So you want to replace the rear speakers in your Oldsmobile Intrigue? Simple, just pry the speaker grilles off using a flathead screwdriver, right?
Nope, the grilles are attached to the deck on the backside using metal rings which lock by digging into plastic pegs on the grilles.
There ain't no gettin' them suckers off without breaking
everything.
Okay, so how do you do it then?
First, you must remove the rear seat (that's right).
At the front of the bottom cushion you'll find two plastic tabs with rings on them. Gently pull them towards the front of the car
while lifting the cushion (don't break them, or else you're in for lots more fun). You can do one side at a time.
It should come right out.
If not, you may need to take a screw driver and push the metal clips on the cushion back a little. They may be slightly
bent from people using the seat. At this point, you may want to vacuum up / sterilize the crap you find under the
cushion, especially if you have kids (...is that my TV remote??).
Next, you'll have to remove the back cushion. To do this, you need to remove two nuts using a 10mm socket-wrench.
Now, pull the bottom end of the cushion off of the bolts, and slide the entire thing up. You may have to lift one side of the cushion, then go around the car to the other side and lift...and repeat.
It takes a little bit of effort, but it will eventually come off.
Now the fun part: removing the rear deck. It's actually not quite as difficult as you would think...
First, you need to remove the 3 plastic clips on the front (left, center, and right). These can probably be pulled out with quite a bit of force, but you'll
end up doing a lot of damage to the carpet around them. It's not worth the aggravation and time, so I recommend
you just clip the heads off. You can order replacement clips extremely cheap
here. Although you have to buy 30 at a time, it's still
cheaper than buying 3 from a dealer...
Use a good sharp pair of cutters and slip them under the head of the clip and snip it off.
The side trim panels have little plastic tabs which slide into slots in the rear deck panel.
To get around these, simply push down on the deck near the tabs, then push in on the trim panel.
This will free the deck from those tabs.
Now you need to gently bend both of the side flaps inward.
Just bend them enough to clear the side trim panel; any more you risk cracking the plastic trim ring around the seatbelts.
Now slip both of the seatbelts out of the trim rings.
If you are feeling brave, stick your arm up under the center of the deck (and pray that you don't feel something move...)
and gently lift it up while pulling the whole thing towards you. It should come quietly, but the insulation will get hooked on
the speakers as you pull it out. The insulation will hold the whole thing back, so you need to be sure to feel around and keep
all of it up and out of the way.
Before you can remove it from the car, you must disconnect the brake light cable located on the left side.
You're done...with that part anyway. Now you can begin your speaker installation. Be sure to test the crap out of the speakers before putting everything back together.
You probably don't want to have to do this again...