Safety

• Whenever any repairs or replacements on your Explorer deal with electrically connected components, you must first disconnect the ground cable from the battery. This connects the negative lead to the frame or chassis of the vehicle. Disconnecting the cable prevents shocks and shorts that can damage components.
  
  Loosen the ground cable clamp with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Remove the clamp from the negative lead post and rest it away from the battery until all of your work has been completed.
  
  

Removing the Stereo

• Ford (along with Mazda and Mercedes) uses a relatively simple method for stereo extraction. Instead of a complicated set of procedures involving the removal of dash panels, Ford relies on DIN removal tools. These are thin, metal instruments shaped like large staples. The tools fit into the holes found at either side of the stereo face.
  
  The holes for the DIN removal tools are located on either side of the stereo's face. Place the tools into the vertically stacked holes. Pull outward on the DIN removal tools and then toward you (away from the dash). With the tools flexed outward you can pull the stereo straight from the dashboard. Pull the unit from the dash until the wiring connections in the rear of the stereo can be reached by hand.
  
  The wiring connections to the Explorer stereo are grouped together by white plastic wire binders. When pulling the wiring from the stereo, pull the binders, not the wires.
  
  There are typically groups of wires for the speakers and the amplifier. The other connections are single cables to the antenna and the power supply (from the battery). The connections can be pulled from the stereo in any order.
  
  Once the connections have been removed, the stereo can be completely removed from the Ford Explorer's dash mounting bracket. The DIN removal tools can be pulled straight from the stereo.