Installing front speakers in 2000 Malibu

I'm trying to install new front door speakers on my 2000 Malibu. I'm not sure exactly how to remove the door panels in order to get to the speakers. Is there anyone out here thats done this before or that can direct me to a page that explains how to do it and what I would need to do?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

~J

I have never taken the panel off a newer Malibu, but most others are held on with plastic push pins. Remove all of the screws first, around the arm rest etc. Start at the bottom and pull out on the corner until the panel works free. Work around the rest of the panel until it is free. To replace the panel, reverse the process,go buy new push pins before you begin. The pins generally break when you pull them off.

You might want to check n-body.com. This site is for owners of N-Body cars. I am sure someone there has done this. Good luck.

That is N-Body.net.

I checked n-body.net and didn't see anything there about taking door panels off. I just don't want to mess anything up, and was hoping there'd be some step by step instructions or something somewhere. I see them out there for a lot of cars, not the malibu though. I want to be sure I can put it back together without messing anything up thats all. Any other suggestions? I don't want to bring it anywhere. My friend is going to install them for me, he just wants to be sure on how to take the door panels off so that they can get back on... If not, I'll probably go with what you said about how to do it, (thank you for that by the way)

Any other ideas?

~J

I would post the question on N-body.net under the "Modifications" Thread. There may also be a thread for audio, I am not sure. If you pry up easily on the bottom corner of the panel you should be able to see what type of fastner is used. I don't think they reinvented the wheel for this car...

yeah i went to N-Body.net and didn't see a place to register for the forum, i'm slow or somethin, sorry about that. i posted over there. thanks for your help!

~J

I've done it lots of times. before you start your work, you need a few tools...
flat tip AND cross tip screwdriver, allen key wrench (4-5mm), and maybe some pliers.
the first thing you need to do is remove the small plastic plate just below the inside door handle using the flat tip screwdriver. inside you will see two (2) screws. these screws secure the center area of the door pannel. on the door handle itself, you should see the one (1) allen screw under the lever. remove that, and the other two screws. you are halfway there. now remove the corner plate near the rearview mirror area with the flat tip screwdriver. after that, all that's left is to slowly pry up the outer edges of the pannel from the plastic clips. after releasing the bottom area, you need to lift the entire pannel off of the window lip. be careful when doing this because your window and door lock controls have wires linked to the pannel. after removing the pannel, you can remove the connecting wires for the doors/windows (note: this is if you have power doors and windows. i have not seen or worked on a non-powered window/door malibu).
now that you have the pannel off, you can get to the speakers with the cross tip screwdriver. the speaker uses a special connecting device on the wires. you may have to mod the new speakers to bypass this problem. what i did was use the entire old connector and put it on the new speakers by leaving enough wire to do a splicing job. after you're done, just do all the stuff in reverse to put it all back together.

in addition, since a lot of people don't know this, you can use a larger speaker (such as a 6x9) in the front door if you rip out the styrofoam piece from the pannel itself. you may need to drill some holes to attach to speaker. for testing purposes only, i used duct tape. yes, DUCT TAPE! i didn't drill any large holes for the speaker itself either. but the original sized rear malibu speaker fit perfectly in the space with some room to spare.


DeeJay
majin-BU
N-II-Z-ist

I removed the original speaker from my front doors and flush mounted a 6.5" Infinity component set in the panels themselves. I cut out the factory grill cover and used a piece of MDF to mount the speakers to.

How did you mount it to MDF? I have some 6.5's I wanna put in (stock 4x6s) and it's not deep enough when the window is down? HOw can I do this? thanks

bump! how did you get the 6.5s im thinking about doing that or if its too hard just putting in some 4x6s