out? I still listen to tapes, but my family doesn't get that. "Why don't you listen to a CD?" *Sigh.* Any help appreciated.

P.S. - It's a 1990 FJ62 stock radio, if that helps.

P.S.S. - Got my driver's license a couple weeks ago, so I'm doing the cruiser justice by taking it to school and back everyday. Feels good, that independence. Gives it a good exercise.

 

[stash12]

try pushing both forward and reverse buttons at the same time!

 

[CaptHamster]

Thanks Stash, I'll give that a shot tomorrow. What is it supposed to do, exactly? Sort of like a backup eject or something?

 

[sirenmoses]

ohh, lookin forward to watching how this works. got a tape stuck in the Honda....

 

[CruisinFJ60]

tapes....

hahaha

 

[stash12]

i forgot to mention while holding the buttons down turn the stereo power off and on. it worked for me twice in the past. i don't know how the mechanics of his works; really i just did this by accident, good luck!!

 

[Dynosoar]

My 60 came with just a AM/FM radio (stereo).


Dynosoar

 

[BG_TX]

What's the most non-invasive way to get this damn thing out?

Remove/replace the entire unit...

Other than that my typical approach to these issues is to hit on it for a bit, pry on it for a bit, yank on the wire, etc... this usually results in breaking the mechanism.

 

[vasellers]

Mine routinely sticks just like yours. I have good luck with a small pair of hemostats, able to remove all of them so far.

 

[FourEyedWilly]

Unless that tape is 'priceless' I would consider checking out Crutchfield.com, picking up a $99 head unit with an aux jack and replacing the stocker. That way, you can use your Ipod without the cassette worry.

Not sure if the Toy is the same, but I did have the same happen, I unplugged the stereo and plugged it back in. Tape spit out when the stocker reset.

Good luck either way!

 

[94landcruiser]

My immediate reaction is replace it, it has been in service longer than most stock radios.

 

[cruiserunc]

Eight track or cassette tape player?

 

[Carpe Discus]

I believe I have a stock 60 tape player hanging around. It fits in the accessory pocket position under the radio. I have no use for it and would love to send it to someone who wants to stay stock, or even if they want to use it to disguise something else--whatever.

 

[jvazquez53]

Tape??? Some people still use them??? I would get rid of it and get a new radio with front aux input for Ipod, not that expensive, I paid for mine $129.00 When my 60 died, I transferred it to my 80.

 

[rockytop]

CaptHampster,
I am thinking about replacing mine with aftermarket if you're interested. It is stock am/fm/cassette in my 90 FJ62. PM your email address if so.

 

[fowldarr]

Dude, here is the rest of the plan, update it to one with the auxillary jack, then by the converter box and convert all your tapes (that you claim to still listen to) and transfer them to digital and save them on your ipod. There isa reason they don't make tapes anymore, and the sound quality sucks.

 

[CaptHamster]

You all can pry my tape player from my cold, dead hands!

I got it to spit out that tape! Some good old fashioned fiddling around with it did the trick. What tipped me off that the player hadn't broken was that when I hit the eject button, I still heard whirring and movement in the player. It looks like the tape had not seated itself properly, and ended up sitting wrong. What I did was pry the tape upwards, then pushed it towards the back of the player, and pushed it back down 'til I heard a strong click. I guess that did the trick, because it spat that piece of junk right back out! Yay for me! Also, please refer back to the first line if necessary.

 

[pchone]

Well, like the title said, I made an oopsie. I made the mistake of buying one of those real cheap little $3 tape that had a cord coming out of it so I could plug in my iPod. Yeah, it's stuck. It went fully in the player, and is locked in. But, when I hit the tape button, nothing happens. When I hit eject, nothing happens. I tried fiddling with it inside the player and even tried yanking it, but it's in there tight. What's the most non-invasive way to get this damn thing out? I still listen to tapes, but my family doesn't get that. "Why don't you listen to a CD?" Sigh. Any help appreciated.

P.S. - It's a 1990 FJ62 stock radio, if that helps.

P.S.S. - Got my driver's license a couple weeks ago, so I'm doing the cruiser justice by taking it to school and back everyday. Feels good, that independence. Gives it a good exercise.

Hi @CaptHamster I know it's been a while but came across your OP in a search for the same issue! Still trying to get the tape that's stuck in mine out- any further experience with this? Thanks!

 

[CaptHamster]

Well lucky for you @pchone I still have my Land Cruiser and its original tape player, 10 years after the original post...

Well, if I remember correctly, I got the cassette out as indicated in one of my earlier replies (brute force; the tape did not seat correctly and when I pushed hard enough, it seated and was able to eject itself). Unfortunately, another tape got stuck shortly afterwards, and I could not get it out. I ended up pulling the radio unit out and taking it to a shop in Van Nuys somewhere that was able to rebuild the tape player with new heads and a new belt drive, I think... I don't know if the place is still in business, but if you'd like I could look through my paperwork and see if I can find their info.

Sorry there wasn't a secret trick but that's about as best memory serves. The tape player still works fine to this day, 10 years after the rebuild, so I suppose taking the whole unit out and having it worked on would be the best course of action.

 

[pchone]

Well lucky for you @pchone I still have my Land Cruiser and its original tape player, 10 years after the original post...

Well, if I remember correctly, I got the cassette out as indicated in one of my earlier replies (brute force; the tape did not seat correctly and when I pushed hard enough, it seated and was able to eject itself). Unfortunately, another tape got stuck shortly afterwards, and I could not get it out. I ended up pulling the radio unit out and taking it to a shop in Van Nuys somewhere that was able to rebuild the tape player with new heads and a new belt drive, I think... I don't know if the place is still in business, but if you'd like I could look through my paperwork and see if I can find their info.

Sorry there wasn't a secret trick but that's about as best memory serves. The tape player still works fine to this day, 10 years after the rebuild, so I suppose taking the whole unit out and having it worked on would be the best course of action.

Thanks for the reply- I had a feeling my next step would be taking it in somewhere to have it removed and (hopefully) fixed! If it's not too much trouble, yeah I'd be curious if the place you took it is still around. Stoked that I'm not the only one who still has a thing for tapes! Cheers.