How do I replace the speakers inside the front panels of my 2001 Beetle?

[Trigger]

I bought a 2001 Beetle last week, and it is in awesome condition. The only problem is that both door speakers are shot. The tweets up front work, and both rear speakers work. I am going to use to factory head unit for now as it came with a factory 6 disc cd changer.

So here is where I'm at. I finally figured out how to get the door panels off. Once inside I see the speakers, but they are riveted in??? This can't be right, is it? I unhooked the speaker wires, and tried another speaker. The wires work, so it is definitely the speaker. How in the world do I get these speakers out to replace them? Any pics you have would be great, but I will take any advice at this point.

BTW, I don't think that there is an amp, and nothing says Monsoon, so I think it is the standard head unit.

[Toad]

you have to drill out the rivits. there's no other way. then the next fun part is getting the new speakers to stick in there.

[Trigger]

Yeah, last night I finally decided to go against my instincts, and drill them out. I think I figured out a way to make the new speakers stay in, though. Thanks so much for the reply.

[George I]

hello , put another rivits !

[sean_fabanich]

metra makes a set of speaker spacers that are needed in many chrysler applications. i used these one inch spacers to allow for room for the larger magnet on the after market speakers...otherwise they would have come near the window when it was down. i attached these speakers rings using some self taping screws...then screwed the speakers into the rings....also helps seperate the negative wave from the positive wave...giving you slightly better midrange...or mid bass....unfortunetly the way the doors are made ull never get alot of bass from teh door speakers...unless you go with a big amp or a set of paper cone speakers which other wise will give you less over all quality sound

[kosterman]

Hey guys. I used low profile speakers in the doors of my 99 gls and found that there was just enough room behind them to have enough clearance between the magnet and the glass. I used pop rivets to attach them to the stock locations in the door panels after removing the stock speakers by drilling out the factory rivets.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/jef.mindtouc...res=1244319736

[newton27]

I thought I would share how I replaced my speakers in the doors.

I like to say things with pictures, this is the beginning,


After removing the rivets with a drill. With a jig saw, very carefully cut the old speaker out of the frame,


With a jig saw, very carefully cut half of the old frame away,



Rub the surface on your driveway to smooth the edges as best you can,


Where final mounting screws will hold speaker in place,


Testing for fit...


another view of test fit,


When the original speaker is cut away, you can use the original socket to connet to speaker.
Looking forward at speaker front, top right of plug is (+) Positive. (in photo it's left)


Wired and soldered, be careful when attaching to original terminals as they will get too hot and move, so be quick.


When putting back in door, I used nuts and bolts for two of the mounts, and the other two were butterfly type as you see in photo. The nut and bolts need lock washers.


This is the how they look tight,


Note the three small screws that also hold speaker to original mount.


The final step was to remove the base of the final surround and attach with the lower screw, put all back together and not a single rattle, also did not have to cut my original wiring harness.


Michael

[Toad]

I love that.

I've always been irked by the problem of not being able to fit that baffle on any aftermarket speaker.. gotta do it that way when i get my next beetle... if i don't panel mount my speakers again.

[scarabY2k]

that is a pretty sweet mod. wish this mod was around when I did the speakers on Cup. I fab'd plywood donuts attached to the door panel via machine bolts. still able to incorporate the baffles to the speakers and basically ended up with the same end result as you did michael- your way looks much easier , and I would go that route if I had to do it again. nice work and a great write up!

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[newton27]

Originally Posted by scarabY2k

that is a pretty sweet mod. wish this mod was around when I did the speakers on Cup. I fab'd plywood donuts attached to the door panel via machine bolts. still able to incorporate the baffles to the speakers and basically ended up with the same end result as you did michael- your way looks much easier , and I would go that route if I had to do it again. nice work and a great write up!

Sent via my Samsung Exhibit II4G Android phone & AutoGuide.com app

Thanks, it took me couple hours; it all came to me after spending some time in the shed and looking my tools over.. lol
I also posted on the door handle repair thread, which I had to do, that is why I removed the panel, only to discover the speaker foam gone. LOL
Tomorrow is the drivers side turn, and making a video of the sunroof in action.

[scarabY2k]

Originally Posted by newton27

Thanks, it took me couple hours; it all came to me after spending some time in the shed and looking my tools over.. lol
I also posted on the door handle repair thread, which I had to do, that is why I removed the panel, only to discover the speaker foam gone. LOL
Tomorrow is the drivers side turn, and making a video of the sunroof in action.

Sounds like fun buddy.

Hey you feel like a visitor for a brief moment tomorrow? I'd like to stop by and meet ya, if that's cool. PM'ing you my cell#.

[VWBubba]

Hi All,

Nice use of the drywall/plasterboard toggles to remount the speakers Michael, and great pics.

Having recently purchased my first Beetle I set to work on some of the problems, one being the front speakers not working. I first removed the door panel then plugged in another speaker to make sure it was the speaker at fault rather than the wiring. I found that if you do not have another auto speaker, just unplug the one from you home HiFi system and push the cables into the plug.

On drilling out the speakers as others have suggested, I found that the magnet was detached and laying in the bottom of the door, it could be a common fault with these. I also found that you can replace the magnet using epoxy twin pack glue and the speaker works fine again as long as the copper coil is not damaged.

To replace you can either re-rivet them in or use the alternate drywall screws, these are self drilling into drywall but fit perfectly into the existing holes and secure the speakers with normal self tappers. Cheaper and easier than toggles.

Steve

[mikk]

I saw this thread and though i'd write a guide for what I did:
Repair the stock speakers.

Please see here:
Repair stock speakers (rotten or broken foam surround)

I'm very happy with the results and it was cheap. I had some sets of cheap aftermarket speakers to put in (Sony), but i'm not going to bother. The factory speakers sound great after my repair job. They match the tweeters nicely and are perfectly fitted. Didn't even have to take them out of the doors.

[newton27]

Originally Posted by mikk

I saw this thread and though i'd write a guide for what I did:
Repair the stock speakers.

Please see here:
Repair stock speakers (rotten or broken foam surround)

I'm very happy with the results and it was cheap. I had some sets of cheap aftermarket speakers to put in (Sony), but i'm not going to bother. The factory speakers sound great after my repair job. They match the tweeters nicely and are perfectly fitted. Didn't even have to take them out of the doors.

Being an electronics technician. Dragging speakers can damage the amplifiers output drivers.

How are you making sure your foam surround is not "dragging" the coil on the magnet.
When replacing the foam surround the speaker should be laying flat and not in the door. Troubleshooting Speaker Problems - autos.com

I'm thinking about ordering the surrounds suggested and doing my rear speakers, I will remove from the car.

[mikk]

Repair stock speakers (rotten or broken foam surround)

Reply posted in the other thread.

Let me know how you go with the rear speakers. Would be interesting to see if they're any different.