dirtbiker117

So I just got done putting a pair of 6x9" speakers in the hatch, and I noticed while trying to research how to do it, that there's not a lot of info on actually installing them. Hopefully this will help someone out there.

To start out, I traced a rough sketch of the speakers onto some 1/8" board, and cut them out with a jigsaw. I kept trimming from there until the speakers would fit snugly into the template



Then I took the plastic cover off of the liftgate and removed the stock speaker covers. I turned the cover over to the back side, and traced the outline of the speakers from the template onto the back of the trim panel.



From there it's pretty much the same thing as making the templates - cut out the majority of the plastic, and then take your time and make the speakers fit snugly into the holes.
This is what your finished product should look like



To determine how much material i needed to cut out of the back hatch, I put the cover back on and traced around the insides of the holes onto the fiberglass.



Cut out the area that you outlined.



I had heard that the screws that hold the speakers in have a tendency to strip out the fiberglass, so I decided to beef up the mounting a little bit. I took some 1" plywood and cut it to fit around the outline of the holes cut in the fiberglass, and screwed it down.



Once you've done that, you're pretty much good to go. From there it was just a matter of hooking up the speakers, putting the trim panel back on and installing the speakers. Here is the finished result:



Total install time was around 4-5 hours, but I was really taking it slow and making sure everything fit just right. I used an air grinder (harbor freight special ) to cut out the fiberglass and the plastic, and of course a jigsaw for cutting the wooden templates. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy the tunes

91familyxj

Looks good. I put some 6x9s in my hatch but I just layed the speaker up there and traced it. pretty much the same thing just a little diffrent. O and instead of useing the wood for a stronger backing I used sheet metal.

95yeti

nice

mobilecherokee4

looks good man i was thinkin about doin the same thing....you made me want to do it even more haha

rivercrazy

Good job! This should probably be a tech write-up. My 5 1/4's rattle enough back there that I think if I installed 6x9's it would sound like a vibrator was in the hatch! lol.

dirtbiker117

I would have just traced the speaker, but there's about a half inch lip all the way around for mounting it, and I couldn't think of any good way to trace the speaker and still have the lip overhang. I'm sure there's a better way than I did it, but that's just the first thing that popped into my head, so I did it.

Eh, I don't think it's quite good enough to be a write-up lol...I didn't take enough/good enough pictures. I mainly meant for it to be found by people searching for ways to mount them

91familyxj

Ya I just one day saw some 6x9s I had and said im ganna just put them in. lol I like your little write up on it. If I havnt done it you would of pushed me seeing how you did it. Its nice and clean. Good job again. Ill try and post my pics but I have to say yours in way cleaner. lol

mobilecherokee4

well you inspired me to take action and i installed some today as well!!

milmat1

Good Idea !

I need some serious Speakerige myself !

Borego

Full of WIN

1jeepman

Nice job, looks really good.

G_P

Hmmm i have some 5x7's and 6x9's laying around.......Now to figure out how to install them and make it look stock. I dont want 2 big *** speaker grills sticking out of my hatch! I want the factory panel to hide them.

dirtbiker117

Honestly it would have been close...I could have almost just gone with the stock trim panel and mounted the speaker behind it. There's about a half inch gap between the panel and the fiberglass, and obviously the cutout for the stock speakers. I didn't actually do the measurements, but you could probably make it happen.

And thanks everyone for the compliments

goblazers_6

Very nicely done.

mike albo

They look good.