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How to remove front JBL tweeters in 2006 model?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by dstrevel, Oct 21, 2007.

  1. dstrevel

    dstrevel Junior Member

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    I've installed Damplifier Pro and Overkill Pro in my back doors. It produced a big increase in clarity and sound volume. Now I need to remove the inner door panels on the front doors to treat them. I have the JBL sound system on my 2006 model. I see the enclosures have one "panel fastener" near the bottom but the top of the tweeter enclosure seems to be held by some kind of clamp. What are the secrets to removing the front tweeters?
     
  2. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    It's a plastic fastener at the bottom as you discovered, and a metal clip which fits into a rectangular slot at the top. Just pull straight out at the bottom until the fastener releases, then pull straight out at the top until the clip comes out. Some people have had the metal clip fall inside the door (it's easily fished out afterwards), but mine have always stayed on.
     
  3. Banjoman

    Banjoman Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dstrevel @ Oct 21 2007, 07:48 PM) [snapback]528636[/snapback]</div>
    Not too hard. Pull the top towards you with a brisk snap and then lift the baffle straight up disengaging it from the panel fastener. (The fastener stays in the door.) The door panel removes like the rear ones except you have to disconnect the cable at the door panel light.

    Sometimes the metal clip that holds the baffle top stays in the door. It can be removed with pliers, a magnet or small screw driver. Should it slip down into the door, you can remove the side view mirror and recover the clip from the outside. This sounds hard but is really easy. Just remove a couple of 10mm nuts and it comes right off and goes back on just a easily.
     
  4. priusenvy

    priusenvy Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(banjoman @ Oct 21 2007, 09:21 PM) [snapback]528670[/snapback]</div>
    Interesting technique. Personally, I find it easier to put back together if the fastener is attached to the tweeter housing rather than the door, and you're pushing the fastener into the door, rather than trying to slide the tweeter housing onto the head of the fastener, so I recommend pulling the fastener out, rather than lifting the housing off of the fastener. But try it either way, and whichever way you find works better for you, stick with it.
     
  5. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dstrevel @ Oct 21 2007, 09:48 PM) [snapback]528636[/snapback]</div>
    Did you do both inner and outer skins? On which skin did you layer the Overkill? About how many sheets of Overkill did you use on each door?

    Sounds like you left the original JBL speakers in place when you did this, correct?
     
  6. dstrevel

    dstrevel Junior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zenMachine @ Oct 22 2007, 11:15 AM) [snapback]528829[/snapback]</div>
    zen,
    So far I have left the original JBL speakers in place. Seemed to me it would be useless to spend money on new speakers when from what I had heard, the environment for the speakers was so poor. So far, I think I'm on the right track. As I sit in my car, I can compare the untreated front with the treated rear seat. My Radio Shack digital sound meter shows that when the equalizer is set to the front-rear midpoint, the volume from the rear speakers in now 5 decibels higher than the fronts (with music at about 78 - 83 decibels). This is measured from elbow-high, pointing the sound meter directly toward the mid-range speaker from the centerline of the car (A scale, slow weighting).
    My ears also tell me that the volume is considerably greater in the rear, and the clarity of the sound is much better. I can hear details in the voices of FM-radio announcers that I never heard before and my familiar CDs sound way better. The clarity improvment is greatest of course when the car is stopped, but even at 70 mph the improvement is still significant.
    The treatment I applied was only to the inner surface of the outer rear door panels. I put one layer of Damplifier Pro in all the space not covered by the crash intrusion bars - took about four sheets 12 inches by 20 inches. I doubled the Damplifier for about one square foot behind the mid-range speaker. Then I glued Overkill Pro onto the Damplifier Pro, one layer everywhere with a double layer behind the mid-range speaker. This took about one-half of a 24X54-inch sheet of Overkill.
    I did not put Damplifier or Overkill on the inside rear door panels but I used RattlePad between the right door's inner metal and the plastic interior panel. I'm not sure whether that has a benefit or not.
    I'm planning to do the front doors next weekend and will be using the sound meter and my ears to try to gauge the result.
     
  7. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Thanks for the info. I haven't damped my rear doors yet and that's why I asked. I'm thinking of damping them first, before getting new speakers for them (if at all). That way I can see if simply damping them will improve the sound. Right now the difference in sound volume between my front and rear are quite stark. But because I also have a different set of speakers up front, I can't tell how much is attributed to the dampening.

    I'm also trying to decide whether it's worth it to use Overkill. If I do, I'll probably put Overkill on the inner skin, as a layer behind the plastic panel and which will also help to prevent any rattling. But I don't see any rattling problem on the Prius doors to warrant the Rattle Pad though. I also think Overkill might be good for the floor as well.

    BTW, for consistency I use the terms "outer skin" to denote the outer wall of the car door and "inner skin" for the inside wall (where speakers and other things are attached.) Hence, dampening the outer skin means putting the material on the inside surface of the outer wall (obviously, since you woudn't want to put it on the outside of your car!) :)

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dstrevel @ Oct 22 2007, 10:24 PM) [snapback]529143[/snapback]</div>
     
  8. farrellcsun

    farrellcsun Junior Member

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    Hi group, so i think I lost one of those metal retaining clips at the top of the assembly that was talked about at the beginning of this thread.

    Is there any way to order or replace that small metal part without having to buy a complete new plastic assembly?

    If anyone has any advice, i'd appreciate it! Thanks, Farrell
     
  9. breweryrat

    breweryrat Junior Member

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    Yes, I just bought one the other day. Just tell them you need the top metal clip for the JBL tweeter bezel. It was $0.92 for the replacement.

    Snap the cip on the bezel, then push the bezel in.