1993 Bonneville SSE... trying to remove and replace the front 4'' door speakers speakers myself, but can't get to them. getting TO the speakers seems to be a tougher job than what i've previously faced with other cars. i'm trying to avoid having to pay for the job to be done. can anyone help me out on this?

Oh, Lordy... yes, I was messing up this exact job last weekend.

The speakers are attached to the back of the door panel, screwed in pretty firmly. You get to them by removing the door panel itself.

In a nutshell (I'm going to do a better writeup sometime when time permits, unless someone else already has in the TechInfo area someplace):

1) Remove 2 visible screws from lower front panel (near the speaker grilles)
2) Gently pry out door floodlight (puddle light) lens by using thin tool like a scratch awl at back (outermost) end of lens; unplug wire
3) Remove 2 screws behind floodlight mounting
4) Gently pry out upper handle bezel (part that holds the mirror joystick) by using thin tool on forward edge to release clip, then unhook it from slot at back (outermost) edge, unplug switch and LED spotlight
5) Remove screw behind bezel mounting
6) Gently pry up window/lock switch panel by using thin tool on forward edge to release clip, unhook it from back edge, and unplug connectors
7) Using panel removal tool (looks like a forked screwdriver with an angled handle), find and pop out the press-in panel retainers around the edge of the door panel -- there are about 10 altogether
8 ) Either before or after the next step, reach behind and unplug all the various electrical connectors where necessary
9) This can be tricky: You need to release the top edge of the panel along the top of the door, where it meets the window glass. The black rubber/plastic strip is actually two pieces snapped together. The outermost part, the rubber that contacts the glass, is the upper seal strip, which attaches by pressing straight down onto the top of the inner door sheet metal, and is supposed to stay there. The inner strip that you can see, with the thin smooth top surface, is actually attached to the interior panel.

The outer piece has a horizontal channel facing into the car, which the top edge of the door panel snaps into along its length. Officially, you're supposed to be able to remove the door panel by pulling it straight off the door (i.e. towards you), I guess by prying apart the two strips of top molding, starting at the outer, upper corner of the door and working your way across. In practice, I found that the whole $%@&* assembly started to rip apart, tearing off both the top of the door _and_ the interior panel, with all kinds of ugly staples exposed, etc.

Finally ended up pulling _everything_ off the top edge of the door, separating the two strips by hand, then plonking the interior door panel face-down on our dining room table so I could put the inner strip back in position, press the staples back into it by hand, and secure the whole thing (which had split apart) with a bead of clear silicone sealer and 36 clothespins along the top. Left it there for 24 hours to cure.

So anyhow, once the door panel is off, it'* easy to get full access to the speakers and do whatever you want. You might be able to get away with leaving the door panel attached across the top, and just pulling the door panel away from the door at the bottom, if that gives you enough room. If you can do it that way and leave the top attachment undisturbed, it'll definitely make reassembly a lot easier.

By the way, Your front door speakers are 5-1/4" woofers and 2"(?) tweeters.
Also, good job on describing the procedure acg_ssei.
Here is the post I made the other day for "removing 4"x6" '* from 1993 SE"


Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2003 6:21 pm Post subject:

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I did this in my old 1992. Actually go to a salvage yard and get some matching panels from a newer Bonneville or one with the upgraded system. that way you have a wider selection for speakers (5-1/4"), plus you'll have tweeters (factory pre-wired, you just have to plug in). If you aren't up to that here are the directions for removing the door panels:

Tools you need are : T15 torx bit screw driver, medium philips screw driver, and medium flat screw driver, ratchet, and a small socket (can't remember size, but around 1/4").

To remove:

1. Take the cap out of behind the door handle using a flat screw driver to pop it out.

2. unscrew door handle trim ring with T15 torx bit.

3. use flat screw driver again to remove the trim piece at top of the grab handle (houses the mirror controls on drivers door), popping it off with the screw-driver going into the front of it (it hinges out from the back then. Unplug mirror controls and light.

4. Use philips bit screw driver to remove screw.

5. remove the door light at the middle of the back of the door panel. Do so by pushing the flat screw driver into the back end and pull the handle back so the tip moves forward and out with that end of the light. Once that end it out pull it out and unhook the light. (carefull as these lights are very fragile).

6. Use philips screw driver to remove the two screws behind the light.

7. Use ratchet and small socket to remove the two screws at the front of the lower panel that houses the speakers.

8. Use meduim to large size flat screw driver and go around the edge of the door panel, putting it between the door panel and the door and turn it away and the tilt the screw driver until the "pin'*" pop out of the door.

9. After the pin'* are free'd lift straight up gently on the door panel working from the back to the front so as not to break the black plastic strip that goes across at the top of the panel as it is one long hook.

10. When that is off rest the panel on something about the same height as the bottom of the door and unplug the power windows, locks, and speakers.

11. Use small phillips screw driver and remove the door panel pocket from the door panel. There are about 8 screws if I remember correctly.

Also be sure to get some speaker wire adapter'* at Best Buy or an audio store so you can put the stock speakers back in if needed without resplicing the connections.

Hope this helps,
Stylez
_________________
Martin McCoy
Sauk Centre, MN

http://www.cardomain.com/member_page...page_id=312761



1988 Chrysler Lebaron TURBO GTC Conv TII 5-spd
1992 Bonneville SE Green (rear-ended)
1992 Bonneville SE Green (hit approach)
1992 Bonneville SSE White
1993 Bonneville SSE Green (was mine, now my friends)
1994 Bonneville SLE Green

Oh, good; you reminded me of some parts I left out:

Nut drivers are handy if you have them. The two socket sizes you'll need are 7mm and 10mm.

Also, when you get the window/lock control panel out, it'* easier to leave the switches on their wiring harness and gently pry the switches out of their panel instead.

Oh, yeah, forgot this part completely. After the T-15 screw comes out, there is one spring clip holding the trim ring, below the handle near the black plastic lock slide. The lock slide itself releases by unclipping it from its rod and sliding it off the end. In practice, it'* probably easier to wait until the door panel is ready to come off, because where the slide clips on to the rod is at the outermost end, where it disappears into the door, and it'* hard to lift it off that end until you can get your fingers behind the door panel.

Yes, very. The reason I suggested a round tool like a scratch awl instead of a screwdriver here is because there is a small round hole going through/past the lens tab that gives you better leverage for releasing it. You have to _stop_ prying as soon as the lens tab is released, because the lens is recessed and must be pulled straight out a little ways to remove; further prying will simply break the tab off.

On mine they were 10mm bolts. Whatever...

Gawd, yeah, whatever works, for this step. I've dismantled dozens of doors over the years but this was easily one of the worst. The big black molding across the top is actually two pieces pressed together along a horizontal seam. The upper seal strip is _supposed_ to stay on the door (I verified this in the factory manual); it'* an inverted metal U-shape molded into rubber that'* clamped onto the top of the inner door, not just hooked over it like on most door panels.

The black plastic strip across the top of the panel is supposed to snap into the side of the upper seal, so in other words the door panel removes by pulling out rather than up; they illustrate this in the manual.

The black plastic strip is stapled to the underside of the door panel, but when I pulled on mine as instructed by the service manual, instead of the strip coming away from the upper seal like it was supposed to, the staples ripped out of the panel instead, and the strip split in two as well. Big effing mess.

So like I said, I pulled the whole mess off, separated the pieces, and reshaped them the way they used to be. The black plastic strip is supposed to wrap around the top of the door panel and is stapled in place along its underside. It had split apart, so I got the staples back in place on the underside half, and used clear silicone sealer and 36 clothespins to reattach the upper half.

I have to reassemble the door this evening. I'm going to wipe a thin film of Vaseline on the inner strip to make it easier to snap into the channel of the upper seal. Will let you know how it goes.

Okay,the door is back together now without too much heartache. I had a couple of mistakes before:

1) The larger bolts are 10mm, not 11mm. I went back and edited the last post for that.

2) The top of the door panel does attach to the upper seal strip by hanging on it, sort of, rather than pressing in sideways like the manual shows.

I reattached the upper seal strip to the top of the inner door sheet metal by tapping it down into place with a rubber mallet. Then the top strip of the door panel, the black plastic strip that'* stapled to the top of the panel, has a 1/2" lip on it that hooks into a channel on the upper seal strip, and you press it down in, evenly along the top of the door. Once it'* seated, the plastic push pins around the edge of the panel will be lined up with their holes.

Don't forget to reconnect all wiring harnesses before snapping the panel back onto the door...