For those of you who have replaced the rear speakers how did you get to the speaker plug to disconnect the stock speakers without removing the pillar trimpanel?
If you removed the trim panel how did you do it?
Thanks in advance. You guys save me a lot of time. I got the speakers and the brackets removed. All the various suggestions were helpful. (no parts dropped!) Now I am scratching my head trying to figure out how to get to the plugs.
need to remove the approx. 6" square tan panel. not sure if that is what you mean by 'trimpanel'. But it has got to be removed.
I put a plastic 1" drywall blade in the crack closest to the rear door and slowly pulled out...came out pretty easy. Avoid putting anything metal in there unless you are very very careful. the plastic on the panel is pretty soft.
then just undid the two screws holding the speaker in (be careful not to lose the screws down the back of the pillar), pulled the speaker out and undid the harness.
i just wanna know what size speaker fits best and sounds best I see the wire plug in right below the opening, I think I want to install some back there also
3.5s, no problem, some 4" will, but some 4" will not. usually a problem of the magnet hitting the rear pillar or side of the mount. some have mounted 4" on the front of panel (rather than underneath). do search for thread started by garsgirl, i believe. not my cup of tea visually, but certainly an option.
Socalboo, I think you are referring to the speaker cover. I was referring to the entire plastic panel on the rear pillar that the speaker cover attaches to.
Some say don't try and remove it. Others have said they removed it to give more access.
Can it be removed and if so how as it would be significantly easier to work on the speakers.
Socalboo, I think you are referring to the speaker cover. I was referring to the entire plastic panel on the rear pillar that the speaker cover attaches to.
Some say don't try and remove it. Others have said they removed it to give more access.
Can it be removed and if so how as it would be significantly easier to work on the speakers.
Thanks again for any suggestions.
It's a PIA to remove the panel. You have to go through the whole procedure to remove the lower panel first, which involves removing the rear seat, the the cargo door trim,the cargo area plastic floor, the rear panel... and then the upper panel.
Socalboo, I think you are referring to the speaker cover. I was referring to the entire plastic panel on the rear pillar that the speaker cover attaches to.
Some say don't try and remove it. Others have said they removed it to give more access.
Can it be removed and if so how as it would be significantly easier to work on the speakers.
Thanks again for any suggestions.
Gotcha. Didn't need to remove it to get at the stock speakers or install a pair of infinity 3.5s (including running new speaker wire from amp under seat all the way back to them. I heard it was a pain to deal with panels, so worked around them. The stock speakers had harness clipped to side of speakers. Once I pulled stock speaker out, under the harness from the speaker, undid the harness, and they were out. A bit tricky to get the new speakers in the old metal bracket, but with some patience, they fit no problem.
For those of you who are planning on replacing your rear speakers, this is what I've learned:
1) Max speaker depth that will fit is 4". I installed JBL p452. I can't imagine any larger speakers fitting. I had about 1/8 of an inch of clearence for the circumference of the magnet.
2) The idea of using nylon spacers with super glue as well as thread tied to anything that can fall (screws, wrench, etc.) is the only way to go.
3) A closed end 10mm wrench with a rachet mechanism is the only way to remove the OEM speaker bracket bolts (w/o going nuts).
4) To give me more flexability in mounting I attached 1/2 inch metal extension feet to the attachement points on the speaker. The nylon spacers were glued to the end of them. Since the "feet" were attached to the speakers with a small screw and nut they could be rotated back and forth to find the best spot to attach them to the inner metal panel. I alligned the speaker where I wanted it and then rotated the "feet" to give me the best attachement points.
5) To get the speaker centered in the speaker cover I was only able to attach the speakers at three points. I used self tapping screws so three was more than sufficient to give a sturdy/strong attachment that won't viberate or shift over time.
6) Take your time and test the speakers b/4 you screw them down for the final time. You don't want to undo it.
7) If you can do this project you can do anything. As one member said, "like making love on a hammock"
Again thanks to all the members who took the time to write their suggestions. Prevents a lot of mistakes and going down "dead end roads".
Just put new Infinity ref 3.5's in the rear pillar. The new Toyota speaker harness is absolutely unavailable in Jacksonville!! (this was my morning.) Having read on this forum not to remove the trim back there, I thought I would have to wait until I could order a harness from crutchfield - but I looked, and looked and found a trick . . . If you pop the stock harness out of it's holder, and pull back the trim from the rear window (doesn't take much force at all) you can squeeze the harness through the gap with about 1.5 inches of wire exposed. This is just enough to cut, strip, and crimp an extension on. Then simply push this back through, and voila!! your in business. I too used spacers (2x nuts) to keep the magnet off of the metal. I taped the nuts to the speaker with electrical tape so I wouldn't lose one and give myself a rattle. Once taped, I simply pushed the screws through the tape - made the whole process alot easier. This all can be done in about 1/2 hrs time.
I ordered the stock trim covers with the speaker grills from autopartspeople.com (as previously suggested on these posts.) Once they get here (along with the A-trac switch for that hack) and I figure out how to kill the headliner speakers, I'll be in business!!!
Thanks to all the informative posts - outfitting will be alot easier.
SMC Outlaws!!
Linear Mode
