hey guys, got a quick question for you.

I went to get a cd player installed into my car, i know it's 2004, but i havent cared much until now. thing is my radio was wired wrong and it drained on the battery, so i got fed up. Found out the radio support brackets are broken. So i cant instal a new radio until i get it fixed. Can i just get new brackets? or are they part of the upper center consol? It would seem kinda dumb if they were connected to a huge 3 foot section, instead of being some what seperate and making it easier to replace.

thanks for the info,
Opha

 

got a pic of what you are talking about ?

the braket on the radio pod or on the radio ?

 

They are actually a part of the lower center console. I had the same problem with my car (previous owner broke them off intentionally it seemed). Fortunately, i had a parts car at the time, and swapped in the lower center console from that car. I'm not sure about fitment between years, but the 1984 piece swapped in fine into my 86.

It might seem like a big job, but swapping this piece isn't really that hard. Find a good one at a junkyard (or wherever). You basically just need a phillips head screwdriver (to get the e-brake handle off), whatever is necessary to get the shifter handle off, a Torx bit set (or hex heads; they DO work) for a few panels, and a socket set. Once you have those, it's all lefty-loosey, righty-tighty. And if you run out of time one day in the middle of the swap, it's not like you need any of it to drive the car; just put the shifter and e-brake handles back on.

Let us know how it turns out.

 

yea, i figured i would have to buy the whole center console, didnt think it was part of the lower half , it's easy enough. Only thing i see a problem with is getting the shifter off, i have a 82 auto and it's a leather ball... doesnt budge either way, so im kinda stuck on how to get it off. Any idea on how much to re carpet the lower part?

 

The round auto shifter comes off by pulling the button out (just pull as hard as you can, it will come off and not break anything). Next, you need to take off the C-clip you will see inside... this is what holds the **** onto the shaft. You can try messing around with needlenose pliers to get it out, but there is a specific tool you can get from Sears or wherever you get tools from that gets this clip off. It looks like a pair of pliers, but the tips of the tool come to points that you insert into the holes at either end of the clip. As you squeeze the handle, it "opens" the c-clip so you can just pull it right out. After that, you just pull the **** straight up and off the shaft.