DIY: Basic Speaker Upgrade- 2nd Gen Access Cab

Toyota plugs should be toyota plugs. JBL or not, so if you went that route it should be plug and play.

I have no first hand experience with the JBL system, so i don't know this for a fact, but i would hazard the guess that even though it says JBL the speakers in questions are only going to be margonaly better than the stocks.

I base this on my 93 accord SE which had the Bose upgraded sound system, and when I replaced the speakers in that they were still just single coil paper cone pieces of shit, just like the "Honda" speakers.

If you are going to spend money, I'd go aftermarket. (Preferably Pioneer)

 

I think they changed the rear speakers in the '09, so 2008 rear speakers might not work for you.

The stock JBL are the same as the stock non-JBL. This is what they look like. I think you now know why you are looking for something better, huh?




Either get the scosche connection adapters or simply cut off the factory connectors and replace with female spade connectors.

 

Thanks for this info - aftermarket it is.

 

Today I put in some Alpine 6X9s (front) and Alpine 6.5s (rear). It made a big difference, but now I think I may want an amplifier as I can imagine what a little more power might do? Will run these a bit and see if I will be satisfied first - but just changing the speaker did indeed make a difference. Man, the OE speakers are crap !!

 

I tried replacing my speakers today with ********* mounts and they do not fit in my '09 DC anybody else have any issues getting the door panel back on?

 

I personally cannot say as I did not use Taco Tune mounts. I modified the OE mounts and put the new speakers in them. Doing this will trash the OE speakers but I personally had no use for them. I will have to bump to someone that has used the Taco Tune mounts (and there appear to be many), but using the OE mounts with some modification is an option if installing the same size AM speakers.

 

Well I found that I had to sand down one of the bolt locations on my mounts in order to get the clearance needed to re-seat the door panel.

 

I just ordered my Pioneer TSA 6.5's along with the HDP 6.5 mount kit from ********* thanks to this DIY. I'll be installing this as soon as it comes in, and I'll do a little review of how it goes and how it sounds.

I will also be adding an Alpine HU with the ********* HU adapter kit in the near future after the speakers are done.

Thanks for the GREAT write up, although some of the pics are blocked by Photobucket, so it would be nice to have them re-upped.

Thanks again for a great job getting this info on here.

 

Okay, just finished this modification, and I feel i can add a few points as well that might make it even clearer.

First, I can ASSURE you that the best thing to do is change your speakers BEFORE you consider adding an aftermarket HU or amp to the stock speakers. If you are swapping out the whole system, then disregard this. The sound I get now out of the factory HU is nothing short of amazing. Every high and mid can be heard, with crystal clear sound. Sure, it's not a bass monster; but the bass is perfectly balanced for an overall nice crisp sound with no distortion. I went with 4 Pioneer TS-A1673R 6.5's all the way around:

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Products/CarAudioVideo/Speakers/A-Series/Pioneer/TS-A1673R

with the ********* HDP (high density plastic) mounts:

http://shop.*********.com/product.sc?categoryId=11&productId=12




On to the little details:

Just a couple of measurement points:

The screws that come with the ********* kit for the rear access doors are as has already been covered - are the wrong thread pitch for the plastic tabs they screw into.

Some sizes have been suggested that are a good fit to replace the ********* rear door screws, and I can offer one more. Since I could not find any 12 x 1 1/4 Hex head screws at my local Home Depot, I simply went one size up and went with 12 x 1 1/2. They worked even better than the 1/4's would have IMO:




Secondly, the torx driver bolts on my rear doors took a T-20 instead of a T-25 - just for clarification. Yours may vary.

 

Additionally, here are some key points for the rear doors on an Access Cab:


There are really three things that one needs to keep in mind with the rear doors that hasn't been expounded on enough yet:






First, is the seat belt ratchet adjustment assembly up top. You need to make SURE it is hooked in completely when you put the door back in. Otherwise, your seat belt adjuster will not move up and down correctly. Also, take care NOT to damage or scratch the plastic around the seat belt adjuster with the door panel when you remove it (the panel).

Also, to remove the seat belt for complete removal of the rear door panel, as mentioned before, simply remove the bolt at the bottom - . Yes, the plastic cover at the bottom comes off, and yes, it is a bit of a pain to get on and off. It takes some finagling, as does the door when you re-mount the door panel back on.

The third and last point is the little grab handle, change cup up top. If the door panel isn't seated correctly all around, it will not sit flush when you go and try to screw it back in with one of the torx bolts.


Hope this helps make this already very nice DIY even better.

 

I'm looking for information/photos of modifications to the factory speakers to be used as an adapter for new speakers. I think this is not a bad way to go if you dont buy a seperate adapter plate set.

Everyone have a wonderful Independance Day


-Joe

 

This has been discussed and is not a very good way to mount the speaker. It's a lot of pain in the butt cutting to arrive at a solution that won't really meet with success. My suggestion is to talk with Mr Marv or to build something yourself.

 

I may just have a buddy make a pair out of MDF like materials but I did want to see how the modified speaker came out as a mount.

Now I'm looking for the speakers and I think I found a nice little digital amp. Speakers first, Amp later if needed.

-Joe

 

Make sure to use the right type of MDF. There's different grades to it. I don't know the right type myself, but I think the higher grade is more moisture resistant or something.

 

Yea, I understand the standard MDF is the wrong thing to use. I will find a similar material to make it from. Another thought is to make it from Corian or some other textile product. There are always broken bargins if you know where to look. Whatever I do, there will be photos for certain.

 

maverick491 Thanks for your initial post and Crutch field guide, I manage to install all 4 speakers. Should had done it a year a go, but I was waiting for free time. Anyhow I'll post some pics.

Did you guys know the factory tweeter still works after replacing deck?... I thought they died after I change my deck. I been deceived for a entire year now... :]

~I didn't remove the weather strip, didn't really had to.

Make sure to have a T-25 socket handy
By crutchfield had all the speaker slot for me =]. The rear I had to make some adjustment that kill like 2 hours compare to the front.

Setup:
Clarion BT/SD card Deck
Apline-SD x4 (2 way) [or 4 speakers and another 4 tweeter]
Factory tweeter x2
Sound Stream 8" subwoofer
Streetglow 10" subwoofer
MTX 250WATT

 

Soul,
Thanks for providing the photos. The rear speakers mouning brackets were a bit strange though. What happened, wrong ones sent to you?

-Joe

 

On crutch field website (if I can recall a year ago) they say the 6.5" Alpine S won't fit the rear end so if i chose that route I wouldn't get any rear slots. I decided just buy for the front, twice. (the speaker wasn't sitting there for a year, i just had it on another vehicle, until it died. But i got the slots for the taco)

They fit, a little snug (I was getting ready to drill some holes just for the tweeter) but nope, no problem.

If you going to buy off of crutchfield just be ready to extend wires on the right (passenger) side of the car, or you can drill through the slot. Both the rear/front passenger side comes short. It's a faulty design on crutchfield part, the wires (coming out of the slot) always come out on the left. Fine for the driver side, but the passenger side can't reach.

WARNING Don't connect the wires to the speaker till the VERY END. Those little connectors don't come off easily, and if you use too much force you'll end needing new speakers.

 

MDF can be made to last "forever" by applying a thin coat of fiberglass resin.

 

Great write up Maverick! Here's my 2 cents for a problem I ran into while installing speakers in my 2009 Double cab :



The front door panels have a tab where the cup holder mounts to the panel that hits on the Taco Tunes mounting adapter.



I had to cut away half of the corner mount so it would clear the tab on the door panel.



Now the adapter will clear the door panel tab.



I used self adhesive foam to provide a seal between the speaker adapter & the door, & to prevent the door panel from vibrating on the speaker. The stock speakers had similar foam trim around them.



I used foam pipe insulation to prevent the speaker wire coupling from rattling inside the door.



Notice the difference between the factory speaker on the right, & the Pioneer on the left. The factory speaker basket is entirely plastic & the magnet is about the size of a quarter! The factory speaker weighs a few ounces where the Pioneer is several pounds!



This is what the weatherstripping looks like. I got it at Home Depot for about $3.