Hey Everyone,

I think the first mod I'm gonna do is to change out the speakers...anyone have any idea how to get into the doors to change the speakers and what size they are?

thanks,

~wC

Why dont you take it to a speaker shop where they can do it for you? What kind of speakers are you going to get?

Why dont you take it to a speaker shop where they can do it for you? What kind of speakers are you going to get?


I'm the type of person that would never pay someone to install speakers(most shops charge in the neighborhood of $50-75) now an Amp? thats a different story and since I'm in sales myself I wouldnt waste a sales persons time picking their brain and then not buy something from them...

~wC

I am the opposite. I learn it from my parents. My dad always has others do it.

well,if it is anything like other gm vehicles, there are probably several 8mm bolts to remove then you can slide it up and out. i wont know for sure until november

Post pictures after the install please

if you need a good price on speakers or any other car audio. email me at soundimprov@gmail.com. i buy directly from factory in bulk so i can get a great price on any car audio and accessories.

There is a cap behind the door handle and the black rubber thing in the door arm rest are torx type bolts that need to come out. Then there is a little cap on the back close to the latch that you need to push the little pin type thing in and pull the hole thing out. Then the door handle has a cable that sit in the handle part. The wire pops up with the black piece also so don't just pull the cable. The door lock switch pops back and then the whole panel will come off. You need torx type heads to unbolt the door and phillips head to get the speaker out.

Hey Everyone,

I think the first mod I'm gonna do is to change out the speakers...anyone have any idea how to get into the doors to change the speakers and what size they are?

thanks,

~wC

Check out my how to. I listed the wire colors and all.

I am starting with the drivers front door.

I have all three of the Torx bolts off, push pin off, and the little compartment with the mirror control out. What is the best way to pull the panal off? I tried prying with a screwdriver along the edge, but it looks like it will damage the panal. Do I need one of those special flat pry tools? Or is there some trick. There are 2 indents on the bottom, but they didn't seem to help.

Thanks again for the help.

Grab it with your hands at the top and pull. I didn't pry or use any tool just my hands.

What about the door lock post. Did you have to unscrew it, or could you pop the panal over it?

There is no way to unscrew the locks you have to pop the panel over it. It's not as difficult as your making it seem. Go out and play with it and you should have it figured out in about two minutes. That's about how long it takes to get one off by the time you hit your forth door panel. If you want to talk easy pop your A pillars off. There is one torx screw, one clip, and one male - female slot at the bottom. The sub box and amp is a whole different story! :roll:

I have no fear in tearing things apart-I just wanted to make sure I was not doing something that would damage the panals. Due to bad weather, it actually has taken me a while to get started on this car. My last new car-a 93 Saturn was kept in my apartment house garage. The day I brought it home, I pulled out the spare tire and began converting the well for the amp and other components.

Talk to me about the sub panal in our car-cause I have a nice 8 inch waiting to go in (but it is not dual voice coil).

It's kind of hard to describe the process. It's not difficult but there is quite a few steps involved. I have to take it back out again soon so I'll take more pics when I do it and maybe a how to. I don't think the how to thing is really for me. I suck at giving instructions and can't make fancy ones like SoCal plus only SoCal and I seem like contributing. Everyone else just wants to show off what they did. In the last one I didn't even have room for all my pictures. But seeing as how I was asked I will do it within the next week, same with the A pillars.

just pull i promise nothing will happen just watch out for the door lock it's plastic i think so it's stuck on the metal bar

just pull i promise nothing will happen just watch out for the door lock it's plastic i think so it's stuck on the metal bar


Get a tool designed to pop off panels. Just pulling on it may cause the clips to tear out of the backside of the door panel and stay cliped into the door itself. Then you'll have all kinds of fun rattles.

Thet are not your standard clips, they are a male female rubbery plastic style:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture166.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture167.jpg
No matter how you pull them of they can not pop off inside the door. :p: There is one standard clip one the front ones at the very top where the mirror is:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture173.jpg
You need no tools other than a T30 Torx driver to get your door panels off. Trust me from first hand experience, I have almost taken off every panel in my HHR by now. ;)

Thet are not your standard clips, they are a male female rubbery plasic style:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture166.jpg
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture167.jpg
No matter how you pull them of they can not pop off inside the door. :p: There is one standard clip one the front ones at the very top where the mirror is:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture173.jpg
You need no tools other than a T30 Torx driver to get your door panels off. Trust me from first hand experience, I have almost taken off every panel in my HHR by now. ;)

I know what kind of clips they are. I've also pulled many door panels off and have seen what happens first hand, I'm telling you right now at some point just pulling them off by hand, the mount on the back of the panel will break off leaving the clip in the door itself still attached to a nice chunk of your door panel, or at very least the attaching point for the clip in the back of the panel will break. I've also see the door panels crack on the front side where the clip is.

If you think so. I'm not trying to argue and a door clip tool is like $4 or $5 so if you feel safer using one go ahead and pick one up. I took them off just fine with my hands and I think one is not really needed but that's my opinion. I know what you mean because I busted a few clips on my Mustang. I guess it all comes down to your level of comfort and how you feel like removing them.

If you think so. I'm not trying to argue and a door clip tool is like $4 or $5 so if you feel safer using one go ahead and pick one up. I took them off just fine with my hands and I think one is not really needed but that's my opinion. I know what you mean because I busted a few clips on my Mustang. I guess it all comes down to your level of comfort and how you feel like removing them.

Doing what I do, I've seen first hand what happens when a shade-tree mechanic trys to take a door panel off, even some of the other guy here who do line work mess them up. I mainly do trim,, AC, and electrical, so I get to see that stuff first hand. Plus, I have a drawer full of panel tools, so pulling one off correctly is no biggie to me. All I'm saying is that by tellling people to just pull the panel off, somebody is going to end up damaging the door panel, and they are not cheap to replace.

All I'm saying is that by tellling people to just pull the panel off, somebody is going to end up damaging the door panel, and they are not cheap to replace.

Good point. :beer: I never doubt your skill or experience. :bow: That's why I'm a little hesitant to tell people how to do things or how I have done things. I don't want them to screw something up and blame me. :red: I should change my sig to "Do so at your own risk!". :roll:

The clips in these panel are the easier ones to get loose but I've seen them stick and damage panels as well. General rule if you pull on it and doesn't come loose invest in a 3 dollar trim tool, to finish getting it loose.

Just to be safe, I searched my workshop but could not find my tool. I went out and bought one (I never consider any tool a bad investment.) Then, when I got home, I found my old one. But the cost has gone up-it is actually 9 bucks. (But since I haven't opened the new one yet I can return it.) :)

Now, where do I start pulling? Top, bottom, front, or back.

And I will start with how to articles as soon as I come up with something interesting that works. I will post a photo of my airhorns, but still haven't come up with a good 12 volt high amp power source to make them work.

Just to be safe, I searched my workshop but could not find my tool. I went out and bought one (I never consider any tool a bad investment.) Then, when I got home, I found my old one. But the cost has gone up-it is actually 9 bucks. (But since I haven't opened the new one yet I can return it.) :)

Now, where do I start pulling? Top, bottom, front, or back.

And I will start with how to articles as soon as I come up with something interesting that works. I will post a photo of my airhorns, but still haven't come up with a good 12 volt high amp power source to make them work.


I always start at the front edge or the bottom front corner.

I finally got around to working on the speakers. Last night I pulled off the rear-simple except I had a rough time until I realized there was a pin on the top back right under the lock. Anyhow, my 6 3/4 fit perfectly. How could
6 1/2 line up properly with the holes?

I still have to remove the panals again to spray on the insulation (it was too dark last night).

But I used a simple way to connect the wiring. I unsnapped the factory plug from the stock speaker, then unsoldered it and resoldered it to my new speakers. No cutting of the factory harness this way. But, the factory wires are awfully thin. How much power is the upgraded Pioneer supposed to have?

Anyhow, my 6 3/4 fit perfectly. How could
6 1/2 line up properly with the holes?

You are only talking about a 1/4" of difference so the hole size is almost the same. It's an 1/8" difference in the hole position. Most of the time 6 1/2" and 6 3/4" fit in the same hole. Measure your factory speakers, they are 6 1/2". The amp is 260 watts. Did you chop the factory conector off of the speaker in order to reuse it? The female end is built into the speaker, you can't just unsolder it. That I have to see to believe. See what I mean:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c122/amarini/Picture165.jpg
Notice the male end is still pluged in to the female in the photo.

I pull panels off for a living...only time I've ever damaged anything regarding a door clip is on the older Suburbans, I've ripped a few doorclips straight off of the housing on the doorpanel- the doorpanel is made out of frickin carboard though :mad:

Every once in a while a few clips will stay in the door...that's when I grab my panel tool and pop em out :)

Never mind I stand corrected. I got home and played with the factory speakers. You can get the female side off and it's pretty easy to do. I thought it had a pin in it that you would have to chop out but it is just a plastic clip. You can pull out on the connector a little and slide it off or you can use something to press on the clip while pulling up. SORRY! :bow: I should have looked before opening my mouth. I wanted to solder the connections anyways so I never even looked at how it was designed or how to get it off. :roll:

I just used a flatblade screwdriver and poped the connector off the speaker, then unsoldered the pigtail going to the old paper cones. It makes it easier to change the speakers. I have not changed the fronts yet-but the rear do not sound any louder with my Rockford Fosgates. But the quality is much better-especially the bass and highs. When I check what I did in daylight, I may find that they did not line up as good as I thought they did. You said the amp is 260 watts. Is that the sub amp, or the internal one driving the front and rear speakers. That would mean each channel is 65 watts. I find that hard to believe-the amp I used in my other car was about 40 per channel and 200 for the sub and it was LOUD.

That is the one amp that drives everything. The rear speakers don't have much power and get drowned out by the fronts.

Any idea how much of the power goes to the sub? :confused:

So wait-this means that all speaker leads go the the amp. Which means that the factory head unit has no internal amp. So, I have the option of either using the harness that goes to the head unit and utilizing the internal amp when I put in my own Pioneer (real Pioneer, not GM version) or using my external amp somewhere in the back, but easy to hook up since the wires are all there. Any chance that their are 3 sets of RCA going from the factory head to the factory amp, or must I run that myself? :cool:

No. :confused: I only know that it's 260 watts total. :)

Boy, Captain, you are fast. As I am editing, you have already answered me! :beer: