Remember, as with any electronic installation, disconnect the negative cable on your battery before doing anything else. Also, make sure you have the necessary tools on hand (see the first page for details).

Disconnect your battery before any installation job.

Door mounting woofers

Most car manufacturers build the factory woofers into the door and, often, your new woofer will easily fit into that factory speaker hole. You may still have to dismantle part of your door to install it, however. Here's how:

Popping off the speaker grille is easy.

Removing the grille

With a flathead screwdriver, gently pry off the grille of the existing speaker. Car manufacturers usually create a notch in the grille for this very purpose. Grilles secured to the door or attached by friction fittings will require unscrewing or more aggressive prying.

Take out the factory speaker and disconnect the wiring harness.

As the first step of removing the door panel, unscrew or unclip the window crank.

Removing the door panel

You may need to remove the door panel to access the factory speaker, or to custom install your speakers. In this case, start by removing the window crank (if you have one). A screw at the pivot secures some cranks, but most come anchored by a spring clip. You can use a window-crank removal tool (available from Crutchfield) or a flathead screwdriver to remove this clip. To remove, depress the door panel until you can see behind the crank, turn the lever until you see the prongs of the clip, and gently push the crank off with the screwdriver. The clip will pop off, so be careful.

The arm rest removes easily by taking out a few screws and some trim fittings.

Remove armrest and rest of panel

Next, you'll have to remove the armrest by unscrewing a few phillips-head screws and some trim fittings around the handle. Once the armrest is unattached, you can remove the door panel. For most cars, you'll find the panel fastened by a few screws and friction fittings. With the screws removed, begin prying off the door panel at the bottom corner. Use a panel tool (available from Crutchfield) or, if you don't have one on hand, two putty knives can also do the trick. Once you loosen the bottom and sides, the panel should hang from some trim at the window well. Simply lift up on the trim, and the panel should come free.

Use a panel tool or a flathead screwdriver to pry off the door panel.

Remove the old speaker

Carefully lift out the old speaker and detach it from the wiring harness. Some manufacturers use a sealant foam when mounting the original speakers, so you may need to cut through that with a utility knife. Set the factory wiring harness aside. You'll need to wire the woofer to the crossover before routing it to the head unit. See Page 5 for more wiring instructions.

Make adjustments accordingly

Usually, you'll be able to fit the new speaker into the hole with no difficulty, but sometimes the hole can be too narrow or shallow to accommodate it. In this case, you may have to file or trim part of your door or speaker opening, or anchor your speaker basket to the mounting location.