Head Unit Removal

[skiddy1903]

I tried to remove the head unit in my 2005 Corolla at the weekend to replace it with my aftermarket one and dension ice link which i have installed in 2 of my previous cars (Ford Puma and Honda S2000).

i followed the very good guide and photos provided by Man-bing i found on here by searching.

All went well with the removal of the the centre console with a slight adaptation for my model (colour collection MMT).

but when it came to actually removing the head unit i ran into a problem. I couldn't remove the furthest back pair of bolts holding the head unit and air vents in place. along the channel leading to them there appears to be a small raised section in the plastic which mean there's not enough room below the bolt head for my socket to fit around it. (not very well explained but i hope you get the idea).

my question is really how did everyone who has removed their headunit get round this problem?

oh and it's my first post, only just got my corolla a couple of weeks back and the site has already helped greatly. good work people.

[Joebloggs]

you might be using a socket thats too big, check to see if u can get smaller ones

[skiddy1903]

you might be using a socket thats too big, check to see if u can get smaller ones

cheers but my sockets are fairly thin. there really doesn't look to be enough room for any socket to fit over the head. one of the corners of the bolt head is nearly touching the plastic.

[macdonb2]

Hey going to attempt take mine out his wkend to fix the sloppy fit of the h/u so will let you know! is yours a t spirit?

[man-bing]

The furthest bolt recessed within the dash, shouldn't be that far in, say about 75mm lenght (roughly) but you will need a slim socket set for this, and it should be a 10mm bolt head if that helps too.

You don't have to remove it, just undo it.

I wouldn't of thought that they would have change that much with the facelift model.

Keep us posted on how's it going

Bing

[skiddy1903]

The furthest bolt recessed within the dash, shouldn't be that far in, say about 75mm lenght (roughly) but you will need a slim socket set for this, and it should be a 10mm bolt head if that helps too.

You don't have to remove it, just undo it.

I wouldn't of thought that they would have change that much with the facelift model.

Keep us posted on how's it going

Bing

cheers.

i can't imagine they would have changed it with the facelift either.

looks like i should persevere and give it another go.

they don't make it easy do they, i've never had to remove as much trim to replace a head unit in any other car before.

[skiddy1903]

Hey going to attempt take mine out his wkend to fix the sloppy fit of the h/u so will let you know! is yours a t spirit?

no it's a colour collection MMT. so i've got the air con controls rather than the climate control shown in the console in the guide man-bing put together (there's a screw behind the fan speed control in mine) and the trim round the gear stick is different (with an extra electrical connection for the ES mode button).

[man-bing]

so i've got the air con controls rather than the climate control shown in the console

It sounds like you have a T3 or T2 sort of model, bit of a lower spec than mine, but glad you found it in time

[skiddy1903]

so i've got the air con controls rather than the climate control shown in the console

It sounds like you have a T3 or T2 sort of model, bit of a lower spec than mine, but glad you found it in time

yeah i found out about the screw somewhere else on the forum. i think the colour collection is the same trim level as the T3 but to be honest i'm not sure. it's probably the least researching i've ever done before buying a car. i researched for about a year before buying a honda S2000 but less than a week for the corolla. i just wanted something diesel and semi auto/auto so my mrs could drive it. went to test drive it and liked it so i bought it, i didn't really think about the trim level.

i would've prefered climate control to air con but with the diesel and MMT requirements i couldn't be too picky.

anyway, cheers for the help i'm going to give the head unit another try at the weekend.

[skiddy1903]

sucsess!

i gave it another go over the weekend. i managed to get my socket over the bolt head but my extension bar wasn't long enough to reach. i had to improvise by taping the socket and extension bar to the end of a screwdriver rather than use the wratchet.

just as well the bolts weren't in very tight or my bodged tool wouldn't have shifted them.

i got them undone though and the new head unit and ice link is now in.

cheers for all the help.