SuperMoose's Audio Install **Picture Heavy**

Well everyone, here is the thread catalouging the majority of my audio installation. I tried to take pictures of the majority of the process to help others in their endeavour. I will attempt to organize them in a fashion that is in order. If you have questions please feel free to ask them.

 

The parts used in this installation were

 

Scosche faceplate found here http://scosche.com/products/productID/1600

Pioneer AVIC-F700BT

Boston Acoustic SX-60 component speakers

Two amps and two subs which were from my other cars, I'll get the models if anyone wants them, I can't recall off the top of my head.

 

A quick side note, the faceplate seen on the website is black. I called Scosche and asked the person there who also told me it was black. I ordered mine off of ebay and to my delight it was already color matched.

 

The first part of the audio installation was the removal of the actual radio itself. This involved removing the shift trim as seen below. The green arrows indicate that you need to pull up from the shift boot to release the clips and then towards the back of the vehicle in order to remove the trim. You then screw off the shift knob itself, remove the plug from the power point and it is out.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020479.jpg

 

After the shifter assembly is removed the next step is to remove the two screws securing in the silver trim.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020481.jpg

 

After those are removed pull the trim up from the screw area and then towards you. This leaves you with access to the screws holding the actual radio in place

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020482.jpg

 

They are seen here depicted by the green arrows. Now for the tricky part. The radio won't come all of the way out, at least not for me. I unscrewed the bracket that held the climate controls and radio together on the right hand side, then repeated it on the left (not pictured). I then popped the climate control off of the faceplate (not pictured). It was held on by a tab on either side. After pushing that behind as best I could I turned the radio to the left and unplugged all of the plugs. The antenna is down on the left as seen in the picture below.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020493.jpg

 

You need to remove this piece first however in order to get to it.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020490.jpg

 

This was done by removing the trim around the steering wheel. First three pop its were taken out under the dash, followed by the removal of the screw in the picture above.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020489.jpg

 

Then the trim around it can be pulled down. All that is left is the removal of the plugs near the light dimming switch.

 

In order to complete the removal of the trim the center console has to be moved back. This is accomplished by pulling up on the trim of the parking break. I pulled from the bottom next to the carpet straight up and it came right off. Then two screws in the compartment that flips open need to be removed which are under the carpet in it.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020484.jpg

 

Then there are two screws near the location of the silver trim screws. Those come out and you pull straight up on the piece there. However this is a real pain due to this pop-it.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020486.jpg

 

So you have to be careful. Then pull the console back a bit and undo the three screws holding the rest of the trim on. The process for the right side is more complicated as it requires the removal of the glovebox which I did not cataloge but it entails some screws and removal of plugs.

 

After all of this was completed I removed the radio. To install the new radio I refitted the factory brackets to it, used my wiring harness I ordered from Crutchfield and plugged it all in. Screwed the hazard lights to the new faceplate, and reassembled.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020510-1.jpg

 

Finished product.

Now for the wiring of the amplifiers and speaker wire/rcas for said amps.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020494.jpg

 

First up is a picture of the wires ran. I removed the seats and carpet from the car in order to accomplish this. The seat removal is straight forward, there are 4 bolts then I leaned the seats backwards and unplugged the plugs. Tilt the seat forward and pull it out of the car. It is easiest to do this with the seat leaned forward all the way before you disconnect it, especially if it is a power seat. After the seats were out I pulled up the trim that was around the edges of the car. This removal was also straight forward and doesn't need description. Finally I pulled the pop-its which secured the carpet in place and removed the actual carpet itself. The wires were run down the center console area and put in their respective locations. The carpet already has holes cut for the wires that go to the seat so just use that spot.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020501.jpg

 

There are also nifty clips holding other wires which I used to secure the wires that I was running as well.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020498.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020497.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020505.jpg

 

Running the power wire for the amplifiers was such a pain in the ass. Finding a spot in the firewall on an '08 was extremely difficult. I tried locating the spot that was on the older models near the gas pedal but there was nothing. Fortunately I found a spot here.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020506.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020509.jpg

 

It was in the center of the car near the big black box towards the back. I pulled the grommet out and shoved the wire down. I still had the dash apart at this time. Finding the wire required the help of my brother who with a flashlight managed to get his arm up there and pull that thing down. This is where it came out in the car.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020502.jpg

 

After that was ran I put the distribution block in the passenger footwell and ran the rest of the power wires to under the seats for the amps. I don't have pictures of both amps installed, but I have the one that is under the driverside power seat.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020523.jpg

 

The speaker wire for this (components) was run into the center console area and folded up until they arrived a week or two later. The subwoofer speaker wire was ran back to the trunk.

 

After this was completed the carpet was reinstalled, wires pulled through, trim replaced, and seats reinstalled.

 

**BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN REINSTALLING THE SEATS**

 

I managed to strip a thread in the actual car itself on the front left bolt of the passenger seat. I took it to my Subaru dealership where it is going to cost me $94 bucks to get it retapped. The service guy I was talking to told me that this is a common problem on Subaru's and that they see it alot when they send one to get reupholstered. So just be extremely careful when rebolting those bad boys down. Also the passenger seat needs to be recalibrated for the airbag which I was quoted at ~$45.

The installation of the speakers was waaaaay less smooth than I had imagined it would be. I was leaving to go to the beach that day and instead of a 2 hour job it ended up taking ~6.

 

Door panel removal is rather straight forward. There is a plate behind the silver door handle which pops out with a flat head. The sail panel is pulled off towards you. Finally the door handle, which you pull to close the door with, has the front plate popped off. That was the worst part of the operation and ended up with a screw driver in my finger.

 

After that is removed pull from the bottom towards you and repeat all the way around the door. Then unplug the wires to the door lock, door light, and window controls and remove the cables for the door handle and door lock. The panel is off.

 

Next I unscrewed the assembly for the tweeter and the woofer and removed them from the door. Then I pulled back the plastic on the door itself. The black stuff is really stringy and sticky so use a sharp razor.

 

Running the wire for the speakers was the biggest pain in the ass ever. The rubber stuff that Subaru runs the wires in from the car to the door is so tight it was damn near impossible to get anything in there. I removed the electrical tape that held it together first. Then I pulled the piece connected to the door off the door and up a bit. Cut a small hole in the bottom piece and slid the wire in. I removed the piece connected to the car and fished for the wire. This whole process took about 45 minutes and was very aggravating.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020549.jpg

 

That is where it came out in the car. At first I thought I was going to have to run two wires through this and was nearly ready to jump off my roof when I test fitted my crossover. I found that the crossover could actually fit behind the door panel in front of the actual door handle. So that is where that bad boy now resides.

 

As for the speaker installation it required the hacking of the stock speakers.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020556.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020559.jpg

 

Above is the stock speaker, I pulled off the foam stuff on the first picture and saved it for later use. I then cut where the green arrows are all of those things holding onto the stock speaker. Then I pried it out and was left with this.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020563.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020560.jpg

 

I added the foam on top of the outside of the ring where the speaker was. Added the spacer included with my speakers, and screwed it into the assembly.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020567.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020568.jpg

 

The tweeter was held in by one screw in the back and then some glue. So the screw came out and I pried it out of the assembly. I then fit my tweeter in and glued it into place.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020572.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020571.jpg

 

The speakers were then mounted into place.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020547.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020553.jpg

 

The crossover was wired directly to the tweeter and to the wire coming in through the car. I made quick disconnects for the part attached to the woofer because I thought it might be easier in the event I had to remove the door panel again. The crossover is velcroed onto the door panel itself. I don't have pictures of that so I do apologize.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020551.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020555.jpg

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020545.jpg

 

The door panels were reinstalled and it all looks stock again. Please note I did test everything before I had reinstalled the panels to make sure it worked.

Following the tutorial located here

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23343&highlight=fiberglass+cloth

 

I created one sub box so far. It was a time consuming process but well worth it.

 

Since there is a tutorial I won't bother to really go over anything except show some pictures and add some advice. First of all, get lots of paint brushes, you go through them like water. Fiberglass is sharp and cuts you up pretty hard. And don't do it in the direct sun until you want it to dry. Otherwise the tutorial written by executor485 is right on point.

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020470.jpg

 

trunk being masked off

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020472.jpg

 

Protecting the rest of the area

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020475.jpg

 

extra protection

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020535.jpg

 

finished product

 

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o434/moose00015/P1020544.jpg

reserved just in case I need one more spot

 

I might add something about sound deadening here. I didn't take pictures of my work on the trunk and I haven't done the doors yet, I might do that later today, depends on whether I detail my car or not.

 

Anyway, I hope this thread was informative and potentially even helpful to those of you who are interested in exploring the possibilities of installing an aftermarket head unit and system to your car. Like I said, if you have questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

Nice tutorial. I like the look of the double-din install. Clean.

Thanks man, the rest of the sections have been added for your viewing pleasure.

o my goodness thats 2 much work 4 me

nice work!

You said you ordered the dash kit off ebay, can you tell me who the seller was or if the seller has a ebay store?

http://myworld.ebay.com/volaudio

Insane work!!

 

If you can do this, surely you can tap some new threads in your seat rails instead of forking over some $$$ to Subaru...

Thanks hugo...I might give it a shot, just need to find an appropriate size tap.

http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff133/onionethan/onion_Emoticons/th_070_goodjob.gifgreat write-up!

 

 

Now only wish there's an easy solution for the stupid dual climate control.http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff133/onionethan/onion_Emoticons/th_023_.gif

Great install - where's the grommet that you used? I having finding a way under the hood in my '06 LGT 5-spd..?

I tried the one by the hood release, but can't get there from here...

Thanks - JER5EY

Oh my goodness those Boston Acoustic speakers look hot. I wonder what they'd sound like on the stock radio.

 

Does the stock radio have two different feeds for the tweeter and the mid on each door or do they just drop a capacitor across the tweeter?

BTW - just (finally!) got a snake from the under-dash grommet to the fender/battery area where the hood cable emerges... will post pix & such later when done w/ my install...

Thanks to all who helped!

- JER5EY

Nice tutorial. I like the look of the double-din install. Clean.

 

agreed

 

looks tight and flush

 

well done

Now only wish there's an easy solution for the stupid dual climate control.

Seriously!

 

I'm about to buy one these dash kits, hack it up, hack the Dual climate control up and figure something out.... I'll figure out the wiring!!

I'll figure out the wiring!!

 

http://thumb9.webshots.net/t/50/650/1/17/1/2780117010053137009svthfu_th.jpg

OP, where or how, on ebay did you find that faceplate? Ive searched and pulled up nothing. just got a pioneer avic-f 90BT, have manual climate controls, and need the double din faceplate.

Seriously!

 

I'm about to buy one these dash kits, hack it up, hack the Dual climate control up and figure something out.... I'll figure out the wiring!!

 

You're a braver man than me, and I'm a professional electrical engineer

(not that we're particularly brave, but you get my point).

Since the question was raised in this thread and via pm. I bought the faceplate from volaudio on ebay. That is the sellers name. Thanks everyone for the comments.

so, would an aftermarket stereo like the one you installed support steering wheel audio controls?