86 300 SDL Complete Audio Install - Speakers

[mowoc]

I had to break this post up as it was too long. If you find the Head Unit thread this will flow right from the end of it.

As always feel free to post comments/suggestions.


The rear speakers are pretty easy.

• • The rear seat has to come out. This is an easy job, but the seat is bulky. There are two red tabs on my passenger bench that need to be pulled to remove the bench. These tabs were at the bottom of the bench in the passenger foot wells.
  • There are three bolts holding the seat back in place. One on each side and one right below the arm rest.
  • Lift the seat back straight up and then out.
  • You can now pull the speaker grills forward. Be careful, near the window is a clip that comes straight back. Do not lift the grills until you clear this clip, you might snap one of the clips.
  • Remove the two screws holding the rear speaker in. Also, remove the wire harness connector to pull it out of the rear. This is a round connector that clips in much like the head unit speaker connectors.
  • Be careful, you will want to remove the speaker portion but keep the round base! This is needed for your installation!
  • I removed the speaker by using tin snips to start snipping the plastic supports on the rear of the speaker. Once I snipped 4 or 5 the whole speaker would push out.
  • I clipped the harness and used wire nuts to connect the harness to the new speaker.
  • I used Goop to glue the speaker into the bracket. I let it dry about an hour and then installed it. You can use whatever you want, just secure the speaker to the base.
  • Do the same on the other side.
  • Reinstall the seat. This can be fun on your own, so be careful!

Front speakers

• The front speakers are a much bigger PITA.
• There are two screws holding in the grill. You will need to remove these (I used a long number 1 Phillips bit).
• Now there are two screws holding in the speaker. To remove these I used a long number 2 Phillips bit.
• Lift the speaker up, and slide it out. There are tabs on the front holding it in, so be careful!
• I put in Boston Acoustics 4x6 speakers. Note, these next few steps are not for the faint of heart:

i. I used tin snips to cut most of the metal from around the speakers. I mean most! It is very freaky to be cutting like that on new speakers!

ii. Eventually I got the speakers to the point where they would “wedge” into the opening. They are snug with out screws, but I attempted to put in the screws again any way. The key here is to get them low enough to put the grills back on top. There is much cutting and angst as I did this, but eventually the grills would sit on top of the speakers without bulging.
iii. As on the back, there is a similar wire connector you will need to reuse with the speaker wires.
iv. Once you’re happy, put it all back together.