The Kicker dash speakers have a mounting depth of 1-9/16". The maximum mounting depth for the speakers is approx. 2-1/8".
I decided to start with the front dash speakers. The grab handle/A-pillar trim must be removed to access the speaker grilles. The handles are removed by prying open the plastic bolt cover and removing the two 10mm bolts. The grilles are attached quite firmly, with 5 tangs holding them in place they took a bit of effort to remove. I then removed the stock speakers with a short 90-degree phillips screwdriver. The Kicker speakers require that you remove a small area of plastic to make clearance for the connector on the speaker. This was done with a small dremel tool, and could also be done with a sharp knife.
Front door speakers and emblems
Kicker front door speaker
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Speaker badges
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Removing the front door trim panel had me stumped for awhile as it is different than 2005-2007 models. Like the earlier models, the 2008's have a screw behind the handle and one near the top opposite the outside mirror. But they do not have the third screw in the door pull pocket like '05-'07, the third screw is hidden behind the door switch trim. On the passenger side it was not to difficult to reach. I pried the switch trim piece up by hand and was able to access the screw. The problem is that the switch assembly is attached to the trim piece, but then easily pops off it. The lack of room to work with, being that tight wiring harnesses are attached, is almost nil. The trick is to just pop it free, then slide the screwdriver under to reach the screw.
Adhesive-backed soft plastic Kicker emblems are supplied for each Kicker speaker. I had previously added the factory Boston badges and was able to leave them in place, putting the Kicker stickers over them. The fit is absolutely perfect as they are the same size. This makes for a better installation as the Boston badges are hard plastic with a metal front and have pins that mount them securely to the speaker grille. The Kicker emblems stick better to the metal surface than they would directly to the plastic speaker grille.
Door panel screws
On the drivers door accessing the third screw is more difficult being that the switch assembly also contains the mirror controls which really restricts the movement of the parts you have to put back in place. I finally figured it out, but it took awhile. This is one of those situations where you have to remove one part to get to the other, but you have to remove the other part before you can get to the one part, if you follow me. In other words, no obvious or easy solution. Even the very latest update to the 2008 service manual still contains directions for removing the 2005-2007 door panels (!!).
Rear door speakers
Kicker rear door speaker
This part of the install was a breeze. I Removed the two screws from the door panel, popped the door panel free, unhooked the latch rod and harness, and changed out the speaker. It took about 5-10 minutes for each rear door, and it would have gone quicker but for the fact that I had just installed some billet lock knobs. They fit the lock stem hole tightly and have to be helped through from the top. Be careful when removing the upper portion of the door trim, the small triangular piece that is rearward. For the rest of the door the trim can be pulled free by hand, popping it free. When you get to the triangular trim (last area of trim panel to unhook) it is best to free it by simply sliding the whole trim panel upward (so the plastic retaining clip stays in the door). You can then remove the clip from the door and place it back on the trim. I did not need any new door clips btw, all clips remained intact when removed. I had some on hand just in case which is not a bad idea.
Note: it is possible to remove just the door panel screws and clips and leave the panel in place. You can lift it up enough to allow speaker removal and installation without unhooking the lock bars and electrical connectors. I chose to remove them completely, mainly because I wanted to take photos.
Amplifier
Kicker amplifier
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Amplifier water shield
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This part of the install went extremely smooth. The cargo opening top and bottom trim pops off easily; two front bolts and the entire cargo tray lifts out; remove a few screws on the quarter panel trim panel and the amp becomes easily accessible. The factory amp was unbolted, wiring harness unplugged, the amp bracket removed and attached to the new amp, and the amp reinstalled, all in just a few minutes.
NOTE: There has been mention on some of the forums about a "reset" procedure being required when the upgraded amplifier is initially installed, so that the upgraded amp will be recognized and the cabin EQ set. This is totally unnecessary as the amp and EQ settings will be reconized after the battery is reconnected and the system powered up.
Single 10" subwoofer
Subwoofer shown installed
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Subwoofer amplifier location
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I saved this for last as I knew it would be a little more involved. I always like to start with the easiest parts on an install as it seems like the progress is "faster". A short wire harness is provided that hooks to the power center under the hood. A single power wire attaches to the bolt in the power center, and then is fed through the firewall.
Subwoofer power connection
The directions call for feeding the wire through the hood release cable grommet, but it's quite a pain to reach, at least with my big hands. I thought I would be smart and run the wire through the easy-to-reach unused grommet that is up near the top of the firewall, which I did... but the wire ended up being too short to reach its intended destination over near the hood release handle. I then grabbed a piece of stiff wire and fed it through the hood release cable grommet from inside the cabin, under the dash. I was then able to grab it under the hood. I taped the feed wire to it tightly with electrical tape, and was able to slowly pull it through from under the dash. Definitely a tight fit!
Subwoofer audio connections
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Ground wire connection
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In the lower left quarter panel area there are two front speaker wires that have to be tapped into. Crimp style T-connectors are provided and the two wires were easy to find in the bundle coming from the front door. The directions say to hook up the green wire from the subwoofer harness to the gray/yellow stripe positive speaker wire, which I did. But then it says to hook the 2nd wire, the "gray" one to the gray/purple stripe negative speaker wire. But the second wire on the Kicker harness was brown not gray, and that's what I hooked to the negative side.
The subwoofer ground wire is attached to one of the 10mm dash panel bolts. The bolts are accessed by prying open the dash side panel plastic cover as shown in the photo.
The subwoofer harness was then fed underneath the inside door trim and to the cargo area. There is not a lot of spare length on this harness, so set it in place first before covering it up with the molding.
The subwoofer mounting bracket has two reverse hooks that fit into the factory latches on the back of the seat. You first release the seatback and pull it vertical, then kneel on the back seat, leaning over it to grab the subwoofer, then while holding the subwoofer firmly upward, slowly move the seatback in place until it latches. You do have to remember get your fingers out of the way at the last second otherwise they will be smashed a bit between the bottom of the sub and the cargo floor, and if you release them too early the sub falls off the hooks. Once you have done this a couple times it becomes second nature and much easier. When locked into place, the subwoofer is impossible to move which makes for a very solid installation. One advantage of this type of bracket design, other than crash-test worthiness, is the fact that the subwoofer can be easily and quickly dismounted for removal when hauling cargo.
77KICK23 400W dual 10" square subwoofers
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77KICK12 single subwoofer rear view
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Dual subwoofers shown installed
Subwoofers speaker, front and back
Storing the removed components
I always like to keep all of the old parts on any mods/upgrades. For the Kicker system I stored all of the factory speakers and amp in the exact new boxes that the Kicker components came in. I then took all of those boxes and they fit perfectly into the single sub box.
