thought you may have taken the whole factory sub box out to replace the sub. maybe you have a picture of that or know the depth of the available space it takes up in there. i was hoping to be able to squeeze about a 9 inch wide box in there i removed the stock one....

 

Oh I got ya. I didn't measure the box but I did take a lot more pictures that I posted. Here's a couple more.

 

Biggus, I hate to tell you, but I just got off the phone with Crutchfield (with your number in hand) and they do not sell the 8" Kenwood anymore!

The reason to go with that speaker was the sensitivity was much higher than the others. Now, that it's gone - does anyone have any suggestions?

Crutchfield seemed to think that staying with the current sub would probably be the safest thing.

 

It's all over eBay - if you can find a dual voice coil sub.. Thats what 60w + 60w means, and that's what the extra set of wires is for. I run 6 kenwood 3005's in my expy, in my opinion they are the best sub you can buy for the $100 range. My friends run infinity kappa's, and other woofers but the kenwoods perform well under all volume levels. I'd suggest buying from best buy just so you can buy their extended warranty ($20 for as many subs as you can blow).

I'm not sure if Kenwood makes a dual voice coil sub..


In addition, I don't want to rain on your parade, but the original sub is 1.2 ohms per channel, your sub is 4 or 8 ohms. 1.2 ohms @ 60watts would be similar to 25ish watts at 4 ohms - 15 at 8 ohms. It's fine, just losing a lot of power. You're probably not hearing much at all, your aftermarket door speakers have comparable bass response to the factory sub.

Moral of the story, spend a few dollars on an inexpensive amp. I would imagine it's not so easy to integrate the factory deck with the aftermarket amp - I did it but it makes for uneven volume transitions between the door speakers and subwoofer.

The main problem with the better factory systems is that they are much harder to modify, as components are matched for each other, and non-standard specifications are used for integrated components; ie: 1.2 ohm speaker? Pure brilliance by the manufacturer.

Door speakers are no problem, I wouldn't recommend replacing your factory sub unless you're going to replace the deck.

 

So I have dual coil sub? There maybe something out there that i can repalce it with.

Any ideas where I might find the system specs? It appears to be the best kept secret.....

 

Your factory is dual voice coil, yes - not an attempt to raise the bar in quality, it's simply cheaper to make 2 smaller amps, than 1 large amp. If you replaced it, you'll know if it's dual voice coil - it will have 2 sets of + and - terminals. You could possibly bridge it onto your sub, that would give you about 100 watts to your sub @ 2 ohms - I would seriously recommend replacing that amp, or using a dual voice coil sub though. MTX makes a powered enclosuer that fits right into the oem housing. It's kind of expensive for what you get (mediocre amp, mediocre sub, mediocre enclosure) but it fits right into the OEM spot - more important than sound quality for some. You can pick it up on ebay for around $200 (definately cheaper than buying an amp, hi-low box, new sub, new enclosure, etc!)

MTX Subwoofer

That one isn't powered, the powered one is a bit more expensive

 

RF makes an 8" Dual Coil Sub... I had to cut the "hump" out of the factory enclosure, but it works well for those of us that are over 25 and want more from a sound system than a constant BUMP-BUMP.... The bass is tight and hard... you can feel the music in your chest when I turn up the tunes... (the Infinity's don't hurt either)

 

I had planned on replacing the amp anyway.

 

Great posts! I installed 4 new polks in my 03 after two days...took all of 40 minutes. New door panels a snap! No plastic push-clips. I've spoken w/ many sources who say system is crossed at the head. JL Audio suggess to wire new sub amp from door speakers to avoid factory crossover point. This also bypasses the facory loudness control. Five channel Alpine amp going in this weekend.

 

Wow, how many have put Polks in their Expys so far? Polk might want to start selling these things through the Ford dealers. Still loving ours FWIW.

Not sure about replacing the sub. The factory one seems adequate.

 

i just replaced the sub in my expy since it was blown. i took the advice of the stereo shop when i installed it and cut the hump out of the back of the enclosure as well, then used some dynamat with a heat gun to seal up the back of the enclosure (do this on both sides). i used a kicker comp 8" for a replacement and it does sound worlds better. the next step is the rest of the factory speakers, but i'll probably go with components in the front. i'm a fan of the MB Quartz line. not sure what to use for the rear doors. does anyone know if the factory cd changer is compatible with an aftermarket deck?

 

I also bought new speakers from Crutchfield, made a major difference. Been using them for a year now ! They were Polk also, but not sure of the model !

 

I replaced all four of my speakers with JBLs (the 6"x8") - they made a world of difference. I added 200Hz caps and what I'm noticing now is distortion on my sub?!?

Russell...
If you could take pictures of your amp installation, or at least provide some notes, I'd be really interested to see them.

I am assuming that the Navigator has the same configuration as the Expy.

Thanks.

 

Everyone has gone around with the sub replacement, and I must just be a real idiot, because I have gone through what seems to be the same as BiggusDiccus, and It's not happening!!! I bought the same Kenwood speaker from crutchfield (about a month ago, and they did still carry it. they reccommended (sp?) it to me via email for my 98 EB expy) It was an 8" 4ohm. It worked a little, but sounded a little muffled. Then it started to REALLy vibrate too bad to listed to.

I just bought a Kicker from Hooked on tronics (for about half price of the same speaker at Crutchfield) that is an 8" 2 ohm, and at first it was okay...wiring was a little tricky and I needed a little help there. It cuts out when I have the base up, and now that it's on it's 4th day, It plays selectively. Aretha Franklin doesn't have much base, but I hear nothing! Then all of a sudden, it kicks on...then off !!! I always use NIN pretty hate machine track 3 to test, and it was awesome at first...with both speakers. Now, it's silence in the base part of the song where it's singled out (if you know the track).

What have I done wrong? Speaker Wrong? Speaker Bad? Amp Bad? My head screwed up? I can answer that one!! I just want to drive down the road in SILENCE!

 

edysart,
sounds like an amp issue, cutting out or clipping because of lack of power or overheating or just bad...not familar with 98 unit but everything you say it did sounds like the amp started to go and then finally did.