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1994 How to disconnect/remove dash speaker

3K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  safari kev 
#1 ·
Both factory speakers in the dash went silent, one at a time, over a period of several months. Had the 1994 Astro in the shop for its routine inspection, oil & lube, etc., and the mechanic offered to replace the speakers -- but then he could not find a replacement.

I see that some are suggesting Crutchfield's Pioneers. Haven't bought anything yet. Don't need anything fancy.

Went to remove the first speaker, just to see if I could do it myself. No problem popping off the cover starting at the upper inside corner with a small flat screwdriver, taking out the two Phillips screws with a right-angle screwdriver, and then the two hex-head screws with a ratchet-handle socket wrench, although it is a little tight under the windshield.

Then when I lifted out the speaker to unclip the wiring harness from it, I couldn't figure out how to get the harness to unclip. Is it just a matter of brute force, or is there a release mechanism that I need to deal with? Suggestions, please! And any tips are welcome regarding what speakers to get. Ease of installation is more important to me than quality of sound. Thanks in advance for your advice.
 
#3 ·
Imported Photos 00001a.jpg
Dunce cap for me. Still can't figure it out. In the attached photo, I am assuming that the upper black block is the speaker socket. Coming up underneath it is the harness with plug. The plug seems to fit up into the socket with no wedge or wiggle room at all. It appears to me that the rocker-switch-looking thingy on the upper block must be the release? But I can't yet get any action out of it with my fingers or with a screwdriver. The wiring harness is short, and so the speaker can't be lifted very far out of the dash. So there's not much room available for fingers, screwdriver, or whatever. Suggestions, please?
 
#6 ·
Followed the above advice, but using two jeweler's flat screwdrivers rather than just one, and was able to pry the plug loose. I replaced the two dash speakers with a pair of Sony XSGT1338F 5-1/4" Car Speakers from Crutchfield, item # 158GT1338F, $49.99 including shipping and installation kit with instructions.

The speaker on the driver's side was a little clumsy to work with -- space between the dash and the windshield is a little tight. The Crutchfield-provided plastic adapter flange didn't fit quite right, or maybe I didn't turn it exactly the right way, so I hacksawed off a little of the flange to get it to fit into the speaker slot (after I had twisted off all the extra removable tabs on the flange). Not a big problem, just took a little extra time and fiddling with it.

The speaker on the passenger side was easy to remove -- more room to work, plug was easier to dislodge, and the adapter flange worked just fine on the first try. I used 4 screws with nuts, provided in the Crutchfield installation pack, to secure each speaker to the flange -- but there were only five sets of screws with nuts. I probably could have only used 2 or 3 instead of 4, but I filled out the missing screws with some I had saved from some other project. Again, not a problem, just took a little extra time.

The speakers sound very nice and crisp, a little different frequency response than the original equipment. I like them just fine. I wasn't looking for high-end audio, and at $49.99 I'm very happy.
 
#7 ·
I put Pioneers in the dash of my Bravada. The part number has GM in it, because they have to be shallow-depth to mount on the driver's side especially. iirc, they were under $50 for the pair.

And they sounded great.
 
#8 ·
I am going through this on my 95. the drivers side dash speaker is a friggin nightmare. pass side was super easy. undo the 7mm screws and the factory speakers slide right out. mess with the phillips screws once the speaker is disconnected and in your hand. then just move the bracket for the windshields side of the speakers over to your new speakers. you will need a thin screwdriver to walk the harness end plastic up and over the clip on the speaker. the speakers also have to be fairly shallow. the passengers side hole will allow a very deep magnet, but the drivers side will allow very little in the way of speaker depth.
I installed a set of infinity reference 952i 6.5" 2 ways. I'm not really happy with the sound though- partially due to the flaky factory radio (temporarily instaled a factory cadillac UX1 and was blown away....its louder and cleaner.) eventually I'm gonna put components in the front doors.
 
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