Car Stereos: Main woofer in rear of 1999 Ford Expedition, rear hatch, torx socket

Question
Hello Brian,

I have a 99 Expedition that has had a busted woofer for over a long time now and I thought I would pull it out and stick in another.  I am not up on this stuff since the 60's.  I got the cover off then removed all the screws holding this sucker in place. This thing is not coming out.  What is the secret to getting this out? I have spun it backwards like it may unscrew but it is not coming out. Can you tell me in steps what you got to do? Thanks very much. Unemployed Dave

Answer
Hi Dave,

Unfortunately, Ford didn't make it easy for this one.  There's one final screw you need to remove: through the back of the subwoofer enclosure, into the center of the magnet at the rear of the sub.  To get to it, you'll need to take off the entire rear side panel in the cargo area, and remove the subwoofer enclosure entirely.

I once removed one of these enclosures from an Expedition and mounted an after-market amplifier in that location.  I don't remember the panel layout quite well enough to give you exact step-by-step instructions, but I can tell you it's not really as tough as it looks.  You'll have to remove the sill panels along the bottom of the rear hatch opening, and the rear passenger door.  The top rear seat belt mount will need to be unbolted; you'll need (I think) a T50 or T55 Torx socket for this.  There are two little circular knobs screwed into the rear part of the panel that need to come out.  Also, there may be some screws along the bottom of the panel, under the carpet, securing it to the floorboards.  After all of this, the panel should just be held in with pressure clips, and you can simply pull it away from the wall.

I'm going entirely from memory here, so be alert for things I may have missed.  

Hope this helps!

Brian