Hey All,

I'm new here, and will be introducing myself in 1st gear soon, but last week I picked up an 04 Red/white cooper with 85,000 miles on it! I love it, except that I'm trying to install a GTA car kit for ipod use and am having the hardest time getting the down tubes off.

The issue I'm having is, I have a t20 and t30 torn screwdriver, which the GTA video said to use. I can't seem to even get into the screws on either side. Am I using the wrong size? Also, while pulling down the dash piece under the steering wheel, it just came right off and dropped to the ground. I'm having a hard time getting the rear clips back in on that too, don't know why...

Any help? Or at least proper torx size?

Thanks!
Joe

 

Yes those should be the correct T sizes unless someone changed them.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1) A socket screwdriver, with size #20 and 30 Torx bits.

2) Your two hands.


STEP ONE:

Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery, just in case. The battery is located in the boot (trunk) of the car.


STEP TWO:

You are going to remove the two downtubes, so that you can access the four screws that hold the head unit into place. In order to remove the downtubes, first open the glove box. Then, pull down on the knee bolster on the driver's side. To do this, you simply grab the plastic with both hands, in the opening right below the steering column. Give a firm yank downwards, and the bolster will swing down. It is scary at first, because you have to pull kind of hard, but it's OK to do!! YOU WILL NEED TO BE CAREFUL IF YOU HAVE DRIVING LAMPS INSTALLED - when the bolster swings down, it may pull the wires leading to the switch for the driving lamps - so be careful!

This is a photo of the driver's side, with the knee bolster pulled down and out of the way:




Here is a photo of the passenger side downtube, with the glove box door open:






STEP THREE:

Now, you will need to loosen the BOTTOM part of the fascia trim in the center of the dash - the part that goes around the speedometer (or in my case, chronometer). This is very similar to the knee bolster, in that you have to give the trim a firm tug outwards. It will pop away at the bottom, and come out about an inch or so from the dash. There is gummy stuff at the edges of the fascia, which is visible in the photo below. Don't touch this - it will disappear when you push the fascia back into place.




Once the fascia trim is away from the dash, you can easily pull the top part of the downtube out towards you, and then lift it up. You will see that the bottom part of the downtube rests on a foamy-plastic sort of block.

 

Hmmmm okay, these are the tools I'm using for the job....

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=482523_0_0_

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=482519_0_0_

I'm guessing they are correct?

 

Those clips are a b!tch to get back in. Just keep pushing until nothing breaks.

 

FWIW, I'd just get a driver set that has interchangeable torx bits. No need for dedicated drivers in those sizes.

 

Yeah, I need to just get a set. I plan on tackling the SAS this weekend at some point so, it's a waste to buy individual drivers from autozone. And recommendation on where to get a decent/cheap set, that isn't amazon?

 

I have yet to find a good set of Torx bites that are cheap... my Snap on set has been amazing for the past 3 years... strong, never wear. I'm a strong believer in buying quality parts and tools... and taking good care of them. Amazon has the snap on's i think for 60 bucks for a full set.

 

I've got one set from Sears <$20 (stays in the car), and one from Kragen (stays at home) for ~$15. Both have torx, phillips, flat and square that I never use. Work fine for this shade tree mechanic.

 

I picked up a cool Husky ratcheting screw driver type with tons of interchangeable Torx security bits for like $20 at Home Depot

 

Thanks guys, I picked up a set at true value for $15 bucks. I don't like it too much and will prolly pick up a better set soon. It did the job, now I just need to get a better connection between the GTA and MINI harness. It doesn't appear to latch perfectly.

As a side note, I accidentally bought a T25 driver instead of T20. On top of that, all 4 down stem screws were T20, don't know how that happened.