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BOSE replacement?

    Here's a basic rundown on how to gut the BOSE gear from the car and replace it with something worth-while. I wrote it for my specs but the idea is the same for other brands.

    I made up 6 phases for installation:

    1. Rear Speakers
    2. Front Speakers
    3. Head Unit
    4. Main Amp and CD Changer
    5. Bass Amp
    6. Stealth Box

    Unfortunately, my car is in the shop I can't take any pictures. I might make a mistake somewhere since I'm writing this from my memory.

    Tools you might need:
    - 10mm socket and driver
    - Phillips and flat screw drivers
    - Clip popper
    - Wire stripper
    - Box cutter
    - Electrical tapes
    - Soldering iron
    - 6 door clips from Nissan, 'cause you're gonna break them!
    - Multimeter/volt meter
    - Electric drill
    - Lots of ice for headaches :-)

    Prep:

    Disconnect the negative terminal of the battery.

    1. Rear Speakers:

    Remove rear interior panels first. Remove the rear carpet. Go from the center plastic panel, unscrew the two plastic screws by hand, unscrew the 2 10mm nuts (all nuts & bolts are 10mm) at the lower corners of the center panel. Remove this panel. Then go either left or right. Same thing. Go left in this case, unscrew 2 nuts. Take a flat driver, pop the plastic taillight cover off. Unscrew the nut under it. Remove the corner panel. Three nuts for the rear speaker case/cover. Pop out the plastic cover which behind the driver seat (ahhh, headlight aiming tools!), remove 2 nuts. Remove rear speaker cover. Now rear Bose enclosure is uncovered. Disconnect speaker connector(you might have to remove the speaker to do that, cant remember). Remove Bose enclosure (3 x phillips). Replace with a 4x6" driver in non-Bose bracket. Do the same for right side. Run equal legnths of speaker wire from the rear drivers to the package tray where the main amp will go. Dont put back any panels until everything works.

    2. Front Speakers:

    Driver and passenger sides are slightly different. Go from driver side first. Open the door and roll down window. Look into door handle grip. Take the little cover piece out. 2 10 screws, remove them. Pop the window and lock control panel piece out. Disconnect electric connector.(Passenger side: pop out the insert cover on door handle. Remove the screw inside.) At the top of seat belt, there's a half round cover on the vinyl cover. Pop it out with a flat driver. Under that there's huge bolt. Unbolt it (Half the belt will be hanging.) Carefully open lower half of the vinyl cover(doesnt come off all the way). Under that 2 10mm bolts hold a door cover bracket. Unscrew the 2 bolts. At the bottom of seat belt there's a seat belt cover, remove the two screws. Take the cover out. Use clip popper to pop out door clips at the very bottom of the door (3~4). Open the door all the way, by the air vent there're 2 more screws. Remove them. Hold the door panel upward, it'll now come off. Seat belt will still hold it in place.

    Disconnect speaker connector. Remove Bose enclosure (3 screws). Measure off two equal lengths of speaker wire that will run from the drivers in the door, under the dash, down the center console to the package tray where the main amp will go. Run each of the speaker wires from the door through the wireway/grommet into the cabin, under the dash, into the center console behind where the head unit goes, then run each wire down the center console (look here to see console removal tips) to the package tray. Install the non-BOSE bracket. Connect the speaker wires to the new 6.5" drivers. Install the drivers into the brackets. Dont put back door panel yet. Testing first!

    3. Head Unit:

    Remove center console trim ring around the radio. Pop out two little plastic covers at each end of the top air vent. Unscrew the two screws under them. Pop out the plastic trim piece right above stock BOSE radio using a flat driver. Remove those two screws. Take the center console trim ring out (2 clips at bottom, just tug it free). Disconnect the closer wiring connector. Remove 4~6 screws, the radio with its bracket will come out. Disconnect harness plug, ground wire and antenna. Remove the 2 screws on each sides to remove Bose unit. Screw aftermarket head unit on the bracket. Plug the Crutchfield adapter plug into head unit and BOSE harness plug. Screw the ground wire in. Plug in the antenna. Plug in the RCA cables to the pre-amp output for the main amp. Plug the CD control interface cable (black), plug in CD source audio cable (twin, red and white). Put radio bracket back in place but don't screw it in yet.

    4. Main Amp and CD Changer Install

    There're probably other places to mount them but I mounted them on the rear deck for good heat conduction and clearance. Remove the rear package tray. There're 8 10mm nuts mounting the package tray to the car. 2 on each side. 4 more on the side facing trunck. Take the package tray out. Mark the holes where screws will be in place to mount the amp the CD changer. Make sure there's enough clearance for RCA cables, power cables, ... also enough room to pop out CD magazine. the '90-'91 deck is slightly smaller than '92 and up. Cut a 1" or so diameter hole for all the cables. Secure the amp and changer with appropriate nuts and bolts. Changers can be mounted vertically or horizontally. I mounted mine horizontally for space. A cover can be easily made for anti-theft reasons.

    Remove passenger seat (4 x 14mm). And disconnect the passenger seat sensor (for seat belt warning light). Take the seat out. Hold the bottom edge of passenger side interior trim starting from shifter boot, pull the carpet out all the way back to end of the trim.
     

    Pop out the screw cap and remove screws on each side.

    Remove two screws on top of the center cover. Remove the cover.
     

    Drill a .5" diameter hole on the firewall next to driver side fender. There're other ways to wire battery cables, but I think this is the easiest. Connect 2 power cables to positive. The amp cable should be at least 10 gauge, more powerful amplifiers require thicker wire, consult the amp's instruction manual for details (the smaller the number, the larger the wire). Make sure to put a fuse in-line as close to the battery as possible. Tape both cables to a 3' long thin metal stick. Push the stick through. Should be able to see it inside the car right by the clutch & brake peddles. Pull the cables out and remove the metal stick. Use touch up paint to cover up exposed metal and seal the hole with a grommet.

    Pull all the cables (4 RCA cables, CD control interface cable, CD source audio cables, f/r channel speaker wires, speaker level output wires from head unit. 2 battery cables, remote cable) through from the carpet opening to the rear deck. Connect all cables to main amp, CD changer. Make a secure ground to car chassis for the amp. Important to sand off paint and rust for ground. It's always a good idea to ground the amp cover. It reduces static.

    5. Bass Amp:

    Most bass amps are smaller mono or 2 channel amps. I would mount it under passenger seat. Cut a 1" hole in the carpet for power cable, ground cable, speaker level input wires, remote wire, speaker ouput wires. Mount amp with 4 screws or simple stick to carpet will be enough. Connect all cables. Connect speaker level input to the bass amp. In my case, I have 50x2, 125x1 amp. So I would bridge the output. Pairing the left positive and right negative (see amp diagram for details).

    6. Stealthbox:

    There're three screws the bottom of stealthbox. When the stealthbox shipped, it came with a precut cardboard which are used to drill holes. In my case, I lost it. Easy solution. Screw three bolts onto the stealthbox. Put white teflon paste or coloured silicon on back of the bolts. Put the driver side rear panels back on. Remove trunk carpet. Carefully place stealthbox at the left corner of trunk. Make sure the three bolts leave clear marks. Drill the holes. Connect the speaker wire. Go under the car, and mount the bolts through. I would not cut the trunk carpet, I'll just fold it.

    7. Make it all work!

    With Crutchfield adapter, you don't have to cut any wire. But since there's a main amp here, we have to cut the front speak wires. I think they're both white. Cut them AFTER crutchfield adapter. Connect speaker output from amp. For rear speakers, run wires directly from amp. Make sure remote on/off wire is
    connected to both amps. Power and ground cables are good.

    When I first installed them with my friend. It took us 12 hours! To do it yourself, you should reserve good 2~3 days.


    sparkie

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