I have an '04 Reg Cab SXT. I have some Pioneer speakers and I was wondering if they would fit in my truck. I have a pair of 5 1/4" round and a pair of 6 1/4" round speakers. Does anybody know what size speakers will fit in the door and benind the seats? thanks

 

it's one of those two. Check crutchfield's "what fits" guide.

 

The 6 1/2" should fit the front doors. The 5 1/4" should fit the rear side panels but there may be a larger 6" speaker there. Even if it is a larger speaker you can easily make your own adapter plates out of 1/4" medium density fiberboard (mdf). You can buy a small 4 x 2 sheet of mdf at Home Depot for 5 bucks. Look in the shelving section of the lumber department. You may need some type of adapter/mounting plates for the front speakers too, the factory speaker is larger than your Pioneers. You can use mdf for that too, but 1/2" works better in the front door. It will put the speaker right up behind the grille on the door. Some here have removed the factory speaker from its plastic mounting bracket and used that for an adapter plate. That works too but I personally think mdf sounds better and is easier to work with, plus it is a more solid method of mounting the speaker.

Jimmy

 

Thanks for all the advice. How are the stock speakers anyway? My pioneers are 6 1/2" 3-way 220 watt and 5 1/4" 3-way 180 watt. Do you think the improvement (if any) is worth the work? If it is, do you have any pointers on removing the door panels and the panels over the rear speakers? I briefly looked at it and I couldnt quite figure out how it comes off. I don't want to go rippin too hard on this stuff, ya know? thanks

 

Anything is better than the stock speakers. If I remember correctly...they sounded relatively muffled. As long as you don't have the stock head unit it all should work out well.

 

The Pioneer speakers should be a really good improvement in the sound quality. They will sound even better if you have the factory Infinity amplified system.

The front speakers are pretty easy to do. Roll the window down, remove the Phillips screw from the sail panel and remove the 2 Phillips screws from the very bottom edge of the door panel. Then remove the T-30 Torx screw from just under the door pull handle. Use a pick tool or small flat head screw driver to pop out the little round panel inside the door opening handle trim and remove the T-30 screw from behind the panel.

If you have manual windows, use a window handle retainer clip removal tool (you can buy one for 5 or 6 bucks at any parts store) and work the tool in between the back side of the window crank and the round trim disc behind it. Then turn the handle while holding the tool in this position till you feel the retainer clip disengage, remove the handle and be careful you don't lose the retainer clip as the handle comes away from the door panel.

If you have power windows and locks, there are no extra steps other than unplugging the switches once the door panel is loose and removed from the door itself. To remove the door panel, just roll the window back down and then lift straight up on the panel and it will come away from the door. Then reach in behind it and unclip the door latch and door lock retainer clips from the back of the door release handle area of the panel.

For the rear speakers, remove the plastic cover from the seat belt loop at the top of the panel, then remove the Torx bolt under the cover. Then the rear side panels should just snap out. Snap it out working from the top down to the bottom. You will need to route the seat belt through the slits in the panel to remove the panel from the truck.

In case you need it, here are the speaker wire colors:

Left front spkr + Light green/violet
Left front spkr - Light green/dark green

Right front spkr + Light blue/violet
Right front spkr - Light blue/black

Left rear spkr + White/red
Left rear spkr - White/black

Right rear spkr + Tan/violet
Right rear spkr - Tan/black

You can also buy speaker wire harnesses at Best Buy or car stereo stores that will take the guesswork out of connecting the new speakers. Pioneer used to ship their speakers with a pair of 6 inch wire pigtails to make it easier to connect them in to the existing wiring. Maybe they still do.

Hope this helps you out. Replacing the factory speakers is definitely a good idea and should make a big improvement in the sound quality of the stock system.

Jimmy

 

I put bassblockers on my rears last night. Royal PITA. I couldnt get the cover off the upper seat belts to get the bolts out. So i had to rassle with the lower panel. My arms make me look like I'm emo or something. I broke off most of the christmas tree deals. So the back 2 screws and the very front christmas tree are all thats holding either panel on.... :/

 

wow, thanks for all the detailed help guys! I'm still not sure I'm going to attempt this. I never have any luck with pulling door panels. I HATE those plastic retainers (which I think were refered to as christmas trees), I always wind up ripping them out of the panels. My truck is very clean and the last thing I wanna do is rip up the nice interior.

I saw it was mentioned not to bother doing the speakers if I have the stock head unit still. I was planning on keeping it in because there is nooo way i could switch that out. I do, however also have a Sony CD deck so now I'm thinking about taking it all to a place to see if they would install it for me. I know they will most likely be hesitant because I didnt buy it there and will probably rip me off. Maybe I'll go and see what they say. Thanks again. I'll let you know what I do.

 

There are no Christmas Tree retainer pins on your 2004's front door panels. The reason why you lift straight up to remove the door panel is because the retainer pins on the front doors are plastic right angle hooks that clip down into rectangular-shaped openings in the door itself. Dodge uses those and Phillips and Torx screws to attach the door panels. When removing the rear side panels it's best to get your hand back behind the panel and support the plastic with one or two fingers on either side of the retainer pin mounting tab. This is not so much for the retainer pin, it is so you don't crack the plastic panel itself around the retainer pin mounting tab. If you do break any retainer pins, you can buy new ones cheap at any parts store.

It is not hard at all to install a deck and speakers in a Dakota. It just takes patience, time and the correct tools for the job. You can buy a mounting kit and wire harness for the deck at Autozone, Advance, Walmart, Best Buy, etc for about $25.00. The mounting kit will probably have instructions for removing the factory radio, but it is pretty easy:

First disconnect the negative battery cable. Remove the 2 Philips screws from the dash panel above the instrument cluster. Then remove the 3 T15 torx screws from the bottom of the knee bolster panel, unclip the parking brake release handle retainer pin, pull out on the sides and top to release the metal retainer pins and remove the panel. Then remove the 3 T20 Torx screws from the bottom of the steering column cowl cover, snap the 2 pieces apart and if you have tilt steering, move the steering wheel all the way down and put the gear shifter in Low if you have an automatic transmission. Then the dash panel just snaps out. Grab the lower right corner above the ashtray and pop the dash panel loose, working from right to left. Then unplug the headlight switch, climate control panel plugs and passenger air bag on/off switch. Then work the top of the dash panel up over the steering wheel, and it will sort of roll out from the top so you can remove the dash panel. Then just remove the 4 screws from the radio and unplug it.

The wire harness you buy will match the wire colors on the Sony deck. Connect the corresponding color wires together, tape off and insulate the orange illumination wires unless your Sony has separate illumination input wires, and don't forget to connect the blue/white amplifier remote on wires if your truck has the factory Infinity Amplified system. Sometimes, depending on the manufacturer of the wire harness, the factory amp remote on wire is solid blue. It still gets connected to the blue/white on the Sony deck though. Then just mount the deck into the installation kit, plug it in and the antenna too, screw it back to the dash and reassemble the dash panels.

It is not hard at all to install the stereo system in your truck. I personally would not pay someone else to do something you can do for yourself. Most of us here have done our own systems. I did car audio and alarm installations for a living for over 15 years. Any of us would be glad to help you get your system done, just post here if there are any problems.

If you do decide to have a shop do it for you, ask around and get a recommendation on a good independent car audio shop in your area. Best Buy may not do it for you if you did not buy the system there, I guess it's worth a phone call to find out. Depending on where you live, the labor to install a deck and 4 new speakers could cost anywhere from $100.00 to $150.00, plus the cost of the radio installation kit and wire harness.

Jimmy

 

I have not done my rear speakers yet for this exact reason.... I spent 2 hours the night I put my deck and speakers in the truck. 1.5 of that was fighting with the back panels, after which I gave up and left the stock speakers in the back...

If anyone has any hints on making this an easier than it seems to be job, please do.

Now, the only saving grace here, is that I'm likely putting in my new seats this weekend. (Bought some RACTIVE "racing" seats - black n' blue to match the finish I envision for Pearl). Maybe that'll give me some more room to work with when trying to get to the panels.