[How-To] Factory Bronco Speaker Replacement

[SlvrSurfRidr]

For the rear pod speakers, no, it isn't necessary.

Unless you did the FORSCAN mod of course. Common sense, if you opened up the power to the back or amplified the back then you'll need base blockers on a 4" speaker or it's gonna be toast fast. Most of those 4" speakers are rated for less than 50W RMS and have range in the 60-20,000Hz area.

Think the Kicker KSC40 (75W RMS) is one of the few rated higher than the 50W RMS that the Kicker Key 200.4 pushes s (since everyone seems to be running that amp)

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[Bronkers]

Obviously this isn't the first video on this subject... BUT I couldn't find any videos that actually showed the kick panel speaker removal (the closest I found was this video). So to help people out who are completely new to this (and as a personal challenge to myself), I created a video for it.



If you've done speaker replacements before, this video probably goes into more detail than you need.

So... TL; DW—

Rear Pod Speaker Removal

1. Remove speaker grille with a trim removal tool. There will be (4) clips holding the grille on.
2. Remove the speaker held on by (2) Phillips head screws

Front Dash Speaker Removal

1. Remove the speaker grille with a trim removal tool. There are (5) clips total holding the grille on.
2. Remove the speaker held on by (2) 7mm screws

Kick Panel Speaker Removal

1. Remove the (4) TP-30 "Bronco bolts" securing instrument panel grab handle to the vehicle.
2. Remove the grab handle completely, there are (2) clips securing the rear of the grab handle to the panel.
3. Remove the cowl side trim panel with a trim removal tool. There are (4) clips total securing the panel. Note that (2) of those clips are securing the bottom of the trim piece and are very difficult to remove.
4. Remove the scuff plate trim panel to expose the cable tray with a trim removal tool. 4-door Bronco has (7) clips. 2-door has (9) clips total.
5. [Driver Side Only] Release the dead-pedal
   1. Remove the dead-pedal trim cover with a trim removal tool. There are (6) clips total.
   2. Use a 10mm deep socket to remove the (2) nuts securing the dead-pedal to the vehicle
6. Remove the speaker grille. There are (2) clips securing the speaker grille. These clips are along the forward edge (closest to front of vehicle) of the speaker grille. Do not pry from the rear edge of the grille.
7. Remove the lower cowl side trim panel with a trim removal tool. There are (3) clips securing the panel.
8. Remove the (3) 7mm screws to release the speaker.

Parts

• Kick Panel Speakers: Kicker KSC670
• Pod/Dash Speakers: Kicker KSC40
• Bass Blockers: Crutchfield 300 Hz cut-off
• Dash/Pod Harnesses: Hoel Wiring Bronco/Maverick Speaker Harness
• Kick Panel Harnesses: Metra 72-5602 4-Way Speaker Harness
• Kick Panel Mounts: Metra 82-5605 Mounting Brackets

Very informative post

 

[Broncoma]

How is the bass with this setup? Also, are you experiencing any crackling at higher volumes?

Thanks.

 

[RagnarKon]

How is the bass with this setup? Also, are you experiencing any crackling at higher volumes?

Thanks.

The highs are a lot clearer. Lows/bass is unchanged.

Keep in mind I'm only halfway through the project, still need to install an amplifier/subwoofer. I am hoping it'll get a lot better once I install an amplifier (even without the subwoofer), but I haven't gotten that far yet. Got interrupted by rain, and so far it looks like this I'll have rain this weekend as well.

 

[DaPierogiKid]

Are you replacing speakers on the base sound system or the B&O upgrade system?

Hey..nice profile picture btw.

 

[IcedCoffeeRocket]

Following your notes and looking forward to future posts on the upgrades. Thanks for this. One question for the kick panel speakers, what size foam did you put on the brackets? Thanks again!

 

[RagnarKon]

Following your notes and looking forward to future posts on the upgrades. Thanks for this. One question for the kick panel speakers, what size foam did you put on the brackets? Thanks again!

I don't actually know what size I bought—I had bought it a few years ago for a previous project.

Tape measure says it is 3mm x 11mm. I'm guessing it's actually 1/8" x 1/2" — I know they sell foam tape in that size.

 

[redone17]

I want to thank you for your time on putting this together. It made the swap for the kicker panel speakers a breeze for me. With your tips I was able to get both sides done in less than an hour.

I went with Memphis MJP6 and along with Infinity Ref in the corners and Kicker Key I am super happy with the outcome for $800.

 

[RagnarKon]

Quick update for anyone who may be watching this thread....

I struggled a little bit with the front speakers since the installation. Two problems:

• The front dash speakers were insanely loud
• The overall sound system had zero mid-range from the driver's perspective.

I was hoping it would all balance out in the end... but it didn't. So I ended up re-wiring the front speakers and removing the bass blockers. Much happier with the results now.

 

[deljaso]

Great video! I see the exact same problem. The key tries to overcome the lack of midrange and drives the to speakers to distortion when I have the dsp turned on, and try to increase volume at all. I made the forscan eq adjusment before installing the key. How much better was the sound after switching to series?


Question for you as an electrical engineer. I thought the front speakers were in series already (thanks for the multi testing, confirming that I was wrong), which worried me when adding bass blocker to the dash speaker.
I tried googling but couldn't find a good answer.
Will a bass blocker on the dash speaker in effect "absorb" those frequencies from the whole circuit, including the kick panel speaker if I change to series wiring?
I listen to music at high volume, and want to reduce the bass sent to the 4" speakers so that they don't distort at medium ranges, but still send the full signal to the kick panels. I think I know how to do this, but I'm afraid of the answer to my problem -- I really want to avoid hacking up the pnp harness in order to separate out the dash and kick channels, and have them run by the key while having the factory amp still run the rears.


And another question, on your kicker key, do you have the gains set VERY low? I just installed mine and they are barely above minimum. I set them the right way, by cranking up the stereo, then upping the gain to distortion level then backing it off. I used 24 on the stereo, and barely increasing the gain you get instant distortion. I wanted to see if yours was the same?

 

[RagnarKon]

Great video! I see the exact same problem. The key tries to overcome the lack of midrange and drives the to speakers to distortion when I have the dsp turned on, and try to increase volume at all. I made the forscan eq adjusment before installing the key. How much better was the sound after switching to series?

It is a lot better. The biggest benefit was to the mid-range. I think the combination of the bass blocker and the fact the 4" Kickers seemed to be biased towards the high range just squashed the mid-range.

If it had used a ~80hz bass blocker, it probably would have been fine. But that would just put more load on the amplifier, and it's somewhat difficult to find bass blockers below 150hz.

Question for you as an electrical engineer. I thought the front speakers were in series already (thanks for the multi testing, confirming that I was wrong), which worried me when adding bass blocker to the dash speaker.
I tried googling but couldn't find a good answer.
Will a bass blocker on the dash speaker in effect "absorb" those frequencies from the whole circuit, including the kick panel speaker if I change to series wiring?

It depends how it is wired. The biggest issue you'll have is you'll get a frequency shift on the second speaker, which will cause phasing issues. Essentially the two speakers will be out of phase with each other and the music will end up sounding very "noisy" (for the lack of a better word).

I listen to music at high volume, and want to reduce the bass sent to the 4" speakers so that they don't distort at medium ranges, but still send the full signal to the kick panels. I think I know how to do this, but I'm afraid of the answer to my problem -- I really want to avoid hacking up the pnp harness in order to separate out the dash and kick channels, and have them run by the key while having the factory amp still run the rears.

If you don't want to impact the kick panels at all, there really is only two options:

• Keep the parallel wiring and switch up the bass block values
• Feed the dash speakers on an independent channel from the kick panels (essentially what you highlighted above)

The problem with second option is you don't have enough channels on the Kicker Key 200.4. Yes. you can feed the pod speakers with the factory ACM, but my hunch is the ACM won't be able to keep up with the aftermarket amp. The "right" answer in that scenario is probably to buy a different amplifier with more output channels—up to you if you are willing to spend the money.

If you don't mind impacting the kick panels too much, or don't mind spending money on different speakers, you have other options such as crossovers, different front 4" speakers, or perhaps even switching it up to component speakers.

And another question, on your kicker key, do you have the gains set VERY low? I just installed mine and they are barely above minimum. I set them the right way, by cranking up the stereo, then upping the gain to distortion level then backing it off. I used 24 on the stereo, and barely increasing the gain you get instant distortion. I wanted to see if yours was the same?

Prior to removing the bass blocker I cranked up the rear pod speakers in an attempt to get them to compete with the overly loud dash speakers. The gain on the front speakers was set to the lowest volume. Using that I could turn up the music to around 18 on the infotainment screen before I got distortion.

Since removing the bass blocker both of the gain knobs are set to their lowest values. I can turn the volume up to around 23 before I get distortion, and that distortion is on the rear pods. Front speakers are fine.

 

[Mikey D]

For the dash speakers... yes it is still recommended... because they share their audio signal with the kick panel speakers (they are on the same channel).

For the rear pod speakers, no, it isn't necessary.

I've installed JBL 4" 421F's in the dash and rear pods. Plan on upgrading kick panels with 6..75
Kicker 43DSC6704. Don't plan on installing AMP or SUB. Do you really need bass blockers, since the factory unit doesn't really put out a ton of power. Any downside to not installing?

Also, would you suggest Dynamat or Boom Mat to kick panel speakers?

I think I'll try Forscan settings set to Speakers/Tweeters (all around) and leave EQ on. I notice the Forscan settings have EQ settings from 0 - 12. Do you know if all those settings apply to the Bronco?

 

[RagnarKon]

I've installed JBL 4" 421F's in the dash and rear pods. Plan on upgrading kick panels with 6..75
Kicker 43DSC6704. Don't plan on installing AMP or SUB. Do you really need bass blockers, since the factory unit doesn't really put out a ton of power. Any downside to not installing?

You don't strictly need the bass blockers.

The problem is the front channels get the full frequency range sent to them. Most 4" speakers aren't all that great reproducing lower frequencies below 100hz or so, and below ~70hz it just sounds bad—very "trash-cany". You can get away with it most of the time, but because those dash speakers are directly in front of your face it is extremely noticeable.

But fell free to go without for now and see if it is acceptable to you. I ultimately removed the bass blockers on mine, but I replaced the bass blockers with a high-pass filter on my aftermarket amplifier. That sacrificed a lot of the low frequency output from my kick panel, but I made up for it with a subwoofer.

Also, would you suggest Dynamat or Boom Mat to kick panel speakers?

I used neither. But if I were to use something I'd use a Boom Mat.

I think I'll try Forscan settings set to Speakers/Tweeters (all around) and leave EQ on. I notice the Forscan settings have EQ settings from 0 - 12. Do you know if all those settings apply to the Bronco?

Only the first EQ slot is programmed on the Bronco. The other slots do exist and you can change EQ setting to those values, but since nothing is programmed in those slots it's effectively the same as turning the EQ off.

 

[Mikey D]

You don't strictly need the bass blockers.

The problem is the front channels get the full frequency range sent to them. Most 4" speakers aren't all that great reproducing lower frequencies below 100hz or so, and below ~70hz it just sounds bad—very "trash-cany". You can get away with it most of the time, but because those dash speakers are directly in front of your face it is extremely noticeable.

But fell free to go without for now and see if it is acceptable to you. I ultimately removed the bass blockers on mine, but I replaced the bass blockers with a high-pass filter on my aftermarket amplifier. That sacrificed a lot of the low frequency output from my kick panel, but I made up for it with a subwoofer.

I used neither. But if I were to use something I'd use a Boom Mat.

Only the first EQ slot is programmed on the Bronco. The other slots do exist and you can change EQ setting to those values, but since nothing is programmed in those slots it's effectively the same as turning the EQ off.

I've tried everything to get better sound out of this with new speakers (Forscan changes), but it still sounds like crap. Sad. I've talked with Crutchfield, and came up with a Tweeter (Dash), Woofer (Kick) and 6.75 in Roll with PAC and Amp (no sub). The Kick's come with a low pass filter. Way too much cash to invest in decent auto system for Bronco.

Any suggestions on where to mount the PAC converter and 8" Amp? I'm thinking only choices are PAC under Head Unit and AMP under seat.

 

[mcinfantry]

If I am putting components audiofrog g60s
6.5 kick
Tweeter dash. I assume I need to run wire from kick to dash? Or can I reuse current dash wires and add crossover?

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