Hi, I just took one apart to fix a cold solder joint, so here's my take on disassembly.
The brushed aluminum cover comes off by removing nine screws on the bottom, then manipulating seven tabs and removing the main handle on the plunger.
First, remove the main handle. It has a small plastic locking tab underneath and the tab may break because it hooks onto a metal spike in the toaster and this seems intended to be permanent. I broke it because I just pulled the handle straight off, but I'm not worried because the handle will still go back on reasonably tight; it just won't lock. However, if you want to try to remove it without breaking the plastic locking tab, I would try sticking a thin screwdriver under the bottom of the handle to disengage the plastic tab from the spike.
Next, remove nine of eleven screws on the bottom. Don't remove the two screws directly below the cord switch on the side - it should be obvious which two screws stay on. And take the crumb tray out too.
Next, there are three metal tabs on the bottom that need to be bent. Two of the tabs were held by the removed screws at the back of the toaster. Just bend those two out of the way away from the plastic bottom. The third tab is located in a hole directly between those other two tabs. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and twist the tab so it will unlock and allow the tab to slide through the slot in the plastic toaster bottom.
The four remaining tabs are located on the top of the toaster just inside the main toast slots. The top metal cover folds into the toast slots and forms metal tabs at each end of each toast slot. They unhook relatively easily by sliding the top cover tabs about 1mm towards the centre of the toaster - there's no bending of metal required.
At that point, it takes some playing around to actually remove the cover. Start by working it straight upwards, then lift it off at the back of the toaster first, before the front because there's a cable at the front of the toaster that prevents the top cover from lifting completely off straight up and, as well, the metal plunger arm that holds the handle will be the last thing to unhook. The plunger arm and the cord retraction mechanisms do get in the way, but it is possible to do it without forcing anything.
Note that after the metal cover is unfastened and pulled off, it is still attached to the toaster mechanism by a short internal electronics cable which connects the toaster to the front buttons in the cover. The front buttons and display remain attached inside the cover. At this point, the toaster should still function normally despite it having the cover off.
Answers & Comments
Re: Oster TSSTRTS2S2-033 disassembly
Hi, I just took one apart to fix a cold solder joint, so here's my take on disassembly.
The brushed aluminum cover comes off by removing nine screws on the bottom, then manipulating seven tabs and removing the main handle on the plunger.
First, remove the main handle. It has a small plastic locking tab underneath and the tab may break because it hooks onto a metal spike in the toaster and this seems intended to be permanent. I broke it because I just pulled the handle straight off, but I'm not worried because the handle will still go back on reasonably tight; it just won't lock. However, if you want to try to remove it without breaking the plastic locking tab, I would try sticking a thin screwdriver under the bottom of the handle to disengage the plastic tab from the spike.
Next, remove nine of eleven screws on the bottom. Don't remove the two screws directly below the cord switch on the side - it should be obvious which two screws stay on. And take the crumb tray out too.
Next, there are three metal tabs on the bottom that need to be bent. Two of the tabs were held by the removed screws at the back of the toaster. Just bend those two out of the way away from the plastic bottom. The third tab is located in a hole directly between those other two tabs. Take a pair of needle nose pliers and twist the tab so it will unlock and allow the tab to slide through the slot in the plastic toaster bottom.
The four remaining tabs are located on the top of the toaster just inside the main toast slots. The top metal cover folds into the toast slots and forms metal tabs at each end of each toast slot. They unhook relatively easily by sliding the top cover tabs about 1mm towards the centre of the toaster - there's no bending of metal required.
At that point, it takes some playing around to actually remove the cover. Start by working it straight upwards, then lift it off at the back of the toaster first, before the front because there's a cable at the front of the toaster that prevents the top cover from lifting completely off straight up and, as well, the metal plunger arm that holds the handle will be the last thing to unhook. The plunger arm and the cord retraction mechanisms do get in the way, but it is possible to do it without forcing anything.
Note that after the metal cover is unfastened and pulled off, it is still attached to the toaster mechanism by a short internal electronics cable which connects the toaster to the front buttons in the cover. The front buttons and display remain attached inside the cover. At this point, the toaster should still function normally despite it having the cover off.
I hope that helps.
JimmyHaulinHogs