If you have a Club Cab, the first thing to do is snap out the back rest cushion from the back seat. It is held in place with about a dozen of the plastic Christmas Tree fasteners and you can just grab one end of it and snap it out of the truck. If any fasteners break, you can get new ones at the parts store. The bad thing about the rear seat back cushion is it can pull away from the hard back panel on it that the cushion is attached to. You have to be careful not to pull them apart. If it does come apart, you can hot glue the pieces back together, but they may separate again later on due to heat from the truck sitting out in the sun in the warmer months.

Then remove the 5 or 6 10mm bolts holding the tool tray to the floor and set it outside the truck. Then open the rear side window and working from the top of the top side trim panel, snap it out.

The side panel trim is actually made up of 2 separate panels, a top and a bottom. When you remove the top panel you will see either Phillips screws or plastic retainer pins holding the top edge of the bottom trim panel to the side of the truck. There are also 2 fasteners or screws on the back edge of the bottom panel, behind the area where the end of the back cushion meets the side panel. Then work the lower panel out around the upper slit in the panel for the seat belt and just let the panel rest either sideways behind the front seat or you can move it out of the truck and let it rest on the ground. There is enough slack in the seat belt that you don't need to remove any of the seat belt anchor bolts. Put down some cardboard or a blanket so it doesn't get scratched, because it will be lying face down if you move it outside the truck. You will have more room to work inside the truck with the panel resting outside too. Then you should have easy access to replace the speaker.

Jimmy

 

Thanks man... That's great!
I'll be so happy to get my speakers finished.

 

Thanks for all the advice Jimmy. I think you may have inspired me to attempt this myself. Maybe Ill try it this week. My major concerns with the head unit are the wiring and that the Sony is smaller than the stock, so how do you fill that void space? If I attempt this I might have to take you up on the further advice offer hahaha. Thanks again

 

a 1.5 DIN to 1 DIN adapter should come with the wiring kit. My crutchfield kit worked first try, real straightforward.

I didnt take the tool tray out on mine, I dont see how it would help. I basically ripped off that rear cushion panel (scary easy), opened the pop window, and basically ripped the bottom half of the top panel out about 2" with the front seat belt sliders all the way up.

Then i took out the 2 screws at the back, released the front edge from the door trim, and pulled straight out, up, and fowards all at same time to release the christmas trees and slot latches. Once it came free, I just pulled the front belt all the way out, looped the panel through the belt, and let it sit outside the truck.

FYI, the speakers are glued in. You'll need a serious screw driver (I used a 1" wide blade one) to pry the speaker housing out.

Reassembly is what got me. I couldn't get the christmas trees and slot latches to all line up at once. So on both sides, I just wound up breaking the slot latches and 2 of the christmas trees.

 

The installation kit fills the space for the radio and is how you mount the radio in the dash. Here is a picture of my Alpine deck in my dash so you can see what it looks like:



You can buy the kit at Best Buy or Autozone, Advance, etc.

Jimmy

 

Oops, sorry I forgot to add something about removing the rear side panels in the Club Cab..You do need to remove the upper seat belt anchor bolts for the rear seat belts only. The front anchor bolts are above the top rear side panels. I think it's a Torx T-50 bolt.

I noticed this yesterday afternoon when I was cleaning the inside of my truck before I washed it. Sorry about that.

Jimmy

 

Thanks for the heads up.

I didn't get a chance to take care of the speakers, or my new seats yet...
working on building a box to hold the stone I'll use as added weight in the bed for the winter season before I attempt seating / speakers. Expecting snow anytime now.

 

apparently 6 1/2" should fit in the doors.

 

Hey Jimmy, do you know if I need an antenna adapter? Will the stock antenna wire plug into my Sony deck? I'm going to order a wire harness from Crutchfield. They seem to be better than the ones in the stores.

 

Well, I know 2003 was the year Dodge changed over to a European style antenna connector. I remember I had to use an antenna adapter on my '03 Ram. Your Dakota should take the same adapter.

Your truck should also take the single plug one-piece radio wire harness, not the old school 2 piece harness. If you order from Crutchfield they will have the right parts for your install. They also provide very good installation directions, and I have heard their phone-in tech support dept. is really helpful too.

Jimmy