Removing the factory stereo

ANYTHING FROM BUFFING YOUR PAINT TO REPLACING A DASH PANEL
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fishkillmadness
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Removing the factory stereo

Post by fishkillmadness »

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone can give me pointers on how to remove the factory stereo from a '99 astro AWD? It looks like the dash has to come off to get at the stereo- am I missing something obvious?

Thanks in advance! IE

Cobra
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by Cobra »

i actually did it today in my 98 the whole pieces simply clips on this is what i did

1.block wheels, set parking brake and put tilt steering in lowest position
2.remove driver side knee bolster and lower center dash extension(glove box and cup holder section)
3.put ignition in run depress brake pedel and move shifter to lowest possible position
3b.pop hood and disconnected battery negative terminal (probably should do this first...)
4.with screwdriver gently pry around the edges (i just grabbed under the radio and gave a little pull) you'll see were it comes apart
5.disconnect dimmer/headlight switch connector and manuver entire facing off

it's actually pretty easy i was surprised
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moboman
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by moboman »

I found that if you pull the glovebox off, sometimes you can slip the old radio out and put the new HU in without taking off the whole dash. Just pry it up, but you have to be careful.


But in order to take the whole dash off, Cobra's directions are good.
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GnarliSafari
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by GnarliSafari »

moboman wrote:I found that if you pull the glovebox off, sometimes you can slip the old radio out and put the new HU in without taking off the whole dash. Just pry it up, but you have to be careful.


But in order to take the whole dash off, Cobra's directions are good.
the glovebox is much harder to remove than just the litle faceplate, not to mention i think you have to remove the faceplate piece to remove the glovebox anyway. i would think your way would only make things harder.
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PharmAstrocist
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by PharmAstrocist »

I did it mobo's way. You do pull the dash piece off mostly, but it will still be mostly attached to the left of the steering wheel... then there is enough flexibility/give to pull the right side out enough to get the unit through.

I forgot to plug the antenae back in though and don't relish the idea of going back in! REMEMBER THE ANTENNAE!
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phr1$k37
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by phr1$k37 »


LOL What cobra posted is what I did ... minus the block wheels but thankfully ebrake was on.

What you putting in?
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Topic author
fishkillmadness
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by fishkillmadness »

nothing too fancy - just a new Pioneer DEH-P2900MP - the key thing was having a front aux in for my Rio Karma... Gonna give it a shot either today or tomorrow- finally a sunny(but cold) day off...
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T.Low
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Re: Removing the factory stereo

Post by T.Low »

fishkillmadness wrote:Hi all, I was wondering if anyone can give me pointers on how to remove the factory stereo from a '99 astro AWD? It looks like the dash has to come off to get at the stereo- am I missing something obvious?

Thanks in advance! IE


Easy. Just park it on the street near my company's shop and if you're lucky, it just might be removed by the time the work day is over. :D
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