[W126 Coupe] Rear speaker replacement, recabling and new head unit

Michael S Cosby michael.cosby at state.co.us
Fri Feb 4 13:40:50 EST 2005


When I replaced my front speakers a few years back, I could not find a
quality-sounding 4X6 so I cut a 1/4 inch mdf plate to fit and then cut a
4 inch hole into which I placed a quality 4 inches.  Still sounds great
today.
Mtnmike

>>> mattpetersen at paradise.net.nz 01/30/05 12:32AM >>>
I have just finished rewiring the car front and rear with new quality
cabling bypassing the fader switch. Removal of the under dash panels,
the passenger side door trims and kick panel, the rear seat and the B
pillar bases was necessary.
 
I used the existing rear cabling as a draw wire to pull my new wiring
through in the stock location. If you do this your join must be very
very strong and as flat as possible to prevent the two being pulled
apart when fed through, it gets tight and a bit of force was needed -
nothing excessive though.
 
I installed a JVC stealth head unit which has a flat black face when
not
in use which looks very factory looking. Whilst operating it remains
flush with a modest graphical display visible. Highly recommend this
unit if anyone is looking for a low key factory look.
 
For now I have kept the factory front speakers and replaced the rears
with the Eclipse 8363SE 6.5in unit. I will definitely be replacing the
fronts with the SE8463E 6x4in units, I should have got them at the
same
time as the rears but the factory rears were torn and the fronts
seemed
okay so I thought I would try a new head unit.
 
Removing the rear speaker covers is easiest if the rear seat is out as
the grills come towards the front of the car and you need to push them
into the top edge of the seat before they will come up and away. Along
the side and rear of the covers are interlocking tabs that sit in
slots
which when pushed into place hold the cover. At the front is a lug
that
locks horizontally into a connector. One of my covers had a broken
connector when I removed it and I was extremely careful and had
already
removed the first cover without a problem so these things get brittle
over time. 
 
The foam inside the grill is very dry and as soon as you touch it
falls
apart. I removed all the foam and refitted both speaker covers. The
second speaker cover lug broke on refitting but they are held in place
and can't move around without the lug anyway.
 
The rear speakers have an integral pod that they sit on. The rear deck
has very little depth to it for mounting speakers and the pod is
necessary to lift the speaker clear of the gear just underneath the
rear
deck. By my measurements a depth of no more than 2in is about all you
will get which limits speaker choice. The speakers have two screws at
the front and then must be pried clear on the rear deck. Be careful
with
the deck covering here. The speakers have a double sided foam on them
securing them plus there is a rubberised froam filling all available
space around them. Push this out of the way and undo the screws, lever
the speaker up at the front and then bring it towards you. There is a
tounge at the back so don't twist the unit much before pulling it
forward.
 
The cabling from the rear runs through the factory grommet on the seat
back and through to the speaker openings. If necessary you can run the
speaker wire across the rear deck from the underneath inside the
boot/trunk. The cable then runs down the seat and out the base and
under
the rear door plastic trim, through the B pillar bases and under the
front door plastic trim, up the kick panel and into the rear of the
head
unit.
 
As a large part of the car has to be removed to do this it's worth
looking at any other jobs that could be done at the same time,
illuminated sills, vacuum elements, first gear start etc.
 
The sound difference is amazing, the Eclipse speakers are very good
for
the price and size.
 
If anyone's interested, here are links to the gear I am using. The
control panel and volume knob fold up and away into the deck when not
in
use.
 
http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026839 
<http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL026839&pathId=52&page=2&arch

ive=true> &pathId=52&page=2&archive=true
 
http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/speaker/integrated/se8363.html 
 
http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/speaker/integrated/se8463e.html 
 
Cheers
Matt.


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