holy crap, 2nd gens are a true pain in the ass to get those stereos out. it took me about 10 minutes peeking around (its dark got a flashlight) to see how it all comes apart. now i gotta take the whole thing apart, slap in my MP3 player CD and make sure it works. i got a long drive tomorrow and the aftermarket one in here that came with it sucks so much i have got to swap it out. especially since i have no friggin antenna. wish me luck fellas a beer and tools are waiting, i have class at 8. time to move.

 

Your telling me.

 

well i gottit in okay so i had tunes for the trip. well at least if i ever need to do a heater core i know where it is.

 

Ever take off the shift boot surround, that thing is a major pain to get back into line with the rest of the consle. Oh well...

Lamm

 

I am glad I don't have a 2nd gen! I can get my stereo out in 5 minutes.

 

it took me longer to find out how to take it apart than it did to remove and install it. i did this all last night in the dark. i had to have music for the drive though!

that was my 1st experience with the interior and it wasnt fun, but it did come apart easily, some of the plastic pieces feel pretty weak though i was scared i was gonna snap em.

 

So can thieves...

 

That was good

 

I've found it quite easy. I think you have removed way too much. With my 2nd Gen, all I had to do was remove the glove box, the lower panel (where the dash meets the floor in the middle), and the center part.

The center part only has two screws next to the parking break. The center part is just a pop in peace.

Good luck!!!

On the not about the CD player. I agree. I had my truck broken into and they tried to rip the CD player out. They bent some plastic but they didn't know that the CD player is bolted in. Suckers...

 

Well, I was going to post a new thread about this, but my Q's are directly on topic in this thread, so here we go!

The stereo in my truck got ripped off before I bought my truck - nearly two years ago now! (sucker - I probably saved $1000 'cause the guy didn't think to put a $100 CD player in it!). So now I'm finally getting around to fixing it and have a couple of Q's.

First, what goes in the hole? Right now I just have a gaping 2-DIN hole. I would guess there is a pocket available to fill the second DIN slot when I fill the first with the new stereo? And I'm guessing there is some sort of bracket I need to bolt the new unit to? Right now, I can't see anything to attach it to.

Second, down in the hole, behind the ashtray, is a box with cooling fins and a loose wiring harness. Was this an amp or something for the original stereo?

I won't have a problem getting everything apart and back together - it's just tough reconstructing something when you don't know what was in there to start out with.

C

 

Yesterday I installed a HU, F & R speakers & a sub in our '93 4Runner. I've done several installs in VW's, Audi's & Porsches. I found the Toyota install to be very straight forward compared to others.

 

holy crap! i went through the same thing. it took me and my friend like forever and a day to get that done.

then again, we're not really car people. so yea, we're lame.

 

lol...

after years of taking mine apart, i can do it blind folded with 1 arm tied behind my back...

in 2 minutes...

 

They have special kits at either circuit city or around here is sound advice. You bolt your new cd player to a plastic pocket that goes below it and you get the wiring harness to adapt to your factory toy harness. i put an alpine cd player in mine in about an hour or so with these simple things that make life much easier!

 

yea i ahve one of those kits except mine doest have a pocket ..the wiring harness is a really nice thing to have it makes things a lot faster....the 1st gens are a pretty easy install job...easiest install ive done was on an A4..but wiring on those things is far from easy there is no room under the carpet like there is under my 1st gen

 

The kit has the pocket with it if you have the 4" opening....and bolts to the aftermarket head unit. it is separate from the wiring harness...

 

Me and a buddy took the dash apart and back together (with new hu) in about 2 hours (first time) now it's a simpe matter of 5 minutes for me to take it off. Made aot easier by the fact that I have 2 bolts and 3 screws left in it.

 

Glad to hear this thead had turned from 2nd gen radio replacement nightmare to its not so bad. I'm supposed to get my new head unit today and I'll be installing it between xmas and new years.

Anybody have the Q-logic kick panel pods in their 2nd gen?

 

I think 4x4fink and bumpin yota have them.

 

Yep,

I sent 4x4fink a PM.