Have a 97 expy with cassette "premium sound" system.... Have some questions...

- What are the speaker sizes ?
- Locations ?
- How many speakers ?
- Also, on some Fords, the speakers are amped at the speaker. Is this the case here or are the speakers just wired straight to the deck which provides the power ?
- Is there anything else I need to know ?

Just FYI, what I am planning is to mount a 4ch. power amp under the pass. seat, and power the factory speakers with it. In place of the deck, there will be a carbon fiber plate with a simple power switch and an 1/8" stereo input to hook my iPod to. I HATE radio, and I have tried the goofy cassette adaptors and FM modulators out there. Haven't seen anything I like yet. This way is simple and clean.

 

- The spealer sizes are: front 5x7 rear 6x9
- The speakers are located in the doors 2 in fronts 2 in rears. They are accessed by removing the door trim.
- Total number of speakers: 4 but if you have the mach audio system you will also have an 8'' subwoofer located in the right side trim panel aft of the rear seats.
- If you have the Mach audio system the speakers are amplified but NOT at each speaker. The amp is located underneath the center portion of the dash. In order to upgrade your system you will need an amplifier adapter in order to connect the new headunit to your stock amp. However if you want to put in a new amplifier altogether you can probably just rip everything out and start over with new wiring, speakers, headunit, etc...
I must warn you though, if you wish to replace the stock headunit you must use a single DIN size headunit because although the stock head looks like its a 2 DIN its really not. Good luck!

 

If your Expy is an XLT, it does not have the Mach system or the subwoofer. The Mach, with the subwoofer was an Eddie Bauer-only option.

 

well, I have been doing more and more research, and things are coming together...I'm still a little unclear if the speakers are amped or not. It's a 97 Expy XLT with the "premium sound" cassette head unit. CD changer controls, but no cd changer or sub. Can I assume my speakers are UNamped, and the power is provided solely by the head unit ?

I would like to tap into the factory harness so I don't have to gut the truck to rewire the speakers. I'll get an aftermarket harness to plug into the Ford harness to go out to the amp. For a detailed spec. of what I am planning, check out this link and let me know what you think...

http://members.shaw.ca/chickenhead/stereo/stereo.jpg

Thanks everyone... I appreciate your help and input.

 

Yes the speakers are unamped. I replaced my headunit and speakers last year in my 1999 XLT, which had the premium system. As you probably realize by this time, the "premium" system was the most basic sound system you could get in the Expy that year. Basically standard equipment.

Be careful about speaker selection. Not a lot of depth to mount aftermarket speakers, particularly in the stock rear door locations.

 

I know this is over a year old, but I thought I add to it for those (like me) who actually search for info before posting, and might come across this thread.

Some of the XLT Expedition's that are not Eddie Bauer's, have the factory amp installed. A good chunk of models have this and don't necessarily include the subwoofer. I've seen other posts where you've said that none of the XLTs have the amp, and that's incorrect. I have a '97 Expy that had the factory amp under the dash by the console. When I installed my Alpine system, I unplugged the amp and connected the new receiver directly to each speaker, therefore bypassing the amp.

And easy way to know if you have a factory amp is to look at the connectors coming from the dash. If you have 2 flat rectangle 8-pin connectors, then you dont have one installed. If you have only have one flat, and say another that is square or has more pins, than you have the amp somewhere in your vehicle, most likely under the dash in front of the center console.

Hope this helps someone passing through.

 

well that's interesting to know because i have the square plug with several pins so i must have the amp too. i always knew my expy was special

but anyways i have a new question along these lines...my 97 expy cassette stereo has CD changer controls but no CD changer. so if i aquired one would i be able to hook it right up? would i only be able to hook up a 97 model? thanks for any info

 

I have a 99 EB with the CD changer. IT BLOWS. If the cd has the smallest scratch I hear fuz coming out of my speakers. Not to mention how slow the stock cd changer is. It takes more time to change a cd with the changer than it would by doing it manually with a regular cd player.

 

thanks a lot for the info. i was considering one for ease of installation. does anyone happen to know about the changer available from crutchfield for the 96-up ford vehicles? the only question i have about them is quality, i know they will install and everything.

 

Hi guys,
This is my first post on this site. I have a 99 xlt and was wondering if I can purchase the pod that holds a subwoofer similar to the EB for my xlt? I was able to buy this for my Jeep XJ and it fit in real nice and held an 8" sub. I was hoping to do the same with xlt.

Thanks and great site.

 

I would think so...I'll bet there are holes already there to mount it up. If I recall correctly, the stock EB sub was not a common size though. It was like a 9.5in mount hole...somehting like that. I know it wasn't easy to make a decent aftermarket woofer fit in there. There is a audio thread on here as well and I bet this has been covered in there. Do a seach there for "Expedition Subwoofer" or the like.

 

This is totally correct. I thought mine was not amplified, but it is. Now my Memphis amp powers very well..