Well, it's in! Sort of. I still need to pick up an HDMI extension cable so that I can connect the Chromecast, and I need to figure out how to make my blue-tooth OBDII reader be linked to the ignition switch. But, at the very least, the stereo is installed and the Bluetooth works.
Total elapsed time of installation, not including painting the thing, 7 hours. There is an awful lot of cutting that had to be done, I kept trying to do the minimal amount until it became apparent that everything needed to go. I'm not really sure what people normally use for this, but my Dremel had fits with the plastic, it's super thick! At one point I went at it with a sawzall and a set of large pruning shears.
Anyway, I'm sure you all want some pictures of the install.
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Here we have the Metra kit, in all it's 3-pieces... plus vaguely worded instruction manual.
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A nice comparison shot of the kit's panel and the stock panel. Note the storage cubby is flipped and smaller than the original? It also lacks a screw hole here, so the entire bezel only clips into place using the stock clips. Not a huge fan of that, may purchase another one and graft my stock cubby onto it. I mean, my sunglasses don't even fit anymore!
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Thankfully I don't paint things for a living. It's serviceable and doesn't look
horrible in the Jeep.
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Check this out! Test fitting the AppRadio3... notice anything? Yep! Unlike the
other double-DIN kit out there where the stereo mounts to the front panel, the Metra kit bolts into the stock location using stock screws!
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Still have to cut the everloving hell out of it, though. I probably could have saved some of the plastic cross member here, but the radio was actually so long that it was hitting on the hazard/blinker switch harness which ran right up the middle. So it all came out.
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Yep. ALL of it. The supports are still plenty strong, and the only real draw back here is that the rear support for the hazard switch/relay is gone. The screw seems to do a good job of holding it in place, though, and I think it actually sits on the top of the radio as it feels pretty solid with it in there.
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OH SNAP :gr_grin:
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Fits in there pretty good, doesn't it? The radio is slid
all the way forward on the screw holes I used.
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The faceplate doesn't hit on the bezel! Huzzah! My previous truck, where this radio was installed, I couldn't access the DVD slot because it hit on the bezel. :thumbsdown:
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Time to celebrate a job adequately done with a tasty beverage!
arty52:
Overall, it was an easy install, once I ripped all that plastic out. I also put in an Axxess ASWC-1, which was absolute cake to setup. Literally four wire install, ground, switched power, PCI bus, and then plugged into the stereo's wired-remote plug. During startup I just held the volume up button on the steering wheel until the LED stopped flashing, and viola, my steering wheel controls work on the new stereo.
Sound quality on the Infinity system is
greatly improved. I've got midrange and lows now! Wonder how long the stock speakers are going to last... :happy175:
Was the kit worth it? Well, the
other kit out there costs >$100 and the radio attaches to the bezel, which I'm not sure is a good idea considering the only thing holding it in is some clips and one screw at the very bottom. This kit cost me $32 and, while the bezel lacks the screw hole and the cubby is smaller, the stereo mounts to the stock location. So, yeah, I think it's worth it.
