Radio Removal 1989 Corvette
There are two plastic bezels that must be removed in order to have access to the four screws that secure the radio in the car. The bezels are the Instrument Panel Cluster (surrounds the speedometer, tach, etc) and the Instrument Panel Accessory (surrounds the radio, info center, temp controls, etc). The bezels must be removed in this order!!!
Removal process:
· Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery
· Instrument Panel Cluster: There are eight screws that attach this plastic bezel to the instrument panel and I believe they are all the same length. Remove the four screws on the front (you may have to tilt the steering wheel to have access to some of these screws) and then the four screws on the left side, adjacent to the left door panel. You will need a short screwdriver on two of the screws. Now, tilt the steering wheel to its extreme downward position. Look at the tilt lever on the left side of the steering wheel. You will see some “flats” on this lever and these are close to the steering column. Using a wrench, (1/4 inch I think?) loosen the lever counter clock wise and remove the lever. Next look at the headlight knob. Rotate the knob and you will see a little slot in the knob adjacent to the steel rod holding the knob. Using a small screwdriver, put pressure on the spring in this slot and the knob will come off. Now, sit in the drivers seat. Using both hands on the plastic bezel, raise the bezel up and pull it towards you. You will have to work with the part to get it our and be careful not to break it…..they ain’t cheap! Look at the eight places where the eight bezel screws were located. There is a metal clip in each screw location. Make sure these are not loose (you can remove them and squeeze them together with a pair of pliers……if you do not do this, you can loose them when you install the bezel……believe me on this!)
· Instrument Panel Accessory: There are five screws that attach this plastic part to the dash. Remove all screws and note that some are longer than the others. Take note where the long screw came from, as you will need to put them back in the same place during assembly. The plastic bezel will now come forward and remove it.
· I recommend you remove the temperature control module next. There are four screws (7mm) on the right and left sides that secure this module. Remove them. The module will now slide forward. Reach under the module and feel a connector in the middle of the module on the back side. There is a latching lever on the plug. Press this and remove the connector from the module. Remove the module. Take care on this and do not damage the module or connector.
· There are four screws (7mm) that attach the radio to the dash. These are visible on the front of the radio. Remove these screws and pull the radio forward. The wires attached to the radio will not allow but three or four inches of travel in the forward direction. You will need to twist the antenna lead while pulling it away from the radio to remove the antenna lead from the radio. There are three or four individual leads with connectors that must be separated. A small screwdriver helps with this. Now there are three main connectors (4 wires in each connector) and these are colored white, blue and black. Remember the order, as they will only go into their correct location in the back of the radio. Remove these and you will have the radio in your hand.
When you install the radio back into the dash, reach under the radio (the temp module is not to be installed until after the radio) and make sure you do not pinch any of the radio wires. I did this and damaged some leads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I usually use some small Ziploc bags to place screws for each assembly you remove. Using a making pen, identify the contents of the bag.
If you need wiring information, give me a shout as this info is in my Helms manual.
Bob Lamb
January 03