Installing/Removing the OEM subwoofer harness/subwoofer

Sold my woofer so and i had no idea where to even start with the removal but it was definitely really easy.

 

Tools you're going to need

-10mm wrench

-Phillips screwdriver

-1/4in sq dr 9/16 socket

-3 in extension

-breaker bar

-1/4 in sq dr ratchet

 

DISASSEMBLE

 

First, start off by popping the hood and disconnecting the negative terminal with the 10 mm wrench you will obviously be disconnecting connecters and dont want to risk any electrical problems.

 

Second, move onto getting the stock HU out. Pull down on the plastic cover around your shift boot with both hands towards the rear of the car till you see the top by the HU pop out, now counterclockwise unscrew your shift knob. Next disconnect your cig. lighter connecter and set the cover to the side. Go ahead at this time and unscrew the two black screws holding the trim on each side of the head unit towards your cupholder and pull the trim to the rear of the car (refer to pictures to see how the are held in) and also unscrew the stupid white fastners to the rubber shifter protector and set IT to the side.

 

Third, I always unscrew all 10 screws from the HU you probably only have to do certain ones, but there are 5 on each side pay attention to the tips of the screws and what hole that screw came from. Once those are out the HU rests on small guide pins just pull towards yourself, be CAREFUL not to rip the 4way flasher connector, disconnect it first. Now pull it out a little further and disconnect the main or biggest connecter on the passenger side of the HU, then the smaller connecters. the black wire coming from the bottom left corner disconnects from a grey connecter on the driver side it just pulls apart no releasing mechanism. Pull your HU out.

 

Fourth, at the top of the e-brake boot pull upward till it loosens a little then along the center console side it's held by a couple clips, run your fingers along till the whole center console side is loosened then pull the whole boot towards the roof and up over the handle out of the way.

 

Now go ahead and grab the 9/16 socket and loosen the two front bolts holding your driver seat in place, then move on to the back two bolts. Might as well vaccuum as you can tell from the pics it gets dirty under there.

 

Fifth, take the subwoofer harness and run the line along the left side of the center console back through to where the E-brake is and down into the carpet next to the driver seat and feed it down to the cut in the floor. (refer to pics)

 

CONNECTION

 

The main connecter is just a pigtail so connect the foam surrounded end to the harness in your car, then use the subwoofer pigtail to connect back to the HU. The white wire with the terminal is probably ground and go ahead and connect it to the HU like in the picture.

 

After your satisfied with how your harness is ran connect it like stated above and refer to pictures below if confused on anything. Reconnect your other connecters like the three black smaller ones and the grey one as well. Slide your headunit back into place and don't forget to reconnect your 4way flasher connecter (i did and had to pull over and pressed it and said ahh **** im such an idiot)

 

Down on the floor lay the subwoofer so the bracket is to the rear, it connects to the right hand side bolt in the rear, so position it best you can at the time and connect the subwoofer harness to the subwoofer.

 

REASSEMBELY

 

Sixth, Bolt down your seat again, i started with the back since i work in reverse order, got the side hand tight with the subwoofer bracket then moved onto the otherside next to the door and go it hand tight. Go to the front seat and get the two front bolts lined up and screw those in hand tight and then use the wratchet or breaker bar and tighten back down Good-n-tight. Go back to the back seat and do the same thing.

 

Seven, retighten all the screws to the HU in the proper place make sure none are left over, nobody likes extra parts or bolts after a DIY project.

Reattach the E-brake Boot in reverse order as you took it off.

Reattach the side trim on the center console next to the HU

Reinsert your rubber shift boot thing and go ahead and put the white screws back in place and screw in the side trim as well.

Reattach your shifter plate cover not forgetting your cig. lighter connector. Putting the top in first up by the HU and then, popping the bottom into place, and screw your shift know back on nice and tight.

 

Eight, double check and make sure you have nothing extra that didn't get reinstalled in and around your car.

 

Nine, reconnect your negative terminal on the battery.

Continue pics

Thanks for the detail writeup. I followed your instructions and installed mine today. Just FYI, to take out the stereo, you only need to take out the middle three screws on each side( 6 in total). The top and bottom screws don't need to come out. Thanks again for taking the time to post this and saved me time in figuring it out.

Yeah thanks! Wonder where the "Thanks" button went?

No problem guys, glad it helped, thanks mania for the info now I can take it out quicker when I install my JL Cleansweep, LTcolumbo no problem enjoy the subwoofer should be to you on Tuesday!

 

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Is the sub only held in place with the one bolt through the seat rail?

 

Based on the wiring & plugs, do you think it would be possible to run two of these subs (one under each seat)?

To answer your first question, yes its just the one bolt on the seat rail, then some really adhesive double sided tape or velcro.

 

Second question I'm not too sure, about maybe someone with a little more knowledge on car audio, the only electronics I work on is aircraft lol

 

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Based on the wiring & plugs' date=' do you think it would be possible to run [u']two[/u] of these subs (one under each seat)?

 

Yes it is possible, and it has been mentioned in other threads. Don't recall off the top of my head if they spliced the wires or were able to stack the two sub connectors. Just do some searching and you should find it.

I just did this mod with the help of ANGELTALIN’S great walk-thru, and it was immensely helpful thanks! A couple of additions I would mention for posterity...

1. I installed the Sube under-seat sub on a 2008 Outback, automatic tranny, manual HVAC controls and a powered driver’s seat. If you buy a sub used, make sure you get the wiring harness, or factor that into your purchase plan. My harness from the local Subaru dealer was $111 + tax. It would be MUCH harder to do this mod without the harness.

2. My car has an automatic trans, so being able to remove the HU from the dash required the shifter to be in the position farthest to the REAR of the car; Giving plenty of room to manipulate the HU in/out. This means that prior to unhooking the battery; you must block the wheels of your car and put it in gear. If you keep your E-brake up it will get in your way for this operation.

3. My power seat COULD be removed entirely, but I found with the half dozen awkward hookups underneath, I just removed the headrest, unbolted it and propped it up to get the sub in. Not sure if it is correct, but the sub's mounting bracket was placed UNDER the seat mounting flange between the flange and the floorboard, as opposed to on top of the flange. I thought this would better secure the sub. Being able to manipulate the power seat fore/aft when removing/installing requires you to hook the battery up occasionally. As such, just loosen the battery clamp enough to get it off the battery post, while still allowing it to give good contact when you need the juice.

4. The hardest part of the mod for me was getting the HU out. It is kind of tight and Subaru did not provide a bunch of slack in the wiring behind the HU to easily facilitate the hookup of the Sub. The above walkthrough shows a car with electronic HVAC controls, but I had the manual controls which bolt/clip onto the bottom of the head unit. Of course I did not know there was a difference when I tried to remove my HU, and even though it was un-plugged from the 6+ connectors on the back of the HU, the manual HAC cable was tethering the unit to the dash. I could not remove it entirely. I had to unbolt the HVAC unit from the bottom of the HU by removing the support bracket on the LEFT side of the HU and uncoupling the plastic clips holding the HVAC controls to the HU. Big hands in small places like the dashboard made this task difficult BTW.

5. There are two adjustment knobs on the Sub itself. One is Gain and the other is “Hi cut.” Someday I will get a pro audio tuner to fine-tune this for me, but I wish there was a good baseline from which to start right now…

This mod has made a HUGE difference in the sound of my stock system. Not boomy, really fills in the mid-bass of the system and you can’t hear me bumpin’ down the road when I drive (bumpin’ is for kids).

 

Now if I can just figure out where the four SHORT black screws that are left over went. The longer black screws mounted the HU to the dashboard. The short ones…?

1. I installed the Sube under-seat sub on a 2008 Outback, automatic tranny, manual HVAC controls and a powered driver’s seat. If you buy a sub used, make sure you get the wiring harness, or factor that into your purchase plan. My harness from the local Subaru dealer was $111 + tax. It would be MUCH harder to do this mod without the harness.

 

 

Or You could just buy a couple of forward and reverse connectors from SVXDC and make your own for a fraction of the cost. I am adding a second one under the passenger seat and going to go that route, just making a jumper from one to the other in my case.

 

http://ae64.com/

Like I said, MUCH harder to do...

I like the op's pajamas

Lol not pajamas, they are actually ACU coveralls for army mechanics although I'm not a mechanic I still get them

I know I wear those one weekend a month

 

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I know this is an old thread but it's also the best for the subwoofer install. Bumping just because I installed mine with these instructions and made a video while doing so. Hopefully this helps out anyone looking to do this in future: