97 Eddie Bauer needs new JBL subwoofer, how to replace?
 

My wife and I just purchased a 97 Eddie Bauer. Love it with the exception of the rear subwoofer. It's blown and the speaker panel rattles like crazy. How do you remove the speaker panel & speaker? Is it necessary to remove the entire plastic interior panel? Any tips to keep from breaking things?
Thanks!

First of all...congrats!! Second...good luck finding a 6.5" sub. I bought a Rockford Fosgate 6.5" last year and it sounds very good. Another way is to get one from Ebay or you can get an 8" and do some fabrication...if that's what you want to do, you need to take the whole panel out. It's not hard at all.

If you're just replacing the sub speaker only, you can just pop the metal grill...again...METAL, not plastic grill out. Then there'll be 4 screws at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock position. Unscrew them then unplug the sub and take it out. Good luck!!!

Thanks for the response. Nice Eddie B! Ours is the same color combo. :-X22

What is a good tool / method to get the metal speaker grill off? Looks like the rattling noise I'm hearing is coming from inside the interior panel in front of the sub, so it's gotta come off. What kind of fasteners hold the interior panels on and what is a good way to remove them?

Thanks!

Sweet!!! I love this color!!!

I reccommend a panel removal tool. You should be able to get one from Autozone for like $10. The rattling noise is probably b/c your voice coil is seperating from the cone, hence the rattle. I had the exact same problem a couple of years ago. I resoldered...but it would fail a week or two later. I finally broke down and got a cheap $20 6.5" sub, that also failed a week later. Returned it and found this Rockford sub, never had a problem since.

If you're really willing to take the whole panel out, like I said, get a panel removal tool. There're a lot of plugs and phillips screws. One screw required you to use a T-50 Torx driver is the seat belt anchor. Once that's off, take off the coat hanger, then remove the trim at the threshhold at the liftgate, then there're a couple of screws under the carpet and then pull the panel out. Not too bad. Took me a total of 10 minutes to remove and another 10 minutes to put back. Good luck!!!

Thanks for the reply. What is the impedence ( 4 or 8 ohm) of the factory woofer and how deep is the factory speaker? I found several 6.5 " woofers online and wanted to make sure I got one that was proper impedence and not too big / deep.

I think that the rattle I'm hearing behind the interior panel is the sub amp (bracket). Anybody have any suggestions on an upgrade (larger) amp while I'm in there?

It's a 2ohm...if I remember correctly.

Does anybody have the specifications for the stock sub woofer amp and woofer? I want to make sure that the speaker doesn't roast the sub amp and vice versa. Thanks!

OK, I'll try this again with the cut and paste method instead of a link.



Power Ratings:
Base systems are rated at 24 Watts RMS (actually, Continuous Average Power)@ 10%THD Premium Systems are rated at 80 Watts RMS @ 10% THD
Audiophile Systems are rated at 145 Watts RMS @ 2% THD (4X15W from the head unit or remote Parametric Amp; 1X85W from the SW Amp) Audiophile Systems have an Advertised Peak Power rating of 290 Watts


Subwoofers:
For 1990 through 1997, the Subwoofer had a 6.5" driver in a 9 Liter sealed enclosure. In 1998, the Subwoofer was upgraded to an 8.0" driver and a 15
liter sealed enclosure.

Thanks for the reply. Got the link, great one! :-X22

I'm going with the factory sub, since I can get it cheap (around $60, my brother in-law is a service manager at a big dealership) and because it was designed for that enclosure. Factory list price was around $90, still not too bad in my opinion. Also, I still don't know what the impedence of the stock speaker is. It may not make any difference, I'm just being cautious.

I did find an online source for 6.5" woofers if anybody is interested, Parts Express. Big variety and very reasonable prices. Mounting depth looks to be around "3 for the stock enclosure.

Is the removal the same for a 98 Explorer my cover is all plastic.

Any chance one of you guys has a pic of the sub location your talking about, My 96XL Did not come with one however I'd like to look at installing one.

Also does any one know the size of the speakers in the doors.

Sorry to jump on your post like this.

If you're looking to "install" a system the MTX explorer sub is way better then the stock one. You'll spend a little more and you'll enjoy it lots more.

Be carefully on the plastic one. There are several Plastic tabs holding it in place. The one on the low side bottom is a real pain. useing a flat head screewdriver goaround the edge and flex the cover away from the main interior body panel one tab at a time. They are not super deep into the body panel buit they are wide!

You don't have to take the entire panel out if you have someone to help hold it out up by the door. I used a trouble light to wedge in the corner by the door to hold the panel out.

Thanks so its not that hard to pull that small cover off. I will try it maybe this weekend if the rain holds out.

After reading a little closed to the replys. I notice that my explorer has an 8" sub correct.