by Jewls » Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:17 pm
To make a long story short, the install is fairly easy, and the kit is worth the money, and fits and looks OK.
For the long story:
Install took about 3 hours, could have done it in less, but had to break out the dremel a couple of times.
I won't repeat the whole install process, since the preceding post and the directions that come with it cover the basics pretty well.
A few things, however, need to be mentioned. For example, the tray is a little hard to snap into place on the face of the dash kit. I used the dremel to 'wedge shape' the tabs on the side of the tray, so they would slip past the face of the dash kit without scratching it. The tray is secured from the back with 2 screws and two tabs in the front sides, so it is pretty stable.
The Pioneer stereo has a folding/removable faceplate. When the stereo was put in the dash kit, the Pioneer trim piece (that goes around the stereo faceplate) looked a little thin and had a big gap around the stereo. So I chose to use the trim piece that came with the kit, which was much thicker, but made the door hang up up top of the faceplate. So out came the dremel again, to shave away at the trim piece until the door would close without rubbing. Took a good hour.
Out in the car, make sure to put something around the gear shift rod after you take the gear shift knob off, cause it scratches plastic dash pieces like a hot knife through butter.
The stock stereo has the climate controls attatched to the bottom of it. You take out 3 screws, and use the same screws to attatch the climate controls to the new dash kit/bracket. No matter how I tightened the screws, there was very small gap between the dash kit and the climate control panel. Perhaps a little glue somewhere behind could hold them together better. No big deal, though.
One thing to note, there are 3 wire harnesses on the back of the stereo, and 2 on the climate controls. Only 2 of the stock stereo's wiring harness are used, so the third must be for the steering wheel controls. So you loose ALL the stereo wheel controls, including the one for the mpg/distante to Empty, etc., or in other words, the trip computer. Didn't expect to loose that, but did. So the dash display is now stuck on miles to go until empty, with no way to change it. Strange...
I would advise grounding the new unit to the "frame", and not using the stock wiring harness. Sometimes, you get a little feedback noise if you use the stock ground for an aftermarket unit. There is a perfect grounding point, to the right and below the stereo. Something else is already grounded there, and it's easy to get too.
Everthing goes back together pretty easily. And the whole process is easily reverted back to stock if need be. The dremel is not necessary, just makes it a little easier, and the fit look a little better. Using your aftermarket stereo's trim piece will speed up the process, and if it's bigger than the Pioneer's, it will probably look fine, if not better than the kit's trim piece.
I feel the kit is worth the money. But to get it to fit perfect will take a little time. It took about 3 hourst to do, but could do it in less than an hour the second time. Half the time was spent dremeling, so just using a little more force and settling for a lesser fit, could have you jamming in no time.
Speaking of jamming, the less than $200 Pioneer sounds MUCH better than the stock stereo. Then again, it has a built in EQ, variable loundess, and other audio customizing features. The sound quality is well worth the money and time spent. Overall, I think the stock stereo looked better, but now we have MUCH better sound, MP3's, removable face security, and XM ready.
Hope this helps, feel free to shoot any questions.
2005 Mustang GT Premium
2004 SE Black-SOLD
Pioneer MP3/XM radio/speakers,K&N filters,TRD RSB,Cargo Net,OEM Mud Guards,sport pedals, blue interior lighting,TRD oil cap,20% tint
Pull on the unit, and it should come straight out... remember to watch those harnesses!
Thanks so much for the info CK!
