Has anyone tackled this project yet? I'm looking at a couple of DVD player/monitors (with FM modulator) to put in the Aerostar. I've installed a few stereos and CD players in my cars before but never one of these. How hard is it?

Thanks,

 

Wrestling with the same problem right now.....seems like the trim work for the rear A/C is in the way.

I bought a cheapie portable player from WalMart (10.2" screen, 2 IR Headphones, carrying case for 99.88). This is a "clamshell" like affair....the player part hinges to the screen at the bottom.

My approach is as follows: Since there is power at the dome light in front of the A/C ducting, I am going to attach a mount to the slanted part of the ducting (facing the front of the car). An aluminum reinforcement plate on the inside of the A/C trim piece should give me enough support. The mount I am utilizing is an undercounter mount that has a fold down rod with a flat screen mounting surface attached. This surface slides up and down the rod to accommodate different size screens. I'll steal the power from the dome light since I don't use that anyway. I have not figured out yet how to store the unit when it is not in use....if I cant figure a way to flip it up and keep it out of the way, I'll just remove the rod along with the player and keep it in the carrying case until I need it (read: have my four grandkids in the car. My son has the same unit in his car, so my 2 headphones and his 2 will keep everyone happy).......

The problem with the self contained units for overhead installation is that you would probably have to put it in behind the A/C duct work. That will block the middle A/C outlet when the screen is down. Also, it will probably be to close to the middle seat(s) for comfortable viewing.

 

I won't have the issue of dealing with ductwork. Our van doesn't have rear AC. There is a dome light right between the two front seats that I could tie into for power, I was wondering what was up there to use to anchor the DVD player/monitor to. The models I'm looking at have dome lights built into them also.

I'll probably keep this simple and not get one with the TV tuner so I won't have to deal with antenna issues.

This should be fun!

 

Aero94exp: keep us updated - I'm looking to do the same thing and wondering what I can secure the roof mounted monitor to

 

There is a stamped sheetmetal bracket that the dome light fastens to. Also, about 5 or 6 inches back from there are the fastening points that the rear air duct would be screwed to. As a matter of fact there is a screw in my 91 straight to the rear of the center of the dome light. So there will be something to work with on yours without the rear air. If your getting an all in one unit (player and screen in an enclosure) there should be a mounting plate included that you will be able to fasten to the roof and then obviously you can fasten the unit to the plate.

ADDITION: Just went out and looked at my 90 that doesn't have the headliner installed. Just in back of the dome light is a roof brace that is welded in. The bracket for the light is screwed to that brace and extends towards the front of the van. About 6 inches in back of this brace is another brace that extends across the entire roof. In the center these braces have about 3/4 to 1" clearance between the brace and the outside skin, plenty of room to drill holes and attach mounting screws.

 

OK, here is what it looks like on my AWD 4.0L with rear air. The unit is a 15" screen so it is a bit big, and it's a bit too forward to my liking (due to the rear air duct), but it's OK and it didn't interfere with my driving at all.

The unit comes with a metal plate you are supposed to mount on the upper side of the headliner, and the unit is to be screwed onto that. My understanding is that the headliner is supposed to take the weight of the unit. This is OK for a small unit, 8" maybe. But my unit is really much too heavy for that, and safety becomes an issue should I get into an accident. So, here's what I did. Get some really good strong Epoxy and glue two thick aluminum rails onto the roof. Then, tap the rail and screw the unit onto those rails. You don't have to cut the headliner, simply make holes in it for the screws to go through. Of course, it took a lot of measurements to make holes on the rails and the headliner to make things line up properly, but it's worth it.

The wire already up there is hot only when the door is open, or when you turn the head light switch all the way to the left. So I ran another wire through the ACC circuit up there, along the front door's side post.

As for the TV tuner, don't worry about it. I experimented with it forever, and my conclusion is that all these TV antennas they sell on the market are absolute junks, even with the preamp. You can't catch anything worthwhile with those. However, surprisingly, just T the current FM antenna you have on the radio to the TV tuner and you get perfect reception. That was surprising, but reasonable since the FM waves are smack right in the middle of channels 5 and 7.

 

True about the dome light...however I installed the reading lights and they are hot all the time......saves a bit of trouble

 

Awesome writeup and pics! Thanks, that pretty much answers my questions. I'm looking at a couple of 10" all-in-one units just waiting to ****** one up a at a decent price

 

Aero.......where did you come across the billet grill???How about a pic of the front end?

 

Here's an older pic of the front end. The only real difference is there is a shorty whip antenna and I took the front plate off. I bought the grill back in 2001 when we first bought the 'Star...I'll have to search to see if I can find it again.

 

Took a while to find it but here's a link to a couple of them a square tube (the one we have) and a round tube version.

http://www3.shopping.com/xFS?KW=ford...tar+tube+grill

 

Thanks for the link....I'll definitely pursue that.

I went out and took a pic of the braces under the headliner. I propped up the driver's side interior trim piece (from behind the driver's seat to the rear lift gate). If you look at the top front piece of the trim you can get an idea where the braces are located in your car. The black thing between the two braces is the rear A/C duct, which won't be in your vehicle. You should be able to feel them through your headliner. Seems like all you would have to do is position your mounting plate (or a template) and drill right through your headliner into these braces, secure the mounting plate and then mount the player to the mounting plate.

 

Thanks for going through the effort of taking that additional pic. I should have a DVD player within the next few days. Now I know how to tackle the install

 

Well I purchased one 9" monitor, DVD Player, TV Tuner, FM Modulator in an "all-in-one" overhead unit. Color even matches the interior, I should receive it from the boys in brown on Friday and hopefully mount it Fri night. There aren't any tricks to removing the front headliner are there? Just remove the screws along the side and drop it?

 

Your visors have to come out. Also, how is the front and back headliner trimmed out where they meet? On mine with the rear air its the duct cover that had to come out. Oh, and the dome light.

FYI.....If you take out the driver's side kick panel, you will uncover a bank of four electrical connectors. The second one in from the door is C206 and contains at least one "hot at all times" lead. You can probably tap in there and run the wire up from under the dash and under the trim piece that covers from the dash to the headliner near the windshield and then to your installation. It won't draw very much power (mine is rated at 1.5 amps).

I'm going to post some pics of my "Budget" installation shortly. I'm just looking for a piece of plastic to cover the opening in the headliner where the dome light used to be.....