# DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal



## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

Here is a link to my website if you prefer reading it in nonthread format, otherwise just scroll down.
Enjoy:
http://veonake.robinsoncove.ne...l.htm
Ok, this write-up is extremely long, maybe it didn't need to be but it happened anyways. This will show you both how to remove most of your dash parts as well as make a fairly clean iPod installation. Scroll to the bottom to see finished pictures. You will need the following tools and parts:
-iPod
-Belkin auto adapter with line-out for iPod
-Xtreme Xtremity iPod case (or any other iPod case that can be secured to a panavise) 
-Head unit with an aux input
-Panavise cell phone mount (I used the upper-dash one, I guess you could use the lower one and change the location of your center pocket)
-Aux input cable if your head unit didn't come with one
-Hardwire 12volt accessory outlet (radioshack)
-Wire splices (blue ones from radioshack, I think they are 14-18awg)
-T20 and T25 torx drivers
-Flat head screw drivers
-Xacto or other sharp knife
-13mm socket and driver
-Patience?
All screws are T20 torx unless otherwise noted.
Use your vw switchblade to pop open the fuse box.








Once open reach inside the right hand side and pull until the clips come out and the right side pops out








This shows the right side undone. Now just pull it towards the rear of the car and out and it will remove easily.








Go to the passenger side and open the glove box. Pull the side towards you (you can use a screwdriver with a rag around it to pry if necessary) until the left side pops out. Then, like the driver's side, pull it towards the back of the car and it will remove easily.








Remove the T20 torx screw located on the trim piece to the lower-left of the steering column. Now pull upwards and towards the back of the car. It is only held in by a few clips. Make sure you are pulling at an upward angle as there are plastic guides that you can damage. (see next picture)








This picture shows the piece you just removed and the two guide pins. The next picture will show the holes they go into. These are especially important to line up when reassembling. When reassembling don't apply excessive force or you will bend the plastic.








The next trim piece has two T20 torx screws to remove. The first one is above the two holes the guide pins on the last piece go into.








Remove the other T20 on the bottom right of the trim piece. Pull this piece directly towards the back of the car.
























Next there is a thin and flimsy trim panel that is located at the top of the driverside footwell. It should already be loose and is really only held in by one clip at this point. Simply pull directly towards the back of the car to remove this and it will then fall down. Take note of the two large white clips that the back attaches to. They are more alignment clips than anything, but make sure you remember them when reassembling.
























Now we will remove the arm rest and all center console trim.
Start by opening the rear change/ashtray and pulling out the red plastic tray (just hook your hand in it and pull it out, easy).
Two holes will now be exposed. A friend with a flashlight will be helpful here, but it's possible to just feel it out (I've done both).
Attach an extender to your T20 driver and insert it directly down into each hole and remove the two screws. Don't worry if you don't have a magnetic bit or you aren't steady enough to guide them up and out through the holes, once the trim is off you can retrive the screws.
















Remove the left cover of the armrest by pulling on the edge of the trim piece towards the driver's side of the car. It is held on only by a few clips. The top will pop out first and then you can angle it out at the bottom.








One 13mm bolt is securing the arm rest. Remove this and then angle the armrest towards the passenger's side and lift it up and out. Angling it allows it to slide past a long metal notch. There is another trim piece on the right side but you probably won't need to remove this piece.
































Now remove the shift boot. If your boot is anything like mine you will need two hands and a lot of pressure to get the boot out. Press firmly on the front (the side towards the rear of the car and closest to you), applying pressure directly forwards. Once you apply pressure start lifting it up. If it isn't lifting up while applying pressure, push harder







.








If you are sweaty, the two small tabs are to blame. Why VW, why?
Anyway, now that it is up, just pull it backwards and pull it up and over the shift knob. It won't come off unless you cut the ring right under the shift knob, but that's ok. Just let it sit there sticking up into the air, inside out.








Now you will see some colorful insulation. It's easiest putting the shifter into 4th, pulling it out from the corners first near the ashtray. Then, shift into 2nd and pull out the part towards the armrest (although, I guess you don't have one attached anymore, at least you shouldn't!).








Doesn't look like it should fit in there in the first place. Just pull it up and over the shift boot.








Now, to prevent unnecessary frustration when reassembling first remember to put the insulation back in. I forgot the first time and it's not fun remove the boot more times than you need to. Next, look at the next two pictures.
This shows the front more clearly. Make sure the leather is pulled back as far as possible (meaning minimum leather past the lip). If there is too much it will be hell getting it back on properly. I say this because when removing it and working on things, the leather tends to slip over the edge more than it was originally.








Same thing with the front of the boot. In this picture more leather should probably be pulled back, leaving a larger gap. The space between the leather and plastic piece at the top of the picture is where the trim slides into. This side of the boot is even more important than the previous.








Remove the screw in the driver's side footwell.








Use a small flathead screwdriver to remove the circular screw cover. This picture shows the passenger side, but the driver's side is the same. A torx screw is located underneath.








Cover is removed, remove the screw.








Do the same for the passenger side.
















Open the ashtray cover and pull out the red changetray (is it an ashtray or a changetray, I don't know). There is a screw underneath to remove. 








Now comes the most tricky part of this whole thing. You have to remove the center console now in two pieces. I change the order I remove them each time it seems, but it doesn't seem to matter TOO much. Reassembling I always put the rear piece in first. Everything is lose and nothing is attached by clips. The first step is to pull up the e-brake as far up as you can without breaking anything. So, while lifting the front portion up by the shift boot opening slide the rear piece backwards so that it is seperated from the front section. Now you can take the front section out by lifting the rear end up while sliding it backwards and at the same time making sure the ashtray seperates from everything. It is not connected by clips. However, there is a metal bar that has to slide over part of the shifting mechanism so if it feels like it is stuck, check to see if this is the problem. Once the front section is lifted up partway you can lift up on the front of the ashtray and push down on the rear end and it will start pushing out. Now lift up the front end of the rear section and slide it up and over the e-brake. Removing these two sections is almost an art so play at it a while and don't force anything too much. 
You can see in this picture where that metal bar hits. It has to ride over that piece to get out. The black piece is the bottom of the ashtray. The ashtray also has to slide over that bar to be removed.








The ashtray is hanging in this picture and the front section has been removed. The boot is inverted as said before. The rear section is still connected but now can easily be removed by shifting into 2nd gear and then sliding it up and over the e-brake as said earlier.
























Now some more reassembly tips. First find the two slots that the front section has pins that slide into those holes. In the above picture you can see those pins.









_Modified by erobinson at 11:03 PM 9-27-2004_

_Modified by erobinson at 11:04 PM 9-27-2004_


_Modified by erobinson at 11:04 PM 9-27-2004_


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## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

On the driver's side there is a metal tab that the front section screws into on each side. When putting it back on those tabs MUST go into the slots on the section otherwise you can't attach it. Having a second person keep an eye on this while you are putting it on helps a lot.
























Now you will remove the glovebox, fun stuff. Start by unscrewing the torx screw just to the right of the rightmost slot that the front section slides into. It is on the very bottom right of the radio console.








Use a T25 torx driver (I had to buy a whole extra set for this one!) to remove the screw on the right side of the glovebox that was exposed much earlier. 








Back to T20, remove the three screws on the bottom of the glovebox.








Now open the glove box and remove the light by pushing it towards the front of the car and then using your fingernails to lift under the side closest to you and pulling it outwards. You CAN do this after you have partially removed the glovebox, but it's too easy to put a lot of stress on the wires that way. Next detach the connector by using a small flathead to pry out each side of the clips while pulling both pieces apart.
















Now remove the three screws at the top of the glove box. It should now hang slightly on the right side but is still held in by clips on the left side. Once the screws are removed pull on the side towards you, applying most pressure on the left side. The clips will come undone and it will seperate. Let it rest on your knees, do NOT try to take it out of the car yet. The switch that senses if it is open or closed is still connected. With it resting on your knees look at the back of the glovebox and detach this switch (easiest if the glovebox door is partially open). Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this switch, but it will be obvious, just pay attention to how it attaches.
















Now it's time to start removing the entire radio console (probably impossible to do this install with only remove the head unit). Start by pulling off the bottom trim piece underneath the A/C controls. It is held on by two clips. 
















A screw is now exposed that you must remove. You can see it in the next picture. 








Ok, you caught me, I already did most of the install before taking pics







. Anyways, you can see by the arrows where the four screws are that you must remove (sorry that you can't see the left ones very well, but I'm sure you can find them once you are at this point).








Set down a soft cloth over the shift mechanism and move the ashtray to the side and let it hang. The radio console is now loose and you will want to set it down on something soft. In the next picture you can see mine resting on a white cloth and hanging (well, not really hanging but everything is still connected).








Now to start the real install. The first step would be to dremel out a small section of your pocket. If you do it like mine, you can't see the hole from any seat. It is best to remove the pocket to do this. I am not doing a DIY on removing the radio but there is one already in the DIY section if you don't know how. Once you remove the radio you can remove the pocket. Once it is dremeled and the pocket is back in, run the belkin wire through the hole. 








Dry fit the radio console with the belkin cable sticking into the pocket. Carefully pull out enough length so that the connector will reach the iPod in its panavise mount. If you are unsure then pull out a little more than necessary, it is easier to push cable back into the dash than pull it out once everything is reassembled.








Now that you have the proper length, remove the console again, making sure that the cable doesn't slide anywhere. Zip-tie the cable to the support so that it won't accidentally push back into the dash (yes I'm showing off my benchmade knife). Once you have done this put your aux cable from your head unit behind that plastic support and let it hang downwards so that when you put the console back you can grab it from underneath.








You can now put the console back and put in a few screws to keep it secure for now while you work on the rest of things. My aux cable is in black, the belkin cable is white in the picture. If you have RCA jacks on your head unit, you are doing the same thing but just plug your rca-to-miniplug cable into the headunit and let it hang the same way before attaching the console again.








Now is the time to do some testing. Plug the belkin adapter into the cigarette lighter adapter. Connect the dock connector to your iPod. Turn your car to the on position and then rotate the key back so that your head unit will have power. Switch your head unit to aux mode and turn the volume down. Attach the aux cable to your iPod's headphone jack. Turn on your iPod and play a track that is fairly heavy (so that it will max the volume). Turn up the volume on your iPod to as close to 75% as possible. Then start turning up your head unit to normal listening volume and remember how loud it sounds. If everything is working then music should be playing and your iPod should show that it is being charged. Pause the song and remove the aux cable from the headphone jack. Plug the aux cable into the line-out jack of the belkin adapter and turn the volume wheel on the belkin adapter to zero. Press play on the iPod or start the SAME track over again and start turning up the volume using only the belkin volume wheel. Turn it up until the volume you hear is at the same level as it was when the aux cable was plugged into your iPod directly. This assures that you won't receive distortion by using the belkin adapter (which you will if you set this wrong).
I repeated these steps a few times to make sure it was set as close as possible. Once you are satisfied use electrical tape to prevent the volume control on the belkin adapter from moving. You can see the adapter hanging in the next picture with the volume control taped and aux cable plugged in. 








Be careful during these next steps! I didn't disconnect the negative terminal of the battery to prevent accidental shock but you should if you are not comfortable working with electronics (I should have done this to be safe but then I would have to reset the security on my head unit, the clock, all settings, and the trip computer would reset; guess I'm lazy). If you don't disconnect it, make sure not to ever cross the negative and positive leads and don't touch a positive lead if any part of you is touching a metal part of the car. I am not responsible if you get hurt and you are doing this at your own risk.
The next step is to add an additional 12volt socket behind the dash. Disconnect the power connector from the stock cigarette lighter socket by pressing in the tab and pulling out. Use needlenose to push the tab on the top of the ashtray unit through the hole so the cable is seperate from the ashtray (you don't have to, but it's much easier to work with). Use your blue wire splices from radioshack. One side of the splice allows a cable to pass all the way through (you just push the open end over the cable) and the other side allows a piggyback wire to slide in only part way. Obviously, the open side is for the stock wire, the other side for the extra 12volt socket. 
Push the black feltlike tape back to expose a couple inches of wire. Push a splice over the positive lead (red w/black stripe) and then insert the positive lead from the new socket into the adjacent opening in the splice. Make sure everything is lined up and then use pliers to push the metal splice through the two wires, this cuts through the insulation and creates a union between the two wires. Once it is all the way down press the cover closed. Repeat this step for the negative lead (stock brown wire). I think the picture illustrates this well, but one thing I recommend doing differently is splicing into the stock wires further away from the power connector. This will make it easier to reassemble everything later.
















Reconnect the battery if you disconnected it earlier and turn the car to the on position and rotate it back to off again like earlier. Plug your belkin adapter into the new socket, turn on your head unit to aux, and try playing a song on your iPod again. Make sure it is charging. Now is a good time to attach the panavise mount, just follow the instructions included, they are fairly simple.
















Everything working? Great, time to put everything back together. Basically follow the steps in reverse order as they are presented. Pay special attention that all clips are still on their parts (sometimes they fly off) and that tabs fit into their slots, etc. Go slowly and double check your work. The hardest part will be putting the center console back together, just as it was hardest to take off. Tidy up your wiring as best you can and push it carefully back underneath the radio console so that the ashtray will fit in its original position. There is quite a bit of space underneath that console (underneath the A/C controls, etc) for the belkin adapter and to fit without smashing.
Once everything is back together, attach the adhesive dash mount of your xtremity case (or whatever case you are using) to the panavise. Next you will have to do some surgery on the xtremity case. The dock connector hole was designed for the original dock connector from apple. The belkin one is more square. This is easy to remedy. Take an Xacto or other sharp knife and turn the rounded corners into square corners. Once this is done the belkin dock connector should fit perfectly. Slide the modified case onto its mount and slide in your iPod. Connect the dock connector to the bottom of the iPod through the case and check the length of the cable coming out of the pocket. Push some cable back through the hole if it is too long. If it is too short, I warned you, but you can probably VERY carefully pull some more through. Now you are all done and should have a pretty slick setup. Pat yourself on the back. 
If something wasn't explained well enough please let me know and I will fix it, or do my best to take more pictures. 
Now for the finished install pictures:
































And some extra pictures of my door off showing my speakers (had it off trying to get rid of rattles, somewhat successful, next step is dynamat).
















And finally a picture of my sub and amps:








If anyone is interested, the following is my audio setup:
Head Unit: Eclipse CD5444 (5 volt preouts)
Front speakers: Polk MM6 Components (7" woofer with 1.5" MDF spacer ring)
Rear speakers: None (don't need a rear sound stage and don't often have passengers) 
Sub: JL 12w3v2
Sub Amp: JL 250/1 (250RMS) monoblock
Multichannel Amp: Polk C400.4 (tested at 109wRMS/channel) (rear channel powers woofers, front channel powers tweeters and uses internal crossover)
4awg power cable up to the stinger splitters, goes to 8awg for only inches before the amps)
120amp circuit breaker next to the battery (so much more convenient than a fuse)
All RCA interconnects are top of the line monster cable
Speaker wire is all 12awg monster cable


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## Rare Hare (Apr 2, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

Nice write-up
Good detailed pics with graphics and great technical explanations. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## SLOVW (Jul 13, 2002)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
Great writeup! Wish I had it a couple days ago when I was removing the trim! That center console is a challenge! 
Rich


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## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (SLOVW)*


_Quote, originally posted by *SLOVW* »_ http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
Great writeup! Wish I had it a couple days ago when I was removing the trim! That center console is a challenge! 
Rich

Thanks, you're right about the center console, whenever I have the car apart I dread putting that back together (the iPod install I think was fourth time it was off).


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## duke_seb (Jul 29, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (Rare Hare)*

great work....but i think im glad that my stereo has an input on the front that way i can plug and play as i go


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## jddaigle (May 30, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

Nice writeup. I did the same thing in my Jetta, but all I did was pull out the stereo, remove panel under the steering wheel, unbolt (but didn't remove) the glovebox, and take the panel off the passenger side end of the dashboard. Then I just stuck my arms in there and did it by feel







. I guess it comes down to what annoys you more--removing the entire center console, or working by feel.


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## SlvrGTi1.8T (Oct 13, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (jddaigle)*

http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif Great write-up wish I had something like that about 2 weeks ago when I installed my Ipod, and your holder looks awesome
Jason


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## GTI_Matador (Oct 1, 1999)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (SlvrGTi1.8T)*

Nice write up but you really went over board. I did the same exact thing with my i-pod, same panavise location and everything. You don't need to take apart the entire center console to get to that one bottom screw that holds onto the glovebox. Just take out all the screws and let it all swing down a little bit. I propped it up on a box and the installed the mount and actually drilled a small hole on the side of the glovebox and ran the wire that way, much cleaner. I bought another glovebox for $40 if I ever want to take everything out.


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## Helicon Twist (Jul 10, 2002)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

Something else to keep in mind:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1652900


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## Vorsprung (Mar 15, 2002)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (Helicon Twist)*

Ok so basically the ipod connetor on the bottom goes to the charger which has a 3.5mm audio out which you can connect a y splitter cable (3.5mm-->RCA) then connect that to the aux in ur HU?.....did i get it right?


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## bigmak (Jan 5, 2004)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (Vorsprung)*

nice pics, they always can come in handy


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## tysO (Jan 27, 2004)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (bigmak)*

awesome write-up http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (Vorsprung)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Vorsprung* »_Ok so basically the ipod connetor on the bottom goes to the charger which has a 3.5mm audio out which you can connect a y splitter cable (3.5mm-->RCA) then connect that to the aux in ur HU?.....did i get it right?

Wow, talk about bringing back an older thread lol. Yea, that sounds about right. It isn't a y-splitter, just an adapter, but I think that is what you mean. I actually just ran a male-male 1/8" jack from the charger's line-out to my HU's aux in (it doesn't use RCA for aux). Good luck.
Thanks guys for the comments.


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## anothercar (Dec 20, 2002)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

Holy "boy did i take more of my car apart then I had to" batman.


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## Kayless (Jul 7, 2004)

Nice write up but holy sh*t did you take a lot more apart than you needed to. That could've went a lot quicker by just pulling the radio and drivers side hush panel.


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## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

*Re: (Kayless)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Kayless* »_Nice write up but holy sh*t did you take a lot more apart than you needed to. That could've went a lot quicker by just pulling the radio and drivers side hush panel.

I don't think so. You have to remove the glove box to remove the entire radio/AC cage, because their are screws behind it. Please, tell me how I could have gotten access to all the parts of the car I needed to by only removing the drivers side panels? Especially with the wiring I had to do to the cigarette lighter...
Edit: In fact, here is the pic that shows you must remove the glovebox. And, you must remove the armrest and all the other trim pieces to allow access underneath the ashtray.










_Modified by erobinson at 2:03 AM 3-4-2005_


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## MFZERO (Mar 13, 2002)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (erobinson)*

noice http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: DIY: iPod Install and Dash Removal (MFZERO)*

looks good.. i did something similar... maybe a little more complicated... but very allong these lines.. and if your doing what you did i really can't understand why you would need to take out hte glove box and center console... its just not necessary..... i'm sure its nice having a little more access and room to move arround with... but for someone whose thinking this is too difficult or daunting.... that stuff really isn't necessary...


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## Kilya (Nov 2, 2004)

nice and detailed man... i didnt do mine like you i only took apart the left side of the car and kinda snaked everything... didnt feel like doing all the work=]


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## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

While I do appreciate the kind comments, I do still feel confident that if you want the exact same setup that I have, you must remove all the trim pieces that I have. Here is why:
1) Integrated charging: I know no other way to gain access to the cigarette lighter wiring in order to hide the belkin adapter other than removing the armrest to remove the trim piece around the e-brake to remove the trim piece over the shifter and ashtray. You MUST get under the ashtray, and I don't think there is any other way than to remove that piece. If you don't want to hide the adapter, sure, you don't need to go to the hassle.
2) Dash mount: The panavise mount is screwed into the radio/AC cage on the right hand side. You have to remove the glovebox to access those screws, unless you want to risk breaking the glovebox by forcing it. In other words, if a professional was doing it, he/she would remove the glovebox.
Obviously I wouldn't need to remove nearly as many trim pieces as I did if all I wanted to do was run audio to the aux connection on my head unit. But still, no one has explained how to hide the belkin adapter without removing all the pieces that I did. Now I have to go back and look at my car to see if I am going crazy here lol. I hope people are getting good use out of this DIY.


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## erobinson (Jun 19, 2003)

Ok yea, just checked. No way you're going to get to the cigarette lighter wiring without removing the trim piece that goes around the shifter and extends into the footwells (which of course requires to remove other trim pieces, etc).


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## blarsen (Aug 11, 2004)

Nice write up and photos///


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