How to take off the dash??

Im ordering a cd player for my 92 laredo saturday, and need to know how to install it. Main thing I need to know is how to take the dash out so I can get to the factory one.

My *8 just pulls off, but i think at one point there were some screws holding it on, I kept having to take it off, and its definitely a tight enough fit without em, that i left em out.

Check a chiltons for the location of the screws, or just search around.

If you need to pull the bezel out and if you have tilt steering, you need to remove the plastic cover around the steering first. However, I don't know it you have to remove that portion or not.

Tom Dennis

ya I might go buy a Chiltons so I dont F anything up. How much they cost, $15?

Check for 4 screws that hold the dash bezel in. Two at the top in front of the gauges, ine at the cigarette lighter, and one at the headlight switch. All these screws go into the bezel at an up angle( your screwdriver will have the handle facing down and the shaft facing up). After you pull the four screws you just pull straight out with the bezel. it has some clips that pop in and out of place. Once its off you have full access to your radio. There is a metal surround that holds the radio in which has two screws that in turn hold it into the dash. HTH

Mike

BFH and a prybar. Tear out the front seats and have a freind hold the bar while you swing from the back seat.

On my 94 there's 2 screws above the insturment cluster underneath. Then there's a little piece that snaps in under the tilt wheel if you have it. On mine the bezel around the whole dash just pulls out. It's a tight fit around the wheel but it will go. I used one of those universal stereo fitment kits you get from electronics stores. Worth the money in my opinion. Once you get the bezel off there's 2 screws holding the stock radio in. The installation kit let's you use those same screw holes. My sony has a detachable face that flips down to reveal the CD player. If yours is similar you may have to trim some plastic off the bezel to allow for clearance. I used a utility knife and if you're careful you don't even notice the cuts. My dash bezel still bulges out a little because of the difference is size between the new and stock unit. You should also invest in one of those vehicle specific wiring harnesses. It makes it alot easier to figure out the wiring and what is connected to where. Or if you're feeling really ambitious you could replace the twine-like stock speaker with some 12 or 14 gauge wire, but that is gonna take up a whole afternoon.

Definitly get the factory plug, even if you plan on being the last owner of the jeep. If you are not doing sirous mods to the jeep and plan on using it as a trade, then you wont have cut wires in the dash and they kinda know if you have been in there cutting wires and it will lower the value. My jeep is a joke and I have one of the harness. It also allows you to put amps (if chose to use) under the front seats and then run the wires in and out off that harness into stock harness. No cutty factory speaker wires.

XJFREK said:

Or if you're feeling really ambitious you could replace the twine-like stock speaker with some 12 or 14 gauge wire, but that is gonna take up a whole afternoon.

Click to expand...

The thought crossed my mind. How might I go about doing this?

Well, the cherokee is like any other vehicle, all the assorted vinyl and metal interior trim pieces fit together like a sort of jigsaw puzzle. Replacing the wire in the front doors is relatively easy, you will need a special door panel removal tool, available at most auto parts stores. Now when I re-wired mine, I cut the terminals off the old wires and taped them up because I have no plans to re-use them. You can leave the option to hook the old ones back up, but I'm running mine into the ground so it was not an issue for me. I also used new speakers front and rear since mine were blown when I bought the truck. I think the stock units have some sort of special plug on them, it's been a couple years so I don't remember, unless you're replacing the speakers I wouldn't worry about re-wiring yet bucause I didn't try to re-use the factorys with new wire. Otherwise, once the door panel is off just feed the wire from the stereo down through the dash to the area behind the kick panels where you will see a large rubber plug in the interior sheet metal with the wire for the stock speaker going through it. Pop it out and feed the wire through the hole, then through the rubber boot between the door and body, then to the area where the speaker mounts. I was unable to get the plug back in but so far it hasn't caused any problems. Re mount the speaker and replace the door panel and that's the front end. Next up, the rear.

The rear is pretty straightforward, just time consuming. While the drivers side kick panel is off, remove the screws holding the inside door sill trim panel, then do the same with the rear trim piece. I found it easiest to remove the rear seat to make room to work. To remove the rear cargo panel you must remove the latch for the rear seat back, it's held on by 3 torx bolts, not sure what size. Then you will need to remove your spare tire and it's mounting hardware if you are still using it. The panel will still have the rear shoulder belt going through it but you will have enough room to work. Marvel at the amount of empty space between the inner and outer body. My 94 has the speaker bridge across the roof of the cargo area, so that's the instructions I'm giving, If your rears are in the hatch I have no experience with that. Once the rear panel is off you will need to remove left 2 or 3 screws from the rear sill trim piece, and the aluminum trim strip from the top of the inside of the cargo area. It doesen't bent much so to avoid damaging it just take the whole thing off. Then remove the aluminum trim strip over the left rear window, and now you can finally remove the screws that hold the trim panel on the upper left interior of the cargo area. The mounting point for the left door lifter is in this thing and it has a slit to slide it over the mount. I had to wiggle mine alot to get it off and it was not easy getting it back on either. Now remove the grates covering the rear speakers and the speakers themselves. I used the grilles that came with the new speakers I bought as the stock grills would not fit back over. About the best way to do this is to roughly lay out the speaker wire from the front dash all the way to the rear speaker mount, following the contours of the path you will take and give youself a extra few feet to make sure. Remember you'll need two sets and one will be about 2 feet longer for the right rear speaker. Cut it and then start feeding that sucker through the dash and all the nooks and crannies you just took apart. The trickiest part is getting the wire through the speaker bridge from the side, the center dome light is actually attached to the roof by a center post so try to go on either side of the light. Then it's just a matter of hooking up the wires and re-assembling everything you just took apart. I just did the rear wiring last saturday and all together it took about 3 1/2 hours. Remember to keep track of which screws go where, and the order of assembly since some of these pieces only go on in a certain order. You should also label the rear wiring while hooking it up so you don't forget which wire is which side. This procedure is to keep the wiring invisible inside the cab. If you don't care as some of my friends don't, just run it under mats or tape it under the edge of the sills until you get to the rear cargo area then you kinda have to get it out of the way somewhere. I kept the stock 5 1/4 in speaker size to make it simple, and if you get good speakers I would almost be happy with just the front 2 since the rear bridge doesent really lend itself to good resonance. The front doors are like a giant metal speaker box, the rear bridge might as well not exist acoustically. Whew, that was almost as labor intensive as actually doing it. If anyone notices a step I missed or has a better way by all means correct me. I wrote this from memory, so hopefully I didn't leave anything out. I am happy with the results, and believe it was worth an afternoon. Good luck and have fun.

prybar or tire iron, worked like a charm for me

Ive got the speakers in the rear hatch, and Ive already replaced the stock speakers seeing as the foam surround was non-existant when I took them out. The only thing Im kinda leary of is removing the torx bolts for the rear seat, if it was jus the trim Id have no problem with it.

Is it just the drivers side bottom trim right? So if I ever put a system in I should run the power on the passenger side to avoid distortion.

Yes, the wiring for both rear speakers runs to a harness by the fuel fill and then up the driver side under the trim piece. I have an amp under the rear seat, and run the both the amp cable and power wire straight from the battery all the way to the amp. I bought shielded amp cables which are much thicker than the ones that usually come with an amp and have no distortion.
To clarify, the torx bolts only hold on the locking plate for the rear seat. There is a metal plate they screw into that is held captive behind the sheet metal. I had no problem removing them and re-installing them.

I might tear into my jeep a little tomorrow and see whats up before I decide if its worth it(more than likely).

Have any clue how much wire Id need?

If I get shielded RCA cables for the amp, would the power cable still cause distorion with the speaker wires? Or should I try to find shielded wire as well?

For all 4 speakers, I bought a roll of I think either 50 or 75 ft. It might have been 100, but I don't think I used that much. I no longer have the original spool. I think I used 14 gauge speaker wire, the kind that has the clear insulation. I wish they made it in black and red so it would be easier to remember which color wire was + & -. But all I could find was the clear bi-color stuff.