3rd gen speaker replacement
 

I would like to replace the speakers in my wifes 97 limited but I have a few questions. What size fits in the front and what size fits in the rear? And how do I remove the door panels?

Thanks,

Search ya newbie!

Never messed w/ my 3rd gen audio system but several things come to mind...

I imagine the door panels pull off like all the other generations after removing a few strategic screws...

Check out crutchfield for your vehicle and it should give you an idea of what size speakers will fit where...

OR

Go hit up your local audiophile today at Circuit City or the mom and pop stereo shop and ask them to look in their handy dandy tech manual for what speaker fits what vehicle...

:chair:

:guitar:

6.5" front and 5.25" rear.

http://fastq.com/~sschaefer/polk.html

Door panels pop off, just unscrew the handle and switch panel. If you have roll up windows like me, there is a "C" clip to slide out.

you'll need adapters for the rear doors to fit 5.25's they can be had on ebay just search. the front speaker plates mat need to be altered. i had to dremmel mine, as the kappas are quite wide. to remove the door panels there are pop-in clips that you push in the center of the clip for it to release. then remove the screw in the door handle. un hooking the door handle is is the trickiest part. after the handle is removed pull off the arm rest and remove those screws. then pull the cover off at the bottom and up over the door lock at the top.

Your front speakers are 7" and your rear speakers are 4". You a can replace the front ones with 6.5" but you have to build or buy an adapter. You can put 4", 5.25", or 6.5" in the rear. The last two take some patience and skill. I have 6.5" inch components in my rear doors and I am making a Webpage that shows how to do it but it is not done yet. If you want pictures I can send you some. 5.25" rear speakers are a more common upgrade. I used 6.5" Focals in my front and rear. The tweeters fit right in to the factory brackets on the front. There are alot of great speakers out there...I highly recommend components and I liked the Focals because they have small crossovers, fit where I needed them and sound great. You have to mount the crossovers somewhere and they can't be too large or they won't fit most places. If you decide on these let me know and I can tell you where to get the CHEAP!

I made my adapters out of MDF (medium density fiber board) and painted them for moisture protection.

Here is how to remove the door panels. Be careful and mindful of the clips, as some of them are over $5 a piece.

Door Panel Removal

Check out these links for a few pictures of my install; I installed 5.25's first in the rear doors and then decided to do them the same as the front:

Routed edge on adapter

Finished install

Trimmed door panel for 5.25"

6.5" installed

If you are interested in doing the 6.5" let me know and I will send you a picture of the pocket modification. You must modify the door panel pocket and get speakers that are no more than a certain depth. The panel modification cannot be seen from inside the vehicle. I was planning on installing a Subwoofer, but after putting the 6.5" speakers in the rear I decided I did not need it. All is very stealthy.

Have fun and :rockon:

I did do a search Brian. And came up with a bunch of conflicting answers thats why I posted this thread. Looks like I have a project on my hands. Thanks everyone for all the great information. I already have two pairs of 6" Sony's I took out of her car before we got rid of it. I was hoping they would fit.

Should not be too hard to make them fit. It's real dumb to me that Toyota can't use a standard size speaker. Especially when their speakers are so bad! If you need any help just sent me a private message and it will pop up when I open this Forum. I took alot of pictures of my installs...front and rear.

Don't worry about Brian some people on this forum are just like that. You are right...there is alot of conflicting posts on this subject....many are wrong. :think:


:tomcat2:

I just like this smiley

I was just yanking your chain you cow! :saw: :hillbill:

:guitar:

I know WW lol :laugh:

For the front there are adapters availible on Crutchfield. not only are the 15 bucks, but they say Jeep/GM. They should be fine though, since in recent years GM and Toyota have shared a few things.

Or you can use 6.5 'S' speakers. Thats what I did. In the front that is.

Crutchfield recommended 6-3/4" for the front doors, and 4" for the rear doors. Both sizes have a note that says the mount needs to be fabricated to fit perfectly. You dont want to have any rattles, thats worse than Chinese water torture. I plan on installing JL audio CX series in my 2001, I will provide some feedback once Im finished.

Ok, I installed Boston 6.75's in the front doors, and Boston 5.25's in the rear doors. Crutchfield provided the adapter for the rear door. Was a tad difficult, so prepare for some intermediate-advanced work. With the right tools, this was fairly easy. I also dynamatted all 4 doors. Huge difference in road noise.

5YR old post lol

Just keeping the future 3rd gen searchers informed... :) This is something I was looking for.

I've got 6.5" JL's in the front and 5.25" JL's in the rear. Both had to have mods to work but the rears took a good bit more. End result is great though.

Yea, 6½"will require a mod.

The 6¾" fits perfectly into the existing speaker bracket in the front door without mod.

The rears will have to be modded no matter what, since no one really makes a 4" door speaker. Most people go with the 5¼".

Did you have to pay for the rear door adapter or did they provide it with the speakers? I was lookin on Crutchfield the other day and I thought it said they didn't supply the adapter.

My Boston's came with the adapter. You dont choose them, they should just show up in your cart, as long as you have a specified vehicle.

You know how crutchfield will provide you with the wiring harness for a vehicle specific stereo.... they did the same for this speaker bracket.

I ended up using the factory bracket but I did major modifications to it. I then used dynamat extreme to seal it back up properly so there were no air gaps.