'18 Crewmas sr5 stereo overhaul

raberd14 · Apr 23, 2019

It was a full two days of work, plus a few hours building the sub box, but it was well worth it. This is a complete build-along of my stereo install. I apologize if any of this is posted improperly as this is my first post.
A quick overview of the system: I kept the stock head unit because it already has everything i want(Bluetooth, ipod, nav, sirius/xm, steering wheel controls etc.) I just added a 7 band eq/signal processor to clean up the signal for my aftermarket amps. I'm running a Rockford 300.r to 4 Hifonics zeus 6.5" components for mids and highs. For subs I'm running a Pioneer GM-8601 to two Kicker comp vt 12" svc 2ohm shallow mounts. For a total of 2,000 watts peak power, 1,000 watts rms. Here's a pic of all the goodies

First thing was tear down. I removed all the door panels, sill trim, and kick panels. I also removed the lid and back of the center console. Then removed the back seat, and passenger seat and all the speakers including the dash speakers and the rear door tweeters. Everything is pretty straight forward on tear down, just make sure your battery is disconnected before you start

Next i did all the sound proofing. I used a 54 sqft kit from Kilmat, (other brands will do fine also) But the 54 sqft was perfect for doing the rear wall and all four door panels. Go slow and make sure you get it formed and conformed to the panels. Its easy to put in and well worth the effort. You'll be happy with the results

Next I went ahead and installed all of the speakers. Instead of buying the aftermarket adapters I cut the old speaker cones out of the stock brackets, then knocked out the magnet. Fastened the new speakers to the bracket and put them back in. You'll have to drill a small hole in the side of the bracket to feed your speaker wire to the new speaker as well.

I then mounted the crossovers inside the door panels right beside the speakers. For the front tweeters I just put them in the same spot as the factory dash speakers. I used a universal fit bracket that came with the new tweeters to mount them using the factory speaker bolts.

The rear door tweeters were much trickier. The new tweeters were a little bit bigger than the stock ones, so I drilled out the factory 1 1/2" tweeter grill, then enlarged the hole little, by little with round files until the new tweeter fit perfectly in the hole with no gaps. I then attached it from the backside using the universal fit bracket provided with the tweeter. It was time consuming but turned out really good.

Next I started wiring, I ran 2awg OFC from the battery back to the center console where I put my distribution block. From there I ran 4awg to my two amps. One I put under the passenger seat, the other I put under the rear seat. For signal wires, I used the factory plugs under the passenger seat. I removed the small factory amp, and plugged in a set of adapters I got off of Amazon for $18. Here is the diagram I used to identify which wires were which in the factory harness.

A few of the colors were different on mine, but all the pins were correct. I used the new harness to supply speaker level inputs to the clarion 7 band eq that I mounted in the center console. I could also tap the harness directly into the mids/highs amp to supply power to the speakers.
I reused the stock amp bracket and modified it to install the new amp under the passenger seat. At this point it was just a matter of making all the connections and running the RCAs from the eq to the amps. As always just make sure that you don't run your RCAs alongside your power wire to avoid "alternator whine".
I will be completing this post shortly, I've run out of time for now. Lots more pics and info to come.