installing new speakers in the front..some questions

[newtoyota]

are the factory speakers held in by rivets or screws ? (I don't have a drill if rivets..)

for those who did it...i am not sure how to go about wiring...cut the factory adapter and crimp wires to the new speaker? or I have to solder?

also any other tips for this job? i never did it before...

thanks alot

[MirrorEyes]

They are held in by screws. And I didn't solder, just twisted and crimped. It's been fine so far :P

Extra tips eh, make sure that the speakers you put in don't have a huge magnet, or they may not fit and may hit the window.

[speedy25]

Soldering connections is ALWAYS best. Crimped connectors have a tendency to come loose. When a factory connector is at right angles, I will sometime break apart the plastic and slide the connector on the new speaker.

As mentioned previously, watch the depth of whatever you use for replacements.

-SP

[Rich L]

My base model '96 had stock 4" drivers in the front doors. There was a black plastic mounts that were extremely difficult to adapt for different speakers. My sega...

1. Bought some Eclipse 5.25" 2-way component speakers. Tried to adapt the black plastic mount with little success. I ended up buying some plexiglass from Home Depot and cutting with a jig saw to fit the speaker and mount to the original plastic to door frame mounting location. The speaker fit, but the window would hit the magnet. The front windows could not be rolled all the way down (annoying).

2. Decided to get creative and cut some MDF board to get the speakers out and away from the window. I had to cut the door cover slightly. Tried to vinyl-wrap the MDF board. Basically, it was a disaster and looked like crap.

3. I bought a set of 6.5" Rainbow 2-way components. These were a pain to mount but IMHO look and sound far better then the factory. Step 1: trim the metal door frame to fit the basket and magnet through the original mounting hole. Step 2: custom make and mount MDF spacers. I sprayed several layers of primer on them in an attempt to keep water from soaking up quite so badly. Step 3: custom cut a new cover for the door cover out of 1/4 solid wood. Prime, sprayed with textured spray paint, then sprayed with a semi-gloss brown to match the interior vinyl. Took 60+ hours to deaden the doors with RAAMmat and fit the mounts. Will try to get a picture up tomorrow.

As for your questions, soldering the wires together and covering with heat-shrink is the preferred method. Buy shallow speakers and don't expect to fit anything larger then 4" without at least a little custom modifications/construction.