VK Calais standard tape player

[emmtee83]

any idea on how to remove one of these bad boys??

i can't seem to locate any screws to take the dash apart....can anyone help?

thanks

[NORTI]

are they bolted to the firewall like in the VL?

[holdenboy]

There are a few ways to get it out. They have a bolt coming from the dash and into the back of the stereo. If you wanted to undo this bolt you would have to remove most of the dash in order to get behind the stereo.

I personally remove all the internals of the unit, starting with the front panel, tape player mechanism and then the other internals. Once they are all out you will have to drill the bolt out from the inside. This whole process will take you an hour or 2, and needless to say, isnt an easy job....good luck

[emmtee83]

Thanks for the heads up mate.

I have a drill.....can come in handy!!

[NORTI]

dont damage the deck!!! they can fetch some cash!!!

[Tasmaniak]

I prefer to rip the dash off myself, this way as I go I can see all the other **** in behind the dash thats collected and if I see any wiring thats been a dodgy repair I can fix it properly. The amount of times I've been told that the rear demister now works or the fan works on all speeds is pretty funny. Half the time I don't even pay attention to what I'm repairing...I just do it...so my 2c is to rip off the dash.

[Luke0011]

The VK factory stereo has two removal keys which once inserted, just slides out. The vl needs the whole dash removed to access the bolts, which are not bolted to the firewall but the top dash panel.

[Tasmaniak]

I should pay attention to the model listed eh? lol

[holdenboy]

Thanks Luke0011, didnt realise the VK and VL were different, ive pulled a few out of each model, but dont remember the VK being any different to the VL.......once you remove the unit with the keys is there some sort of cradle etc?

[emmtee83]

dont damage the deck!!! they can fetch some cash!!!

Wish I knew that before I started....this deck is totally f***ed now!

I ended up breaking off the end plastic pieces, undoing the screws that kept the front piece on, ripping that off.....and then discovering the holes in the sides....i had a couple of pioneer deck keys i used to try to get it to pop out and it worked like a charm. aw well, small price to pay to find out a bit more about your car....

in the process of trying to disconnect the loom, I came across some rubber hoses, i dislodged them from where ever they were....later i found those to be the fan/air con different settings. i noticed the tubes were numbered....were they supposed to go back onto the controls in a particular order?

thanks for all your help so far guys

[Luke0011]

Yes they are if you pull out the heater vent you can see numbers etched into the heater vent holes. And no theres not a cradle but more of a bar that sits underneath the radio to hold its weight.

[emmtee83]

Can anybody help with the wire colours of the standard VK tape player? i'm trying to match them up with my Pioneer head unit, without much luck....

i know the red and yellow are constant, i also have a white, grey, brown x2, blue, pink/off white, orange, green and black.

any help would be much appreciated. Cheers

[emmtee83]

All sorted.....one side of the harness had correct colours, the stereo side looked like it had random colours spliced in....an absolute headache until I realised what was going on!