ksfhhllp1

Hi, I'm a total newbie here, but I would appreciate some help.

I've got a 94 Protege DX and the previous owner installed a horrible Panasonic cassette deck. The problem is that I can't get the sucker out.

I took off the trim and unscrewed the 4 bolts. However, there's a metal piece screwed directly into the back of the unit that is in turn affixed to something quite immovable. I can see these things from the side, but there's no way I can reach them.

How in God's name did they screw the unit to this metal piece? How can I get it out?

Any help would be appreciated. I would rather not take my car into an installer who will charge me $25 for a wiring harness.

Thanks!

UCSBgeek

I'm thinking that's actually the stock deck you might be talking about.... how large is it? I wish I could remember what the trick was to getting that piece off the back was on the stock stereo...it's been so long now... I used a long screwdriver to press on a certain point, I think ... hope ffully somebody will know...

ksfhhllp1

I don't think it's the stock deck.

It's marked Panasonic and it has a manual separate from the owner's manual. Further, the controls and button layout are different from the one in the owner's manual.

It's not as wide as the opening, so there are brackets on either side. Does this have something to do with DIN or something?

At the back, there's a flat piece of metal, the top end of which is screwed into the unit. The top end of that piece of metal also has a black rubber tab on it or something, but there's definitely a screw there. The only thing that's keeping the unit in right now is this flat piece of metal.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!

ksfhhllp1

I was looking through the manual for the new HU and it appears that this is a "front-mount" installation where no cage thingey is used? And the metal piece is the "strap" that holds the HU in place?

If so, how can I get back there to tackle this thing?

demoninvictus

easiest way is to pull off the bottom trim panels under the dash... i believe 1 screw and a fastener????? and if that doesn't work, go ahead and tear out your entire console if you really need all that space. what is the model number on your panasonic? is it just am/fm cassette? mine was the panasonic 1622 and i believe was standard issue for 94's. if i remember correctly, i just yanked on the ****** thing, and it came out. either than that, don't know what to tell ya.
peace

UCSBgeek

Yes, mine was marked panasonic too, with a Dolby symbol next to it, I think... anyways... just yanking on it won't work. I will try and look for the removal instructions crutchfield gave me some time tomrorrow (or today, really).

ksfhhllp1

Oh, then I guess it is the stock deck? It's just am/fm/cassette... a real POS. It has like 4 watts total, which I think explains the one blown speaker.

I'm going to try to get around the side and pull off one of the panels.

Thanks... you guys have been helpful! Let me know, though, if you find those Crutchfield instructions!

MazdaspeedDX

i had this same problem....it looked like it was screwed down in the back, but it really had a bolt that was sorta latched to the metal piece thing..

i just took out the console piece on the passenger side, and took a screwdriver and stuck it up there and moved it around until it came unhooked.. i remeber i had a lot of frustration over getting that out...

ksfhhllp1

Oh, man... I just finished putting in the new one.

To get out the old one... I just yanked on it... the piece that was attached to the strap was attached to a piece of rubber... and eventually, it just popped out of the piece of rubber.

I definitely see why people pay to have this done. On the other hand, I saved myself some money, I suppose.

Thanks, all, for your help!

UCSBgeek

man, I just finished taking pictures of the crutchfield instructions....did the radio in there look like this?

demoninvictus

christ, i hate that piece of ****. why is that piece of rubber attatched in the back anyway? i mean, the damn thing is already held in tight enough. anyway, be proud of doing your own stereo work. whats even trickier (if you just had a scosche harness and didn't do any splicing) is trying to focus on the mess of wires in front of you when you have to splice those damn harnesses in. maybe a pain, but at least you DIY!
peace

ksfhhllp1

Thanks for the Crutchfield photos, but my unit is actually different! Go figure. The one you took a pic of is the same as the one diagrammed in my user's manual, though.

I didn't have a scosche harness... I was short on time, so I went to Pep Boys and they just had Metra. (I dunno the difference, I'm no expert).
Well, the Metra fit for the rear speakers (which I have yet to install), but not for the front. I suppose the adapter that went into the previous unit wasn't standard? This leads me to think that wasn't a stock unit. So I had to do a certain amount of guessing, because they had spliced front and back speakers into the front speaker lines, since there were no back speakers.

I also had to jerry (and jury) rig a frame to get the bastard in there. How did you guys do it? Did you buy a cage or something?