To be able to pull the factory radio from Fords, Mercedes, and Audi vehicles it takes a special set of tools.   They call these things DIN tools, and normally run around $15 to purchase.  Sure that isnt a lot for a specialty tool, but they can easily be made out of a coat hanger for practically nothing.

Image 1.

In Image 1 you see the radio retainer clip fully extended.  As described below the red arrow points to the high friction point of the clip.


Image 2.

In Image 2 I show the DIN tool being inserted into the holes on the front of the head unit at the red arrow.  The yellow arrow points to where the tool will come through.  Be sure that you insert the tool with the bevels facing away from the radio.



Image 3.

Image 3 shows the DIN tool just beginning to make contact with the spring clip.  The yellow arrow points to the tool and the red arrow is pointing to the contact point.  I measured the contact point to be a hair over one inch.  When you are inserting the tools this is where you will start to feel contact pressure.  You need to keep pushing before the clip will release.


Image 4.

Image 4 shows the clip in the release position.  If you look closely you will see that the red arrow points to the very tip of the tool as it shows through the back of the groove  You'll see this groove again later.  It is now at the end of its travel and any more pushing will only bend the tool.  You may have to use a little trick to get the clip into this position.  Since the radio has probably been in your car since it was new, and because of normal road vibration, it is probably pushed against the clips hard enough to prevent you from fully inserting the tools.  What you can do is aggressively push in the front of the radio at the points where the tools go before inserting the tools.  That will help reduce the friction on the clips and make it much easier to insert the tools.  Once the tools are in you can slide the unit out.

One note though, the real DIN tools actually have little nubs on the ends where mine are ground at a smooth angle.  Those nubs look like they would allow the head unit to be removed by pulling on the tools.  With my design you have to find another way to pull on the radio.  I was able to get my finger tip just inside the tape slot and pull.  You may have to pry around the edges on yours.  It took very little force to remove the unit so you shouldn't need a crowbar when pulling.  Just make sure you pull evenly on both sides so the radio comes straight out.


Image 5.

These are the grooves I keep talking about.  The red arrows are pointing to the bottom of the grooves.  In Image 4 the tips of the tools are caught just behind where these red arrows are pointing.


Image 6.

Finally you can see how the the tool is fully inserted with the bevels facing out and the very tips are caught behind the openings in the grooves.  If you look again at Image 4 you'll see that this is when the clips are fully retracted.

Making the tools

First off you are going to need two of these.  I made my tools by cutting the ends off a hangar.  I found a hangar around the house with the thickest wire.  The thicker the better even though the one I used is only about half as big as the holes it goes into.  I cut through the wire at an angle but if you have any kind of a high speed grinder that isn't necessary as you can regrind the ends with little effort.


Image 7.

The ends of the hangar wire are cut approximately 2-1/2 to 3 inches long and then the tips are ground to a fairly steep bevel.  The angle isn't critical.  In fact you could use flat ends but the angled tips are better at catching in the groove so you know when you've hit the end.  I used a dremel to cut and grind the tips but the wire is soft enough that I could have taken an extra 10 minutes using wire cutters and a file to do the same thing.  I did use a file to smooth off any burrs after grinding but that was completely unnecessary for doing the job.  It just makes a nicer finish.


Image 8.


Image 9.

This is just to show the approximate shape needed to be able to insert the tool into both holes at the same time.  You can arrive at this by inserting the tool and if it is too wide or narrow just bend it to the proper shape.  <Superman> I did it with my bare hands. </Superman>   It's somewhat critical that the two wires be parallel to each other so that the points come into contact with the spring retainer clip at the same time.  When both points slide into the groove at the same time you will have a very positive 'feel' when the tips lock in.

That's all folks

I decided to make these tools because I didn't feel like paying $10-$15 dollars and shipping charges and waiting for UPS to arrive just for a couple of pieces of wire.  Total time including scrounging up a wire hangar and finding my file was about 30 minutes.  Finally, here are two more pictures just to show the holes and tool being inserted.






As I was looking on the net to find these tools I ran across some information that the same tools are used on various other makes and models of cars from several foreign and domestic companies.  I can't promise that these will work for you but if you do a little research you may find that these will work on something other than a Ford.

-Nullkraft  Jan. 2006