what a pain in the ar*e!

[w33lerd33ler]

Finally got round to fittin an MP3 headunit in my truck yesterday and what a pain in the ar*e it was to fit!!!

Iv fitted hundreds of stereos, amps, speakers etc in my time in all types of different cars so im far from a newbie when it comes to that kind of thing but this just took the biscuit!

i was not expecting to have to take half the dashboard out to be able to fit a stereo! usually its a case of slipping it in the centre console and your away but with this i even had to remove the glovebox to fit it!
then i had to get access to the bare spagetti junction wiring that had been snipped by the previous owner and wire in an ISO connector to enable me to plug in my stereo. for something i was expecting to take half an hr tops (like normal) ended up taking me a good 2 hrs and as i started it at 3pm i had to do the last hour by torch light!

luckily i found a wiring diagram on the net which helped a lot! or it would have been a lot more of a pain sitting with a torch, a multimeter and 9v battery to test all the wires...

Worst part is, now that its all done i have to take the whole thing back out again along with the doorcards in a few days to fit all new speakers, an amp and a small sub coz the factory ones sound absoulty sh*te! iv heard better sound coming from the little plug in speakers from the £1 shop! so another job im not looking forward to at all...

[Curly]

Mine was well easy. Few screws to take the facia panel off, few more to take the cage out, whacked the new stereo in, plugged it in, popped it all back together and bobs your uncle! Job done in 30 mins tops.

Cheers,

CURLY

[malxwal]

It's an absolute gift in a 3rd gen, fitted in around 30 minutes.

[Apache]

Good-oh. I have a new stereo, a scanner and a CB to fit in my 3rd gen when... well... when I can get off my lazy fat arse.

[Scorpion]

It's an absolute gift in a 3rd gen, fitted in around 30 minutes.

Any pics, instructions, for easy fitting mate? I have the double din DVD/ MP3 / Sat nav unit that I removed from my 2nd gen to fit. The 3rd gen has a single din, cubby hole adaptor thing fitted.

I'm suffering from 'Apache-itis' as well! Can't be ar$ed to do in the cold weather.

[yoshie]

At least I can see my trucks again, now the white stuff is on the way out.

Sitting here pondering what one to tackle first.

[w33lerd33ler]

Any pics, instructions, for easy fitting mate? I have the double din DVD/ MP3 / Sat nav unit that I removed from my 2nd gen to fit. The 3rd gen has a single din, cubby hole adaptor thing fitted.

I'm suffering from 'Apache-itis' as well! Can't be ar$ed to do in the cold weather.

iv got the PDF file i DL off the net mate helped me a lot! il see if i can upload it or find the link to the site i got it off...

apparently 3rd Gen is a lot easier to do bu the 2nd Gen was a right pain in the ar*e! i just really dont see the pont in the japs connecting every panel they can to the centre console meaning all need removing when fitting the stereo!

something else i should point out!!!
When i finished it i went out in it and noticed the steering wheels felt like it was jamming and had resistance when turning! it wasnt till i got home and looked under the colmn that i noticed the heating pipe leading to the drivers window heater was not clicked into place properly and was rubbin on the steering rack which was causing resistance. cicked it back into place and it was spot on. definately worth a mention for when your putting it all back together again!

[Scorpion]

I fitted a few different stereo units to the old 2nd gen and it was always a doddle (mind you they were never fastened down, they just seemed to jam into place and never move)!

Even when I fitted the double din unit, with the sat nav reciever and iPod connectors, it was a fairly straightforward job; or maybe I was just lucky!

[w33lerd33ler]

I fitted a few different stereo units to the old 2nd gen and it was always a doddle (mind you they were never fastened down, they just seemed to jam into place and never move)!

Even when I fitted the double din unit, with the sat nav reciever and iPod connectors, it was a fairly straightforward job; or maybe I was just lucky!

the reason i had to take the whole dash and centre console out was because the previous owner had chopped the wires off really short and they didnt reach the slot where the head unit sits so i had to remove literally everything to get at the wires and solder on the ISO block. this was also a double din originally so there was an aftermarket blanking box under where the stereo sits, held in by 4 big retaining screws which i couldnt get at without removing the glovebox, trim under the steering wheel then the trim under the centre console and then the centre console itself and heater control surround plate... then i could uscrew the blanking box and remove it to get at the chopped wires.

probably would have been much easier if the fella hadnt have chopped the wires and just bought a £10 ISO block adapter to clip onto the original wiring block coz then it would have been a case of just clicking the ISO together and sliding the stereo into place but no such luck with this one im afraid.

[Surfer Ross]

2nd Gen can be a right pain in the arse for stereo kit. Take the speakers out and check that the housings are all still present. If I remember correctly, there are no front speaker housings in the dash of your truck. You might need to put a bit of thought into how you're going to mount them.

For the record, twernt me who was responsible for the cut and shut stereo wiring.

[w33lerd33ler]

2nd Gen can be a right pain in the arse for stereo kit. Take the speakers out and check that the housings are all still present. If I remember correctly, there are no front speaker housings in the dash of your truck. You might need to put a bit of thought into how you're going to mount them.

For the record, twernt me who was responsible for the cut and shut stereo wiring.

Lol i know it wasnt you mate the fella done it in front of me coz he wanted to keep his stereo... i thought he was just unplugging it, turns out he was actually cutting the wires! i didnt realise till the other day when i went to fit my own i saw all the snipped wires i was not a hppy bunny

There are definately front speakers in the dash, not sure about housings though, theyre all wired up now and on but very very poor quality. theres none on the doors like you told me before so im just going to get a set off ebay and mount them back in the doors again then bypass the dash speakers completley. iv also raked an Alpine 10" sub and amp out of my spare room that il throw i the boot, not really bothered about loud music but i do like a nice quality of sound so i might aswell use what iv already got, its not gonna cost e anything. iv done plenty of ICE in the past from my 'Boy Racer' days so fitting them isnt a problem. I eventually want to put a DVD player in the back aswell for my 3 yr old but il get round to that in time.

[Surfer Ross]

They are Pioneer or Kenwood 4" 3 ways in the front. They just sound bad because there are no enclosures.

You can't fit speakers in the holes in the doors as the checkstrap fills that space when the door is shut. The only reason I put the grilles over them was so that there wasn't a big gaping hole in each door. I gave the guy a pair of Fli Integrator 6s with the truck, these are superb speakers made by Vibe. He's probably kept them or gave them to somebody.

If I were you, I'd get some enclosures from a breaker for the dash speakers, keep the speakers and fit them in the enclosure pods. Fit a pair of 6 inch mids in the back panels and fit your amp and sub. It'll sound great with that kit.

[w33lerd33ler]

They are Pioneer or Kenwood 4" 3 ways in the front. They just sound bad because there are no enclosures.

You can't fit speakers in the holes in the doors as the checkstrap fills that space when the door is shut. The only reason I put the grilles over them was so that there wasn't a big gaping hole in each door. I gave the guy a pair of Fli Integrator 6s with the truck, these are superb speakers made by Vibe. He's probably kept them or gave them to somebody.

If I were you, I'd get some enclosures from a breaker for the dash speakers, keep the speakers and fit them in the enclosure pods. Fit a pair of 6 inch mids in the back panels and fit your amp and sub. It'll sound great with that kit.

ah right, i didnt know the dash ones were decent i thought they were standard! il try source some on ebay unless someone on here has any??? id never looked at the front door ones but if the check straps there i see your point. Vibe are very good make im not suprised he kept them.

While im on did you read my thread about the truck pulling to one side? i give it all a good blast off at morrisons around the wheels, discs, pads and wheel wells, then opened the bonnet and gave all that a good blast too getting all the suspensions bits and bobs aswell. as soon as i got in and drove a few feet i noticed it was sorted! been great all day since! must have been down to the road salt build up after all

[Surfer Ross]

Stormforce or Lord Lucan might have some.

I think you're better off not having speakers in the 2nd gen doors. You'd need to dynamat the sh*t out of them to get decent distortion free sound.

Saw you got that sorted. A nice cheap and easy fix for once. I had mine in at the garage this morning getting the centre hangers welded back onto the exhaust. Powerflow sh*te! £17.50 later and it's sorted. On the plus side, I got a good look underneath and the whole exhaust pipe still looks like new. No bust gaiters on the CVs, brakes like new, and suspension, steering and chassis in top nick. Procomp ES9000 shockers on there too.

Just the small matter of the cylinder head swap on Tuesday and she'll be grand. At least I'll have peace of mind that I'd pretty much have to buy new to have one in better condition and I'll have another 100k km until the cam belt needs doing again.

Swings and roundabouts but money well spent in my opinion. You know what they say, "If it's not broken, it's about to"!

[w33lerd33ler]

I saw your pics of it on the other thread, it does look very nice! what modz you got planned for it? you going for a lift kit and big wheels or leaving it as is?
i like the one you had before mine aswell the big lifted silver Gen 2 with the tubular side steps, that looked the part