(G) Radio Removal Keys

Would anyone kindly show me a pic of radio removal keys I made two like the one in the pic it fits champion but radio wont come out

Not sure they are long enough. I used two coathangers (thick & long). Also open the upper glovebox which will allow you to get a flat bar behind the fascia.

they dont go right in before they hit somit

I always used coathangers, worked for me.

Can't remember mine coming to a stop, really had to force them right in.

They need to look like this. pointed bit has like a lump on the end.

Check out my Microsoft Paint skills

i used wooden kebab sticks today

the wire I used must have been a fraction of a millimetre too thick cause I used a wire coathanger and it worked fine

you need a tool number 1860897000 this would remove the radio from the fiat marea but i dont know where you can get them anybody got any idea's

i actually used cocktail umbrellas to get mine out

4 short pieces of brazing rod/wire or 4 standard pins (opening post) obviously bent flat.

I've got the proper removal pins, but the swines won't go far enough in to engage the removal mecahnism. I even tried belting them with a hammer but they still won't go in properly. ARGH! Might see if my neighbour's got a rubber mallet......

Any tips for getting the things to engage properly? Might try dipping them in washing up liquid......

Well be careful because the pins probably have gone in far enough, they only need to go in a couple of inches (50mm) to release the catches. The problem is that unit sticks to the soft plastic dashboard and can take a lot of careful levering and prising to the sides before it will release

A 5p length of ordinary welding rod cut into 4 pieces each 6in long will do the job absolutely fine

Ah, thanks! The pins are about 50% submerged into the holes, so I thought they weren't in far enough as the radio simply won't budge. I'll have another go tonight at wiggling them about and will desist from belting them with my hammer!

I have a replacement Visteon CD unit in hand (finally bagged one on ebay), and put the keys down through the holes on that so that I could see how far they were going. The same happened - they go about 50% of the way in, and I don't see the ends poking out anywhere. It looked to me like they weren't going in far enough to engage the grooved-looking retaining clips which look they they would need to be pushed back in order to release a fitted unit from its berth. It really looked like they would be doing absolutely no good in a fitted unit as they just sit in small black plastic tubes which don't reach as far as what looks like the retaining clips.

All very odd.

One other question - when the removal keys are in place, should they catch hold of the unit, and then you pull on them to take the unit out, or do you just insert the keys then grab the body of the unit to remove it?

No, you have to lever on the sides of the unit, do one side at a time with the largest flat blade levers or screwdrivers you can find

Snap! OOps! Sufficient force without being excessive