Speaker Sizes for 1989 FJ62 (1 Viewer)

[hychamaz]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 1989 Land Cruiser (completely stock, 166K miles, no rust which is surprising for a NY Truck) and am looking to upgrade the 4 stock speakers (the 2 in the front doors, and the 2 in the trunk. I have been doing research and Crutchfield says that 6 1/2 inch ones fit in the back. They have no listing for the front as they said every speaker made for that location will require some modification. I have read about 4" and 5 1/4" (and others) in peoples FJ62s.
Does anyone know what the deal is with the front speakers. Any bolt ins from Pioneer, Kenwood, etc. If not what is easiest to install in all locations and is there anything I should be expecting like shallow openings, weird screw patterns, etc..
THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE AND EVERYONE HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR.
Sincerely yours, Graham

 

[CSA]

The rears are cake. Eclipse 6 1/2" 3-ways fit fine in the stock mounts. If you get the metra speaker harnesses for a FJ60 (yes FJ60), you should be golden. The metra speaker harnesses for later models do not match the factory connectors.

The fronts are doable, but are more challenging. If you want to keep the stock grills, you will need the shallowest 5 1/4" speakers you can find. I used Eclipse 3-ways that are just under 2" deep. You willl also need to do the following: (1) carefully pull the door panels by removing the two screws that secure the arm rest, the two screws that secure the door handle trim plate, and by gentley release the door panel from the door (you don't want to break the clips or have them pull through the particle board part of the door panel, (2) remove the oem speakers by removing the three bolts holding the speakers to the door and disconecting the two wires, (3) remove the three yellow plastic nutserts that the speaker bolts go to, (4) modify a spacer approximately 3/8" deep to fit the irreglar surface of the door surface so that the spacer sits flat (I used a dremmel for this), (5) drill four holes in each door to mount the spacers and the speakers, (6) install the Metra FJ60 speaker harnesses, (7) connect the speakers to the harnesses, and (8) reinstall the door panels. The door panels will buldge slightly, and the window may still rub the back of the speaker slightly when the window is most of the way down.

Anyway that is what worked for me and for my truck.

 

[euclid]

Graham,

The issue with the front speakers is that the window rolls down right behind where the speaker is.

What you want to do is this: Pull the door cover off. With the window rolled up, take apart the bottom part of the window track right behind the speaker.

Fab up a bracket that extends the bottom of the window track towards the outside of the door. I used a longer bolt that goes through a piece of wood with a hole in it. I tried using a steel sleeve at first, but it kept binding up the window because it flexed too much. On mine, the bottom of the window track rests against the outside of the door skin. My Dynamat keeps it from rubbing and rattling.

Once you do this little project you can pretty much pick whatever 5 1/4 speakers out there.

I have a pair of Boston Acoustics that are quite deep, so I had to make a small shim and flush mount them. I was still able to use the factoy speaker cover.

 

[Moby]

For the fronts (using the stock door panel speaker grill cover) I made a spacer out of a plastic cutting board. I've seen wood used as well. Make a cardboard template of the door area that the speaker mounts to. Use that to cut the spacer and a hole saw for the diameter of the rear of the speaker. Mount the spacer to the door and the speaker to the spacer. The thickness of your spacer will vary based on how deep your speaker is (needs to clear the window inside the door and the speaker grill cover in front). I think that mine was 1/2" or 3/4"

 

[90FJ62]

Graham,

The issue with the front speakers is that the window rolls down right behind where the speaker is.

What you want to do is this: Pull the door cover off. With the window rolled up, take apart the bottom part of the window track right behind the speaker.

Fab up a bracket that extends the bottom of the window track towards the outside of the door. I used a longer bolt that goes through a piece of wood with a hole in it. I tried using a steel sleeve at first, but it kept binding up the window because it flexed too much. On mine, the bottom of the window track rests against the outside of the door skin. My Dynamat keeps it from rubbing and rattling.

Once you do this little project you can pretty much pick whatever 5 1/4 speakers out there.

I have a pair of Boston Acoustics that are quite deep, so I had to make a small shim and flush mount them. I was still able to use the factoy speaker cover.

Do you have any pics of your setup? I have not pulled the doors apart yet, but want to replace my speakers soon.

Thanks
Dave

 

[euclid]

Do you have any pics of your setup? I have not pulled the doors apart yet, but want to replace my speakers soon.

Thanks
Dave

Nope, but this is one that will seem much easier once you are in there. Pull the innner door skin off and have a look.

I have a master switch panel to put in, maybe I'll but it in this week and snap you a few pics.

 

[Creeker]

This thread is worthless without pics.

 

[sandcruiser]

If you aren't as terribly worried about the stock door grills....
you can just mount a nice spacer on the door, then drop in whatever 5.25 speaker you want and use the grill that comes with the speaker. It won't be *stock* but it works great and is super-easy.

Aaaaand to make a huge upgrade to sound, go with a component set and mount the tweater up a little higher (I put mine low on the A pillar). Considering how much noise a 60 makes, getting the tweaters a little closer to your head can make the difference between being able to hear the highs or just feel the base.

of course, this is an ever larger departure from stock, so it may not be waht you are looking for.... but it sounds better

 

[90FJ62]

If you aren't as terribly worried about the stock door grills....
you can just mount a nice spacer on the door, then drop in whatever 5.25 speaker you want and use the grill that comes with the speaker. It won't be *stock* but it works great and is super-easy.

Aaaaand to make a huge upgrade to sound, go with a component set and mount the tweater up a little higher (I put mine low on the A pillar). Considering how much noise a 60 makes, getting the tweaters a little closer to your head can make the difference between being able to hear the highs or just feel the base.

of course, this is an ever larger departure from stock, so it may not be waht you are looking for.... but it sounds better

Unfortunetly I am not a small guy. aka I already kick my doors getting out of the truck and am afraid if I add a spacer it will just get kicked more and possible ripped off.... maybe I need to move my seat back a little bit....

 

[hychamaz]

Thank you everyone. You have been so helpful. I was away so sorry for not getting back here sooner. You guys are great. I will have some more questions in a few....
Thanks, Graham

 

[euclid]

Here is the best picture I could get of the spacer that I made that allowed me to use a deeper speaker and keep the stock speaker cover.

It's a little complicated to explain, even with a picture but here goes.

The wooden block is just wide enough to bump up against the very front of the door. It serves to keep the bottom of the window track from kicking forward when the window rolls down. It is secured to the track with 3 wood screws through the track and into the block, clearly visible.

The rusted piece of metal to the right of the track is a steel spacer. Inside that spacer is a longer than stock bolt. This is where you gain extra space for the speaker. The longer bolt, with spacer, pushes the window track towards the outside of the door skin. This way the window doesn't hit the deeper speaker.

I spaced mine out towards the outside of the door almost a full 1".

The window still rolls up and down just fine, although it is a little slower than when I did this mod.

 

[intense1]

Unfortunetly I am not a small guy. aka I already kick my doors getting out of the truck and am afraid if I add a spacer it will just get kicked more and possible ripped off.... maybe I need to move my seat back a little bit....

I had to use 1" shims on mine... Got them from Crutchfield for like $12 shipped. I have a full Kicker sys in my 89 and it sucks kicking those $200 a pair speakers when I get out. Doesn't seem to happen when I open the door all the way. Pics as soon as I figure out how.

 

[intense1]

Anybody know how to do the pic thing?

 

[euclid]

Anybody know how to do the pic thing?

Help Forum

 

[intense1]

Pic of my sound sys install. We'll see if it worked. I didn't use irfanview... The work computer wouldn't let me. The hole in the door was from the previous sys, the dumb a$$ had tweeters there.

 

[scottie]

I just put four new speakers in my 89. The shallowest speakers I could find were infinitys (which are great speakers), Best Buy had a sale on them, buy one set and get the other half price. Ues the ones listed on the best buy computer for the 89 LC.

Anyway, pull the door panels, cut a spacer out of rubber or plastic. I used a 1/4 inch industial rubber mat. Make a cardboard templet of the screw holes in the door (from the old speakers). Use the templet to cut the rubber spacers. I used two layers of the rubber to get the half inch I needed. ... You can lower the window to where the window frame is even with the speaker hole and use a tape measure to find the depth (from the door panel to the window frame). Use this number plus the thickness of the speaker to calculate how thick you need your spacer so that the window will pass behind the speaker.

Then you can mount the spacers to the door and the speakers to the spacers OR

Drill holes in the new speakers to fit the three original holes in the door and mount the new speakers using longer screws and the original holes. Put your door panels back on with the original grills in place. There will be a slight bulge, but hardly noticeable.


I will send some pic when the sun comes up tomarrow.

 

[YODA 88 62]

etronics.com has low priced speakers. i got a set of 220 watt 6.5in speakers for $50 to my door.

 

[baldredhead]

Pic of my sound sys install. We'll see if it worked. I didn't use irfanview... The work computer wouldn't let me. The hole in the door was from the previous sys, the dumb a$$ had tweeters there.

interesting amp location

did you do that yourself? have you tried sitting on the seat above it? how about heat, there can't be much circulation down there.

 

[82-SOA-60]

I just put in a new front speakers in the front doors of my 60. I used 5 1/4 panasonics and have no issues what so ever.

 

[intense1]

interesting amp location

did you do that yourself? have you tried sitting on the seat above it? how about heat, there can't be much circulation down there.

Yes I did it myself... It took a little longer than planed, but its worth it. I haven't had any problems with the heat, but it hasn't been in that long. There is like 3" between the bottom of the amp and the floor and the seat still folds down, which was a big deal to me. The seat is a little more firm now, but it feels fine. I've had 2 big guys back there just to see what would happen and it was solid.