Using Stock Speakers for New Speaker Adapter

I looked around for awhile to see if anyone had used the front door stock speakers (2012 Access Cab) and modified them to accommodate new speakers (in this case 5-way Pioneer 6x9s).

I hadn't seen anyone attempt it and post something comprehensive explaining how it went. So I decided to give this a go and see how it went. I'm about halfway through right now (it has become more work than I originally intended) but it's working rather well. I'm going to explain how I went about this and you can see if this is a worthwhile task or if you should just go shopping at *********...

First I took off the driver side door panel. NOTE: if you plan on doing this but won't finish in one day (or plan on driving the truck while the panels are off it is worth the 2 minutes it takes to remove the window/lock buttons and reattach them (you'll need both attached for full functionality).



As you can see, I took out the stock speaker, it's very flimsy but the casing they've built it into is rather remarkable.. They've built it into its adapter and integrated a plug and play type clip.



If you cut these two wires, you can remove the clip very easily. I saved this clip to solder onto the new speakers (to retain the plug/play ability)



Then it was time to rework the plastic adapter to accommodate a new speaker, first I ripped out the little paper cone, then using a Dremel and some cutting/sanding attachments I removed the spokes that hold the magnet and sanded it down to a flat surface around the top.

With Cones ripped out



After cutting out the magnet



Grind down the top edge, you will have to keep checking to make sure your speaker will fit flush against that top edge. The smoother the edge, the better contact with the speaker.



I was a bit unsure how to connect the speaker to the mount because there isn't a lot to drill into - I decided to try some J.B. Weld to secure the speaker in place. I wasn't sure this was going to work but after it cured I was very happy with the result. Seems very sturdy.



Solder some speaker wire to the speaker leads then the other end to the adapter- make sure you line up which side is positive and negative. Make sure you protect the cone of the speaker when you're soldering in case something drips. Some paper under the housing should work just fine. Also- if it's important to you, thread the speaker wire through the hold in the mount so you can secure the clip back to the housing- I decided to let mine hang free. I also wasn't sure which color wire in the door represented positive and which was negative so before I soldered the clip I played around to see which sounded right with the radio on. Found out now Pink is positive, violet is negative on the left, on the right it's green is positive, blue is negative.



When I was done I went back and secured the speaker to the door. When I tried to cover it with the door panel, however, I found out that my speaker was just too deep (even without the speaker cover). As I had already covered a $70 speaker with J.B. weld I thought it was a good time to try my hand at modifying some interior panels. I used my Dremel to open up a hole large enough to allow the door to fit back together nicely but before I closed everything up I secured the Pioneer speaker cover with some small zip ties (they won't be seen anyway). I also used some weather stripping to ensure good contact between the mount and the door.



Everything went back together alright in the end. It's not the most beautiful mod in the world but it's functional (If anyone wants to comment on how to make this look nicer please do)

Finished driver side door

 

While I didn't do it myself, I had my local guy modify my 2010 to accept 6x9's. He just cut a little of the sheetmetal and used the speaker adaptors I supplied. Looked great and sound better.

 

A for effort but someone needs to take your Dremel away.... Why not do it the right way instead of hacking up a 2012 vehicle?

 

Really? All that work just to murder a perfectly good door panel in the end?

 

Nice pics and info but are you serious? The door panel wouldn't fit without chopping it up like that.

 

UMMMMM.......



Maybe...

 

Ouch on the door panels.. I would have trimmed the Speaker grille before the door panel grille..

 

A for honesty. Seriously, if I did that to my own door panels on purpose I'd lie about it, certainly not post the evidence here.

What's next, the AC mod?

 

since youve already cut it, its too late to say, but atleast you shouldve cut the whole square out for a cleaner look then just leaving the dippled look behind.

 

The grills aren't meant to be installed like that. And the door isn't meant to be cut either. Great job with the speaker into the stock housing/spacer (a lot of people do it that way) but the last 2 steps ruined your door. I would not do that to the passenger side. And is buy a new door panel too. But like others have said, I guess A for effort

 

Only way to make that look better is to buy a new door panel. Sorry to say.

 

wait so you just left it zip tied in there???
It looks good, but it would look better if you had never done any of that.
(constructive criticism)

 

Fixed

 

I feel kinda bad so I won't poke fun. Would hate to see a new member scared away.

My suggestion is to take the dremel and clean up the edges a bit to make them straight. Then get yourself some of that flexible rubber/plastic trim and press it on around the edges. That way it will give you a cleaner look.

 

lol

I give you an A+ for effort, but an F for execution. it was quite a feat to take on a job that was made way more complicated by your desire to use stock components, but now there's a hole in your door.

silly 2nd gens, at least when we cut big ass holes in our trucks, we make sure you can go back

 

Get some PROPER sized speakers, get a new door panel and put that shit back together right...you want better sound in front, get some high quality PROPER fitting speakers, and hook an amp up to them..

 

Wait a minute...this thread is 7 months old!



OP hasn't been active since March.

 

FUCKDAMNIT!!! blame the friggin thread revival genus...
and ill go punish myself and take a shot of cheap vodka.