Since it looks like I'm going to be replacing the passenger door latch assembly, I guess it's time to upgrade the rather anemic speakers. Question: can I replace the driver's side speaker just by prying off the grille? Or do I need to remove the entire interior panel?

(2007 S-Type, 3.0)

Thanks,
Joe

 

The speakers are attached to the door frame. They remain in place when the door card is removed.

If it is any help you will find that the standard (non Alpine) speakers are Ford Mondeo two wire speakers.
However, the 'premium sound' Alipne speakers are four wire mid base speakers with built in tweeters.

Mellow

 

OK, but can the speaker grille be pried off of the door panel, so I won't have to remove the panel? It looks like the speaker mounting hardware would be accessible that way.
I plan on installing Infinity speakers, since they are one of the few brands that don't have that ridiculous "bump" in the bass.

Joe

 

As Mellow mentioned the speakers are mounted to the door frame. The speaker grille cannot be pried off while the door panel is in place, The speaker grille attachments can only be accessed from behind, while the door panel is removed.
Before I upgraded to the factory 'Premium' system I found that installing splits in the from made a huge difference. The tweeters I mounted on the plastic at the base of the A pillar and as the bass speaker was a round shape I made an aluminium bracket to suit. The crossovers mounted nicely on the black plastic speaker assembly base. A bit of an effort though. A split setup is usually going to sound much better than a two way. These splits are still in place but a different wiring setup running off the 'Premium' amp. Much louder with the Premium amp but still not enough power for me..
If you want a quick fix a 2 way oval is going to sound better than the standard factory offerings..


Splits like this are a huge improvement. The standard amp drives them reasonably well.

 

Hmm, food for thought. I had a split Infinity Kappa system in my first Fiero, and it was excellent! Of course, dash mount speakers are arguably the worst possible location to start with.The ability to aim the tweeters made a huge difference. I like your mounting location on the door pillar. I would encourage anyone who is contemplating a speaker replacement to try this; it's unfortunate that there are very few 6 x 8 systems with separate tweeters.

 

A word of advice... Don't get a used door lock assembly from that famous on-line auction site, unless you relish doing the job again in the near future. It is rarely the actuator that fails, but the lock assembly itself. They are not cheap. BTW, US version cars are not equipped with "deadlocking," which is a question that comes up when ordering the lock assembly.

Lastly, check the function of the cable that connects the interior latch handle to the actoator/lock mechanism. Like the hood release cable, these can wear too.