The factory unit in my '91 Eddie Bauer 4-door 4x4 finally died for good and I would like to replace it with an inexpensive, basic unit. Everything I saw in the Crutchfield catalog was "modified fit." Do y'all know of anything that is (a) inexpensive and (b) that I can just pop in as a replacement with minimal cutting and filing?
Thanks
Any 1 din radio will fit nicely.
Steve
"John D. Goulden" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@news3.newsguy.com...
I just put a $39.95 Am/Fm/CD player in a '92 EB. The trick is to get the correct wiring harness/adapter.
That is Kragen (here in South California) and the part number is Metra CK-WHFPS. The stereo I bought is a Jensen (Audiovox) PCD120UCS from Pep Boys. They even have a tape player for $19.95. The stereo I got is OK but does not have memory buttons for radio stations--it has a manual/digital dial--and the volume level always comes on at 1/2. The treble, bass, balance, and fade etc is all OK and easy to use. It seems to have enough power for my purposes (Beethoven, Mozart, Glenn Miller etc). It's my wife's car and all she ever listens to is AM talk radio so any stereo would have suited her.
Here's another wiring adapter that looks like the same thing but costs more:
One nice thing about Kragen is that they tell you right online if it's available at your local store. They were correct in my case. They are aka Checker, Schuck's, and Parts America. I don't know what y'all call it in The South.
You will need to remove the passenger side rear panel to get to the amp (assuming it has premium sound) which is somewhat of a PITA and the plastic panel buttons will no doubt break. I guess you have to go to Ford to get new ones--I didn't replace mine yet. You then connect the amp bypass connector and put it back together (unless you want to test it first ;-). The wiring adapter for the speakers and power supply is fairly simple and all of the color codes on the adapter matched the stereo except for a different shade of purple on two wires. I used wire nuts to connect the wires. The proportions on the new stereo were just a little different from the original so when the trim is replaced the space around it is a little uneven, but close enough for me. No filing or cutting needed. The hard part is cramming all those new wires and adapters in the hole that is barely big enough to accomodate the stereo unit. It took me a while and then you have to make sure all of your heater/AC cables and such are still working. I was going to just attach the stereo to a steel brace underneath it with a glob of silicone but since everything was so tight I ended up not attaching it. The panel seems to hold it just fine. I bought an adapter kit (Metra) to install it that was specifically for the 91-94 Explorers and there was nothing in the kit that would in any way assist my installation so I took it back. I was expecting it to have some add-on so it would pop in like the old one. You will need a tool to remove the old unit. I made one with a piece of a wire clothes hanger. It is simply a U-shaped piece of bent wire about 2 inches long on each leg and bend it so the spacing is the same as the two holes on the side/front of the old stereo. I found it helpful to bend the legs slightly outward at the ends and insert it with the bends facing away from the old stereo. You just stick it in, push a little toward the stereo, and the unit should pull right out. Then do the other side. There was a picture of the removal tool in the install kit that I returned but it was not included!
BTW the power connector on the Explorer has (unless it fell off) a wiring label on it. Also, just in case you have not done it before, to remove the panel you have to remove two screws that hold in the ash tray, put the shifter in a low gear, and the rest of the panel just pops off. You will need to disconnect the 4X4 switch and ash tray/lighter wires. No need to remove the connectors from the lighter as there is another connector behind the ash tray that's also for the light.
It had some severe distortion once I installed the new stereo which turned out to be the foam on the door speakers had rotted away. I fixed them by placing some foam, about 1/2 inch thick, at either end of the cones. Sounds OK but it still needs new speakers. I held the foam in place with some contact cement. It took a few tries with different thicknesses of foam to get it to sound right.
For future googlers: Ford Explorer stereo replacement removal Ford Explorer stereo wiring adapter Ford Explorer stereo wiring harness
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