Stupid D1 radio replacement questions

mdcoa

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2013
113
4
Southern Pines, NC
Stock stereo was dead: stuck in tape mode for no good reason.

Bought stereo and stuff from Crutchfield--includes a decent sized adapter for getting speaker signal to the Disco's amp.

Everything's hooked up and working, but I'm having the devil of a time trying to stuff it all back in the dash--the adapter box is hanging up on everything.

If I can get a hand back there while pushing the stereo in, I'll be good--have done a fair amount of research into dash removal, but reallyl just want to be able to reach in behind the stereo, and most threads are about removing the entire dash, which is not what I want to do--I neeed to somehow keep the dash in place (so I'll have something to install the radio into) while gaining access to the back of the stereo.

Can I get an arm up there if I drop the glovebox? Can I shift the heater controls out of the way enough without pulling the dash itself? Other ideas for guiding a bundle of junk out of the way of snagging items?

Thanks in advance,
Bill
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
Just shove it in. I have a "media" receiver with no CD, and it like like 1.5" shallower than a standard deck, that fits a lot better than the older CD deck I had.
 

mdcoa

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2013
113
4
Southern Pines, NC
Tried the "shove it in" method last night . . . it said, "no." This adapter box is about cigarette-box sized, and is what's hanging it up. It gets wedged in behind it, and the stereo just ain't going to move. I need to be able to manipulate this box while I push on the stereo.

I need to see if I can stick something down into the dash vent from above and affect the adapter's trajectory.

I suppose I could splice longer wires between the stereo and adapter, which would enable me to place the box way in the back of the cavity and _then_ shove the stereo in . . . I really don't want to splice in 8 wires (+ and - for each speaker terminal), but maybe that's the best way ahead if there's no easy way to get a hand back in there with the dash in situ.
 

scottsdalerrc

Well-known member
May 21, 2009
1,025
1
central pa
cant you just wrap some duct tape around the bundle and attach to top of deck to hold it out of the way while re-installing? the tape will give some when it hits the rear. (worked for me before).
 

best4x4

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2015
595
72
Beaumont, TX
Remove your HVAC knobs, then remove your HVAC control head, then try to install the stereo. It'll give you a little bit more room to get everything into place. Do you still have the OEM metal brace/bracket in place??? I had to remove mine because the aftermarket stereo was deeper vs the OEM tape deck. I also had enough slack to have my box/connections over to the left side.
 

mdcoa

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2013
113
4
Southern Pines, NC
I was thinking about securing the bundle to the stereo somehow, but the receiver mount thing it has to fit into has 0 clearance, so I cannot tape something to the stereo and then try to get it in there (unless I tape it to the back [leading] side) . . . but, yeah, might be something to explore.

And I'll check on the depth--I sure hope I don't need to remove that bracket at the back--is it a PITA? If so, I might just return this stereo and get a non-CD model . . .

thanks for all the replies.
 

best4x4

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2015
595
72
Beaumont, TX
Bracket is easy to remove it's just held into place with a few pop rivets. It truly needs to come out with an aftermarket setup especially if you need more room. I used a few pieces of foam to support the back of the stereo in the same location as the bracket.
 

mdcoa

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2013
113
4
Southern Pines, NC
Thanks for the help, folks. I ended up pulling out the bracket as recommended by Best4x4. It was easy--drilled out the three rivet heads at the back, undid the two screws at the front, and it pulled right out.

didn't want the plastic lower lip of the part of the dash the radio fits into to have to bear all the weight unreinforced, so I cut the front lip off the metal bracket and then just screwed that on using the original screws so that the radio's weight isn't riding on (already cracked) plastic . . .

Next project: figure out the subwoofer deal (mine's not connected) when I have the rear door torn apart for the lock spring replacement project.

Now if my tires were only quiet enough I could hear the stereo heading down the highway.
 

MM3846

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2014
1,221
161
LI, NY
I run these subs in the factory location-

http://www.amazon.com/Earthquake-So...44264366&sr=8-1&keywords=earthquake+sound+6.5

They sound fantastic. Never expected the punch these things put out, but I did have to hack the factory plastic "box" up quite a bit for them to freely extend without hitting anything. You can't tell when the grill is on though (which needed some extra screws to stop rattling, because you can't use two of the "factory" screw spots for the grill after trimming the sub box). I'd throw some dynamat or whatever equivalent in the door if you have it all open.. mine rattles, but not enough that I want to take it apart just to insulate it.

I run this amp:

http://www.amazon.com/Boss-Audio-R1...1444264549&sr=8-1&keywords=boss+monoblock+amp

Because it was cheap. It does the job.
 

Maximumwarp

Well-known member
Mar 22, 2015
836
26
Fairburn GA
I run two JL Audio 6" W3s in the door, and a 5 channel Alpine amp moving everything. I dynamatted the SHIT out my my rear door and I still get rattles when I turn things up, mainly from inside the latch. It sounds better than with no deadener, but it's just about impossible to get rid of them all.
 

best4x4

Well-known member
Mar 1, 2015
595
72
Beaumont, TX
Yeah I supported my Pioneer CD/MP3 Player with some foam double sided pads. The stereo rest on it perfectly preventing all the weight from being on the delicate dash bezel. On the Sub's I used some kicker 6.5 replacements I got off of Amazon. Pyramid makes some decent 6.5 OEM replacements as well that I've used on other 6.5 sub applications with no issues.
 

mc9735

Active member
Apr 29, 2017
41
3
Chattanooga
old thread I know, but hopefully someone will help me out. I replaced head unit, bypassed the factory amp (ran new wires from HU to speaker lines from amp), and everything sounds ok...but, I wasn't expecting the tweeters in the front pillars to work...they are putting out sound. presumably there was a crossover in the front to split sound between tweeters and the door speakers. I guess I figured this was built into the amp, but maybe not? Are there passive crossovers after the speaker leads from the amp output? I basically want to ensure I'm not sending the full signal to the tweeters OR a reduced signal (mids/lows) to the doors (as they are full range speakers). Any guidance/insights appreciated!

unrelated, but what is the most popular solution for replacing the rear pillar speakers? Stick with stock size or upgrade to something larger?

thanks!
 

patdohere

Active member
Sep 30, 2020
34
5
San Diego, CA
old thread I know, but hopefully someone will help me out. I replaced head unit, bypassed the factory amp (ran new wires from HU to speaker lines from amp), and everything sounds ok...but, I wasn't expecting the tweeters in the front pillars to work...they are putting out sound. presumably there was a crossover in the front to split sound between tweeters and the door speakers. I guess I figured this was built into the amp, but maybe not? Are there passive crossovers after the speaker leads from the amp output? I basically want to ensure I'm not sending the full signal to the tweeters OR a reduced signal (mids/lows) to the doors (as they are full range speakers). Any guidance/insights appreciated!

unrelated, but what is the most popular solution for replacing the rear pillar speakers? Stick with stock size or upgrade to something larger?

thanks!
I just did a big update and rewired my radio back to factory wiring and bought adapters to connect to bypass the amp and factory harnesses.

1605248024211.png

As for stuffing I just made sure to bundle the cables really well before stuffing it back in. You can also move some cabling under the radio tray behind the AC controls.

As for tweeters being an old car the factory spec has them wired in parallel with a capacitor on them to filter out. I'm unsure what the specific frequency is.
 

Vegas99D1

Well-known member
May 5, 2009
187
9
Plano, TX
I just did a big update and rewired my radio back to factory wiring and bought adapters to connect to bypass the amp and factory harnesses.

View attachment 60024

As for stuffing I just made sure to bundle the cables really well before stuffing it back in. You can also move some cabling under the radio tray behind the AC controls.

As for tweeters being an old car the factory spec has them wired in parallel with a capacitor on them to filter out. I'm unsure what the specific frequency is.
Whoa, that display is HUGE! I must know what model Sony HU that is! Also, do you have Part numbers for the harness connectors to bypass the factory amp?
 

patdohere

Active member
Sep 30, 2020
34
5
San Diego, CA
Whoa, that display is HUGE! I must know what model Sony HU that is! Also, do you have Part numbers for the harness connectors to bypass the factory amp?
Its pretty good, just a little dim.

Headunit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XHYC2YW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Headunit Parking Brake Override: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005SVTMKU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amplifier Bypass: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000K52DJQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

you do have to modify the harness to match the pins, but the connector is the same. Find a depinning tool.

Metra Factory Radio Harness for D1: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_120709400/Metra-70-9400-Receiver-Wiring-Harness.html
 
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strat440

Active member
Mar 18, 2011
30
2
Northern Virginia
I'm going to be putting in a new head unit into my D1 soon and don't know anything about installing stereos. Do I need to replace the factory amp with a new amp? Also, do I need to worry about how much power is supplied to the head unit or will it just work off the existing wiring? Thanks!
 

Vegas99D1

Well-known member
May 5, 2009
187
9
Plano, TX
I'm going to be putting in a new head unit into my D1 soon and don't know anything about installing stereos. Do I need to replace the factory amp with a new amp? Also, do I need to worry about how much power is supplied to the head unit or will it just work off the existing wiring? Thanks!

I still have the factory HU in mine....it's just lost the display light so at night I can't tell what station I'm listening to. From what I've gathered, changing the stock HU you'll need wiring harness kits, bypass the stock amps, and use ground loop isolators to prevent alternator whine.
 
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