I had just got rid of my last car and popped myself into a 2003 Lancer ES, about to throw some 17's on it, and a spoiler. Now what would all of this be without a stereo eh? Thanks to Karizma23 my deck is set and ready to rock!

Here inlies the dilemma -

I heard that the front and rear speakers in the 2003 are 6-3/4" but I don't want to go ripping off the doors and the seats and tearing apart a perfectly new and good looking car, nor do I want to pay $200 to get it done. I have all the wires necessary to run them from the deck to the amp in the back, which is powering the two 12's. I have NO CLUE how to take apart this car safely without losing screws, scratching, ripping, or horrifying my car. If ANYONE knows how to get access to the door speakers/window speakers, and where the best place to run the wires around the car would be, PLEASE let me know. It would be much appreciated.

Thanks a ****load.
-Darren-
Lcpl/USMC

 

The window speakers are easy. All you need are 2 phillips head screw drivers 1 regular(small head #1x4) and 1 stumpy(short shaft). Remove the speaker covers from inside the trunk; pop the cover up from the trunk then remove it from inside the car; then remove your speakers and replace them. The doors are a bit harder. Again you need a phillips head screw driver this time a standard one. On the sides of the door there are 2 covered screws remove them. In the door handle there is a screw covered by a sliding piece of plastic use a knife or somethign sharp to pry this cover open carefully then remove that screw. Inside the door grip there is yet another screw covered by a plastic clip; again use the knife to pry this open make sure you put this piece someplace safe then remove the screw. This is the tricky part you need to remove the door handle cover. This is the plastic piece that connects your door panel to the handle to the door frame. Pull the door handle as to open the door then pull inward towards the mirrors on the piece of plastic and it should rench itself free of the door this is the hardest part I believe. Now the easy part place your hands at the bottom of the door towards the body of the car you will notice that the door panel is overlapping the door slightly pull this outward working your way down the door until you have the entire door pretty much free. Your panel should now only be attached at the top where it meets the window; lower your window then pull the door panel straight up to remove it but not too hard as there are wires connecting your panel to the power windows. Undo the wiring harness from the door panel and again remove your door speakers. For reassembly reverse said instructions. If you have any problems PM me.

 

1/3 of the way there... now to figure out how to get the doors off, and how/where to run the wiring.

thanks bro

 

Well ****, looks like I posted too soon. Now to run the wires to the back.. that seems to be my problem. I use thick *** 4 gauge wire for power and ground, so that is another problem =/ If you have any more info, let me know. You've been a huge help.

Thanks again man... almost ready to get to work!

 

The interior panels of the car pull right off just give them some muscle.

 

I recommend removing all the seats for running the power wire. That is up to you, but it makes things muchhhh easier. All you need is a ratchet and I think 14mm socket.

 

hrmm no luck on finding the wiring guide.... and unfortuanately i do not have an amp to power my fronts/rears. I have an Alpine something-or-other CD/MP3 h/u cost me $400 awhile back, it has the 4v preamp outs, good deck and pushes 60w power, but deck power is still deck power... it blows. I am assuming I'll need to buy adapters to hook up the fronts/rears to my h/u?

 

Your HU should allow the speakers to connect using speaker wire. Connect the speakers using speaker wire on the LR channels of the stereo and also run rca to your amp.

I've got an alpine mp3 player, 60wx4 and its powering 4-6 1/2" apine type-r's and 4-21/2" tweeters. I then have an amp to my subs .. the speakers (aside from subs) sound great. Just wire with the thought in mind that you may wanna connect those to an amp at a later time .. and it should work fine.

Definately remove the seats .. you will be MUCH more happy if ya do.

 

using speaker wire to connect the 6 1/2"s eh? I had a 98 mustang and I used an adapter that connected those speakers from the door to the h/u. I think this was because the mustang had an internal amp that allowed the speakers to get to the unit. I dont know if this is possible with the lancer, but the less wire I have to run, the easier.

Lets just say I throw the fronts/rears in, is it possible to buy an adapter to have them use the factory wiring to go right to the h/u? Or do I have to run my own wire?

Also... removing the seats is going to do what for me? I still have to run it under all the carpet right? removing the front seats is no big deal, the rear seats usually pose a problem. So if I wanted to run this power wire, and lets just say ALL of the wiring under the carpet, where would be the best place to run it?

Let me know.
Thanks

 

just run the wires under the door sills.

 

doesn't that require to rip and tear apart the car? i mean... do those things fit back nicely?

 

the door sill trim snaps off very easily. every plastic piece comes off easily. the door comes off easy too, just be careful not to force it too much.

 

have you ever installed a system? all plastic has little plastic screws that pop in and out of place. the doors have 4 screws, then just pop off the plastic trim pieces and pop off the plastic screws holding the door on. feed the wire through the door sills, under the rear seat and into the trunk. in order to install a system you'll have to "rip and tear apart" the car. it's not that hard. i got a little lazy and tired and i broke a plastic piece off my door handle and now the latch doesn't spring back, but it's no big deal. just take your time.

 

Yes, I have installed a system. Last one was in my mustang, and that was quite easy. Lets just say I want to be a bit more careful on what I do with this car since it is new, and my last one was used... besides it was a ford and I really didn't care what the **** I did to it. I'd like to preserve the life and value of this car somewhat and all that nice flowery bull****. But anyway, I just don't want to leave any noticable damage. NOne the less, the information that has been provided should be a great help. As long as I don't lose any screws, fall asleep, drool on the interior, or **** myself, I think I'll do alright. Thanks for the help.