Skip to main content
Gerry | Vanagon
Checking account...
← vanagon.com home · Continue the discussion in the forum
VanagonEuroVan
Subject:udpate speaker - hammer works
From:Mike Meuser
Date:Sun, 4 Jun 2006 18:22:09 -0700

Another westy owner with the OEM threaded housing contacted me off
line.  So, I quickly went out and popped my speakers out before the
silicon dried.  this is what I did.

I removed the two large philips screws from the bank of the air
conditioning cabinet.  From the front of the cabinet, I slid the
rings through the hole making sure that the speaker wires came
through the screw rings.  Then I put the speaker in place using
masking tape to hold it there.  Next I went to back of housing,
reached way in and was able to thread the retainer ring onto the rear
of the speaker.  Once tight, I returned to the front of the speaker
and carefully used a pair of large needle nose pliers opened wide to
turn the speaker a 1/4 turn or so to tighten up.  I did take care to
remove all the silicon so that getting them out won't be a problem in
the future.

Here's another tip from this guy.  The speakers are glued into the
grill/threaded housing so if you want to retain the OEM look like I
do (no screws), you can find 3-1/2" aftermarket speakers and glue
them in place and then add a subwoofer in your underseat compartment
if you like, just like my helpful firend did.

Since I destroyed my original grill/housing/rings, I'm still in the
market for two OEM speakers with the threaded housing and retaining
ring.

On 4 Jun 2006 at 16:54, Mike Meuser wrote:

> Hi - Well, in my no screws OEM speaker saga, the only thing that
> worked short of taking apart most all the rear cabinets was to use a
> hammer.  the speakers push into the cabinet hole and then have a ring
> on the back that screws on to hold it in place.  On my OEM A/C
> equipped 87 westy there was no easy access to the back and turning
> from the front, spun both the speaker and the retaining ring.
>
> So... I hit each speaker square in the middle with a hammer nocking
> the guts of it into the cabinet.  then I used a hacksaw blade to cut
> through enough to cut both the speaker houseing and the ring without
> damagin the cabinet at all.  I did this twice per speaker -- at 12
> o'clock and 6 o'clock positions.  then the retaining ring fell off
> readily and the speaker was extracted.
>
> Rather than using retaining rings to hold the new OEM blaupunkts in
> place (since I have no access), I used small dabs of silicon which
> should make them easily removable if the need ever arises.
>
> So... end of saga although I am definetly in the market for a couple
> of OEM speakers so I can replace the ones I just stole from my 83-
> 1/2.
>
> On 4 Jun 2006 at 14:48, Mike Meuser wrote:
>
> > Maybe the 83-1/2 and 87 are different then.  I can see no screws.
> > The door speakers are same as rear cabinet speakers, both have
> > plastic clips that spring out when speaker is pushed into location.
> > I checked the manual and it describes a process of removing the A/C
> > venting -- around 20 screws under plastic caps, then lowering the
> > rear cabinet to gain access to the speakers -- a major job.
> >
> > Maybe the ones with screws are aftermarket replacements, but I'd
> > love to know how to get the OEM speakers out of there without
> > dissassembling most of the rear cabinetry and A/C.
> >
> > thnx
> >
> > On 4 Jun 2006 at 11:42, Loren Busch wrote:
> >
> > >  RE: Replacing rear speakers
> > > BTDT just a couple of months ago, but in a '90 Westy w/air.  As
> > > Joy pointed out, four screws per speaker, they just drop out.
> > > Replaced with upgraded speakers from Crutchfield, a littl
> > > clearance issue but a rotary rasp took care of that.  Same for the
> > > front but no clearance issues there, five minute job per door.
> > >
> >
>

Have something to add on this topic today? Revive this thread in the forum »