My car(2002 kia spectra) was totaled about a week ago(just declared total friday) and I need to get the cd player out of it. Problem here is I didn't install it, nor have I ever installed a cd player in a car. I've googled and most of what I've found so far is "buy this manual" or "Buy such and such tool." The stuff is fairly cheap but I don't have that kind of time as the car is set to be taken to salvage tomorrow. If anyone has any tips/tricks on how to to yank the cd player, it would be greatly appreciated.
Is it original equipment fitting? If so, does it form part of teh dash, or is it just a single stand alone unit from an aftermarket manufacturer? The vast majority of head units require a tool to remove them. These are usually a U shaped clip that slots into two holes or slots on each side of the head unit. This releases catches on each side and the unit should slide forward enough to remove the cables. Most car accessory stores will sell them. Without this you'll probably have to damage either the head unit, or dash to get it out. I'm also moving this to the motors section, as it's more auto related than strictly audio related.
it's just a single aftermarket cd player. Is there anything that can be used in place of the tool? As it is I'm going to have about 15 minutes to get the cd player out. Any stops to find a tool would mean the body shop is closed when I get there and the car is gone in the morning.
best trick, get yourself a philips scerw driver, and start taking all of the screws out of the dash panels... pry panels away from metal dash frame (most just lock into place with plastic tabs) work your way until you can see underside of radio area... normally most radios (after market and stock) in foreign cars are held in by 2 screws either on the side of the radio, or underside... unscrew, pull out to point where you can get at wiring harness, remove also you should disconnect battery before you start total time invested... 25 minutes probably depends on how quick you are.. screw guns help, battery can be left if you're careful
Different head units use different tools. A lot of them have 2 holes at either end like this: Code: +----------------------+ |o o| | | |o o| +----------------------+ For those, get a wire coat hanger and cut 2 pieces about 6-8 inches long each. Bend them into U shapes so that you can put one piece of wire in the left holes and one in the right holes. Then you basically push some clips inside the holes in towards the middle of the headunit and pull the whole thing forward. It takes a bit of wiggling to get the clips pushed but it should only take a few minutes.
Since the car is totaled... Acetylene tortch (not quite, but you get the point... Don't spare the dash...)
if you can get the tool for it then a 5 second job otherwise get two really thin screwdrivers and release one side at a time, might take a minute though http://www.caraudioplus.co.uk/Tools/Car_Radio_Removal_Tools
There's sometimes a single nut to remove round the back or some other fixing screw, the most awkward bit in some cars. You may get exact instructions with a bit of googling, even a pdf of the manual which should explain with pics. Here's an example I found for the daughter's ICE, fairly typical.
If the car is totaled then all you have to worry about is hurting the deck itself and not the car then go to town on the dash. So, uh, ya own a chainsaw? I would reccomend a small toolbox, a hammer, and a crowbar.
