Jump to content
  • entries
    5
  • comments
    11
  • views
    25,091

Gathering tools, accessories and preparation


amsandun

1,335 views

So, why I wanted to do this as a DIY?

Answer: Most shop people and technicians are very reluctant to replace or remove factory fitted speaker from the front doors...

I don't know what's the big deal with that is but they would rather keep them as it is and tend to put new ones in the rear. One guy told me that the most of sound is coming from the rear speakers once installed. He also said the bass sound will slightly be reduced if I were to remove factory speakers and put aftermarket ones. But that's not what I wanted. I wanted to put new ones in the front and maybe put older ones back if I feel like it or put new ones in the back too. Since I thought to do myself, I will first settle with 2 and later going to add rear speakers.

Another shop technician was fine with removing factory speakers and his method was to cut around and rip off the speaker and it's content from the unit (speaker and mount come as a one unit) while keeping the base intact. Then installing the new speaker onto that factory mount with screws. I was ok with that first but after watching a YouTube video of a clean and neat installation, I was like wow! how pretty is that? I wanted to do like that. I will put the link below. But we can't always meet our own expectations 🥺 You will see why.

So based on that video I started gathering required tools and accessories. I found speaker terminals (lugs) without the rubber cover, speaker wires and a wire stripper (it was indeed came in handy). Sadly, some accessories required for a clean install as in the video were not available to find. 

tools.thumb.JPG.a45fd51e1725a46ec1e095b31f58c48c.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I already had prying tools and a soldering iron. I also tried to find some foam tape which was used to sound deadening/better quality output but not available. So instead I got a double tape :D, borrowed a drill from a friend and bought a 5/32" drill bit to drill out the rivets as indicated in a video.

The night before the intended operation date, I prepared the speaker wires using the tools I got. Since there was no rubber cover on lugs, I attached the wire and crimped using the  crimping section of the wire stripper and a pair of pliers. It would have been a nice job if I had a proper crimping tool. I put a solder dot just to be safe and covered using insulation tapes.

speakerwire2.thumb.jpg.fb7decab6ae3dd9d7da3930be716547b.jpg

And I was ready to start the job next morning :)

To be continued...

Edited by amsandun

  • Like 1

4 Comments


Recommended Comments

iRage

Posted (edited)

Nice to see some interesting content on AL after a long time.

About shops not wanting to remove the front speakers...I believe it is because it is more fidgety and there are more things to break in the front doors. There are more wires and connectors inside (power mirrors, a central switching unit, etc...), and sometimes the front door paneling is more complex for aesthetic reasons. Also, because the front doors are larger it takes some space and effort to move around the paneling and even open the door wide enough to start working on it.

As for front vs. rear speakers. Yes...the fronts usually (especially in normal A to B type of cars) have different specs than the erar ones. I am not a sound engineer so no idea how to describe it but the front speakers are generally set as the main speakers that set the "sound arena" (?) so it handles things like vocals and certain frequncies better than the rear speakers. The rear speakers are usually set as ambiance speakers to provide the immersive-ness of the sound. Needless to say it all depends on the sound system...but generally this does tend to be the case. In the past (like in the 80s) it used to be the other way around where the actual stereo system had speakers mounted on the rear deck and the front was just a single speaker for mono sound. But now, the default setup is 2 speakers in the front in almost every car.

Edited by iRage
  • Like 1
Link to comment
5 hours ago, iRage said:

.I believe it is because it is more fidgety and there are more things to break in the front doors. There are more wires and connectors inside

Yes maybe that's the reason, plus it will include some drilling too. One guy said it'd cost extra to replace front speakers and I guess it's because of these reasons. But everybody likes a neat, quality and a lasting job right?

I remember the guy who installed the head unit and reverse camera in my car, who was so professional that he did a nice job with all wiring and he took steps to enclose wires behind pillars and panels, and also to send wires through rubber grommets between doors and body for further safety. He said some people may cut in that grommet and insert the wires which could lead to water leak and rusting later. But another guy who did my father's car wasn't so concerned where he did exactly what my guy did not.

In my case though there was just one wire harness connected to center console to be removed.

console.thumb.jpg.dd53a02e9258c5d084186ca5ab9adff5.jpg

Link to comment

This has no relevance here...but on the subject of removing interior panels, one should be quite careful when removing A, B and C pillar panels, knee panel under the steering and even seats on modern cars. They have airbags embedded behind them so mucking around with the paneling can activate them or even mess up the connections.

So...always check what your car has before removing these things and definitely don't let randos do it...

Link to comment
17 minutes ago, iRage said:

This has no relevance here...but on the subject of removing interior panels, one should be quite careful when removing A, B and C pillar panels, knee panel under the steering and even seats on modern cars. They have airbags embedded behind them so mucking around with the paneling can activate them or even mess up the connections.

So...always check what your car has before removing these things and definitely don't let randos do it...

Yes you are correct 100%

Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

AutoLanka Cars For Sale

Post Your Ad Free [Click Here]



×
×
  • Create New...