Liftgate Speakers

Has anyone had any luck replacing the 5.25" speakers in the liftgate with 6x9's? I am trying to give my '89 XJ a little better sound. Is there room for larger speakers in the liftgate? I know the door speakers can be tough to upsize because of the window assembly.:woohoo:

This has been covered many times--look in mod tech. Search speakers + liftgate or similar.

Here is one thread to get you started: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=62185&highlight=speakers+liftgate

I did it but i had to cut a chunk out of the bottom of the recess and used some drywall screws so they would bite the fiberglass when I screwed them in.

i did the same as Jamescad04
cut out a little bit and then some different screws, i ended up using some plywood painted grey to make amounting plate because the hole from the PO was too large

I have 6x9 attached to the trim panel, and the trim panel securely bolted to the hatch. Seems fine.

6.5's will sound better IMVHO, and you will have to do less modifying to get them to fit in the stock location. It is better to mount to the liftgate than to the trim panel for better response. I just did this with JL V525's, but my Polk Audio 651's will fit in there. I also had some 6x9's back there at one time screwed to the trim panel - yuck!

The problem with mounting directly to the hatch is depth--you need really shallow speakers to make it work and if the speakers are too deep you need to mount to the panel. Either way you need to attach the grill to the trim panel for it to look clean. Here's what my setup ended up like







Depends on what you want of course. The XJ is so noisy and boxy that it's just a bad choice for audio fidelity from the get-go, and if that's your goal then forget the hatch anyway. If you want to be able to pop the rear open and have some tunes while relaxing then it's a great spot, but it's gonna sound like speakers in the hatch of an XJ

ehall said:

The problem with mounting directly to the hatch is depth--you need really shallow speakers to make it work and if the speakers are too deep you need to mount to the panel. Either way you need to attach the grill to the trim panel for it to look clean. Here's what my setup ended up like

Depends on what you want of course. The XJ is so noisy and boxy that it's just a bad choice for audio fidelity from the get-go, and if that's your goal then forget the hatch anyway. If you want to be able to pop the rear open and have some tunes while relaxing then it's a great spot, but it's gonna sound like speakers in the hatch of an XJ

Click to expand...

X2, I did the exact same thing. Is great for kick back music, but like he said, sound isnt as premo as say a set up lexus.