Properly installing a head unit
 

Looking at the radio in my S4 rx-7 it doesn't seem to be properly installed. The correct trim kit has been used on the face, and the cage is secured to that using the tabs, but there is nothing supporting the rear of the head unit, so as I drive along it slowly tilts down in the back until there is a really noticeable slant to it. This has caused the tabs on the cage to bend and allows it to flop down rather easily. I have a whole bag of left over parts from the trim kit, is there something in there that should have been used to support the back end of the radio? They installed it in the upper half of the opening, is this wrong?

When i installed my radio it was doing the same thing. So i removed the cage and aftermarket radio trim that the po installed and put the radio on the bottom so i could put a gauge panel in. Heres a pic of how i put mine in before i made my gauge panel.

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/a...-04-24_531.jpg

Some people use a piece of plumber's strapping, secure one end to the radio, and secure the other end to the sub-dash. Its essentially the same thing as what used to come with headunits, but a little less thick.

If all the right piecea were in places there is plenty of material to hold the.ass end up, normally the radio gets screwed into.the cage which then slides into and secures to a plastic trim kit that then screws into factory holes. My bet is the po cheaped out on the install kit and got a flimay ebay set.

The factory headunit is secured using a pair of steel brackets that fully support the unit. Using plumbers strapping isn't the same thing and won't provide the support you need. You can adapt the factory brackets to work with any new radio, but you can buy them new anymore, you'll have to purchase used from eBay or from a junk yard. The 2nd best alternative is to use a plastic installation kit from Metra, as long as it screws to the dashboard and not to the trim piece.

if youre using the cage that came with the deck, you should not need to screw anything in. makes it real hard to pull a headunit back out if its screwed together. you slide the deck into the cage, it clicks, and to pull the deck back out the headunit comes with "keys"

heres mine, no back brace, just the cage secured to the dash kit, havent had an issue yet
http://i952.photobucket.com/albums/a...g?t=1333755091

Uh.. Bullsh*t.

Plumbers strap is MORE than sufficient. There is a single hole on the back of the radio (approx in the middle) that was MADE FOR THIS.

I've been screwed by multiple Metra/Turbokits. Plastic is not enough with a stiff suspension, and plumber's strap is an easy substitute for the piece THAT (may have)CAME WITH THE RADIO FOR THIS PURPOSE.

The factory brackets aren't needed, and its way more trouble finding one of those, than running to Home Depot and dropping the budget-busting $2.50 on a roll of plumber's strap.

By the way... if you have the Metra kit with the pocket; the pocket is the last step. That is perfect for leaving the strapping in a vertical position, and zipping a short screw into the sub-dash, then popping in the pocket.

I'd just use some plywood below the back of the radio with some foam or rubber in between.

lol YUP!!! too many times have these kits needed more fab than anything. and the gaps they leave! YUCK! cant stand it, but the customers think it looks great! lol

It is the Metra kit and I didn't see any brackets in the kit that would fit my dash AND screw into the radio. Lots of brackets that partially fit or were somewhat near fitting, but nothing that fit my setup, I assumed it was because this same kit fits the 323 and a number of other older Mazdas. I'll be pulling the car out of storage in 2 weeks and can maybe take some pictures of how it is currently installed, but basically the only piece of the kit that was used is the front bezel, it has 4 tabs with screws that attach to the inner part of the dash then the cage is clipped to it. This piece doesn't seem anywhere near strong enough to hold the radio, but luckily the tabs on the cage are damaged from the PO and they have given way first.

Using some all-round to hold the back of the radio up sounds like a tolerable option. I didn't see anything but the ductwork back there to fasten it to but maybe I can sneak it down from somewhere up above. In my setup the radio is in the top hole as it has a separate power filter box that is mounted underneath it, so I put the pocket down there since it isn't full depth anyway.

i have the metra kit. the plastic plate screws to the factory bezel, then the cage goes in the hole, then the radio goes in the cage. no issues with mine.