# '08 F250 4x4 Diesel Build



## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

2008 F250 CREW CAB DIESEL 4X4 STEREO BUILD

Head Unit – Pioneer AVIC 710
Front Speakers – Image Dynamics CXS 64 V.2
Rear Subs – Two Pioneer 12 “ TS-SW1201 S2
Amplifiers – Two MBQuart Discus – DSC4125 powering the separates, DSC1500.1D for the subs
Capacitor - Volfenhag ZX-HYPERCAP 2.2 Farad
Subwoofer Box – Speed of Sound Custom box SPL2K.COM
Steering Wheel Controls - PAC SWI-PSv1
Sirius Satellite Tuner – Pioneer CD-SB10
Back-up Camera – Pioneer ND-BC4
Sound Deadener – Raamat BXT II, Ensolite IUO peel and stick
Wiring – Knukonceptz- Kolossus Fleks, Power and Ground 1/0 ga, 4ga to amps, Speaker – Karma SS 12ga	
Interconnects – Streetwires ZV7235, ZN7435
Fuse Block – StreetWires FBXS024
Ring Terminals – Wiringproducts.com Copper lugs
Head Unit Adapter Bracket and Wiring Harness – Crutchfield
Speaker Adapter Bracket from 5x7 to 6.5 - Ebay









So I bought my ’08 F250 truck brand new off the lot in ’09. It’s a crew cab diesel 4x4 XLT model. It had a 6 disc CD changer and Sirius Satellite radio. There were only 4 speakers, 2 in the front doors and 2 in the rear pillars. Shallow mount subs were the only option for behind my seats. I knew I wanted to run separates up front. I figured I could always add rear speakers later if I wanted to. I’ve always put my own stereo systems in (head units, speakers etc) but never as involved as this project. 


*Sound Deadener*. The first thing I did was remove all four door panels and install RAAMmat sound deadener to the door skins. I put it on the inside of the outer door panel and on the inside panel of the door, that faces the removable plastic part of the door (if that makes any sense). I used RAAM audio’s ensolite foam, on top of the deadener, for the areas behind my tweeter and midrange. I covered up some smaller holes in the door panels with the deadener, but not the larger ones. I decided not to get too anal about the air gaps in the door or around the midrange speakers. I did this on all four doors. Although the sound deadener added quite a bit of weight to each door, it definitely reduced the outside noise. I also added the sound deadener to the rear cab wall. I don’t know how much this process affected my stereo listening, but it sure made the inside of my truck quieter. I will do this on any other vehicle I own in the future, regardless of the stereo system. The RAAMmat applied easily and I didn’t need a roller to install it. 







The inside of the front passenger door.







Front passenger door. I know the true audiophiles are cringing at the open hole in the door. I purposely chose not to cover any major holes out of pure laziness. To me, my stereo sounds awesome as is. The rectangular holes are for the door panel to attach.







The inside of the front driver's side door.







Front driver's side door, almost completed. Again, no covering of the big holes on purpose.







This is the right rear passenger side door.







This is the driver's side rear passenger door.







Rear wall of the cab, prior to sound deadening.







The back of the cab before the sound deadener. The felt snaps off pretty easily. Luckily my truck didn't come with a power rear slider. It gave me more room for adjustments.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

I tried to keep the vents installed at first. I later removed them so the box would fit better. I used the same deadener to cover up the vent holes.
*Speaker Pods.* My next project involved the new speaker pods from Ford. My truck didn’t come with the speaker pods due to the stereo option. So I bought both driver and passenger side from Ford, Part# 7C3Z17K709DA, left and 7C3Z17K709CA, right. Each Pod cost about $60 and came with the stock tweeter installed. I removed the tiny stock tweeter that came with the pod. I wanted to use the stock tweeter mounting locations inside the pod but had a hard time with the design. The ID tweeters were a little wider and much deeper and heavier than the stock tweeters. You can see in a couple pics, I had to use a Dremel to carve away some of the inner plastic so the tweeter would fit. 







Factory tweeter pod.







Here's what the inside of the tweeter pod looks like. I wanted to re use the two mounting locations and their threads.







The back side of the tweeter pod. You can see where I had to use a Dremel to carve away the plastic. The Image Dynamic tweeter was much wider and deeper than the stock tweeter that was in here. I did this on both tweeter pods.
The next problem was how I would mount the tweeters into the pod. Fortunately my dad found the answer. The ID tweeters have female threads in the middle of them so they can also be mounted directly onto their midrange speaker. As luck would have it, my dad found some threaded tube with the same thread pitch as the tweeter. The tubes were used for lamps and mounting lamp shades. I threaded the tubes into the tweeters, so now I had a way to secure them to something. I used Loctite to secure the tubes. I stayed with the lamp parts, and found a small flat bar with a threaded hole in the middle, used for Candelabra mounts. I threaded the tweeter into the bar, bent the sides of the bar down, and then bent the sides out to make feet. I had to measure and drill holes in the bar feet, so they would match the stock mounting holes in the speaker pod. Once the holes were drilled, I had to bend the feet into the right angles to fit inside the speaker pod, and angle the tweeter the right way. This whole tweeter/speaker pod fabrication process took me about 5 hours over a few days.







This is the Image Dynamics tweeter, sitting on the stock tweeter mounting bracket. The bracket was too small to use for the tweeter.







The backside of the Image Dynamics tweeter. I added the screw in nipple from a lamp shade parts kit.







This is the package I got the threaded tube from that screwed into the back of the Image Dynamic tweeter. I used loctite to secure the tube to the tweeter.







These things were a pain in the ass to make. It started as a straight piece. I'd screw it to the back of the tweeter, bend the metal down the sides of the tweeter, then flare out the ends. Cut the extra metal off, then drill new holes on the ends, then angle the ends so the tweeter would face the right way when mounted in the bracket. Not the best looking part, but a lifesaver for mounting issues.







This is the passenger side tweeter pod with the Image Dynamics tweeter installed.







This is the front driver's side tweeter pod with the Image Dynamics tweeter installed. The tweeter didn't want to fit without some shaving of the plastic.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

Another view of the passenger side tweeter pod.








When mounting the tweeter pods onto the door, I hit another problem. Behind the location of the tweeter pod, there is a bolt in the door. The thread side is facing you, with a nut screwed onto it. This nut and bolt combination was hitting the back of the tweeter. It was not allowing the tweeter pod mounting clips to snap into the slots on the door frame. I couldn’t tell what the bolt was used for, but it didn’t look too important for anything serious. Therefore, I unscrewed the nut and used a cut off wheel to slice the protruding threads off. With the bolt and nut gone, there was just enough room that everything was able to snap into position. I had to do this with both the driver and passenger side doors.







This is a picture of a bolt cut off. It was longer and had a nut on the end. The nut and bolt length got in the way of the tweeter pod. They would hit the back of the tweeter and not let the pod clip into the two rectangular slots. I don't know what the bolt goes to, but so far nothing has fallen off my truck and my mirrors are still attached.







This is a close up of the bolt I had to cut off. I had to do this on both front doors.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

*Midrange.* The ID midrange speakers were 6.5” and the stock Ford door speakers are 5x7”. I found a guy on eBay that made plastic adapter brackets to go from 5x7” to 6.5”. I had to drill two extra holes in each bracket and use a round file to open out the body of the adapter, but otherwise they worked just fine. I should point out that I’m only running a front stage speaker set-up. I did not install any speakers in my rear cab doors or pillars. I figured since any rear speakers would be used just for fill anyways, I could always add some later. After listening to the finished product, I’m content with the current setup.







This is the Image Dynamic 6.5 midrange. You can also see the speaker adapter behind it, changing the hole from 5x7 to fit 6.5







This is the driver's side front door. Again you can see the adapter bracket behind the speaker.







This is the passenger side front door. I used spade connectors for the wire going to the tweeter. Since the tweeter pod is separate from the door panel, there needed to be some way to disconnect the two. I cut off the connector to the stock speaker wire, but used the same wire to splice into for the crossover. Then from the crossover to the tweeter and midrange, I used the Knukonceptz 12ga wire.














The crossover for the passenger side door. The inside of the plastic door panel had to be trimmed a little due to the height of the crossover.







A close up pic of the crossover on the front driver's side door.

As for the speaker wires into the door, I used the stock wire. I decided not to run a new wire into the door, due to the factory plug Ford uses. This would have added considerable time and thought, not to mention lack of work space under the dash. Luckily, the crossovers that come with the speakers are relatively small. I had some ADS speakers in the past and those crossovers were huge. Anyway, I found a place to mount the crossovers really close to the tweeter pods. I had to cut out a little plastic from the inside of the door panel, but it took only about 5 minutes for each side. I used a couple self tapping screws and it was finished. I did use new 12ga speaker wire from the crossover to the tweeter.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

*Amp rack.* My next project was the amp rack. I opted for ½” MDF. I removed the metal fold down rack that sits under the rear seat. I measured the mounting holes and made a few cut outs on the amp rack, so it would fit as close to the seat as possible. I spray painted the MDF with flat black paint. It took one whole can because MDF tends to soak up paint. I counter sunk the holes and used flathead Allen bolts to secure the amp rack to the existing seat brackets. From there it was just deciding where to mount my amps and how to run my cables for the remote turn on, speakers, power and ground.







The initial fitment of the amp rack.







Again, initial fitment of amp rack, passenger side view.







The layout of the amp rack. 1/2" MDF, five mounting holes, each counter sunk for a flush surface.
*
Sub-box.* I bought my subwoofer box from spl2k.com. Mike makes a few different styles of box that fit the truck. They are great quality and it fit just right behind my rear seats. I opted for the 2 sub 12” sealed box, and my rear window was non-powered. I used a box cutter to cut the felt on the rear of my cab. I made sure to cut the felt below the top of the sub box, so when it’s installed against the cab, the extra felt material is folded into the top of the box. It gives it a cleaner look. One note, I had to remove the two rectangular vents on the rear of the cab. These help with airflow inside the truck. The speaker box would not fit flush against the back cab wall with them left in. I took both vents out and used the sound deadener to cover up the holes they left. I didn’t want any water to leak into the cab from the holes. Plugging the vents also creates more air pressure inside when shutting the doors. Sometimes the door will not want to latch closed all the way because it is pressurizing the cab when it closes. I think I can live with these minor changes. I did have to relocate my tire jack and other misc. items I kept back there. With the shallow mount subs, there were not too many options to begin with. But after hooking everything up, I’m very pleased with the results.







Test fitting the box without the subs. The cut out box carpet was re-glued in the inside of the box.







Different view of the sub box.







I thought about installing a binding post for the speaker connections. I decided the less drilling into the sealed box, the better. The subs are single voice coils. I ran each pair of wires out of the box through the same hole, then put silicone around the hole. I didn't splice/bridge the subs inside the box because I wanted to give myself the option of trying different connections at the amp.







Picture of the sub box on the passenger side, with the seat folded down.







The sub box with the back seat folded down.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

*Wiring.* I started from the engine compartment. Since the F250 has two batteries, I looked around to see which side of the engine compartment was easier to run the power wire. I opted for the driver’s side for a couple of reasons. One, it was easier to find a mounting location for the 250amp circuit breaker I would use. Second, there was already a hole in the fire wall that was big enough to run the 1/0 ga power wire through. So I mounted the circuit breaker on top of the plastic cover for the fuse box. It was easily accessible for mounting and for shutting off the system. The circuit breaker was mounted within one foot of the positive battery terminal. Then I ran the rest of the 1/0 ga wire through the firewall (I just happened to have a grommet that fit perfectly). I routed the wire down behind the parking brake and into the door sill. From there it went all the way back to the side of the amp rack and under the carpet, out a small slice in the carpet and up onto the amp rack. The 1/0ga terminated into a Streetwires dual fuse distribution block. From the distro block, one 4ga wire went to my speaker amp and the other 4ga wire went to my capacitor. Then from the capacitor there was a short 4ga wire to the sub amp. I also ran my remote turn on wire next to the power wire, then spliced it under the amp rack for both amps. I ran my 12ga speaker wire from under my amp rack, straight up the middle of the floorboard, and up behind the dash to the Crutchfield wiring harness adapter. This was pretty straight forward. I used Streetwire’s interconnect cables. I ran both sets of interconnects under the amp rack toward the passenger side door and then up the door sill to behind the dash. Since Ford uses the door sills for wiring as well, it was a very easy route to choose. My sub amp also has a base boost knob. I ran it along the passenger side door sill and mounted it just under the dash, below the cup holder on the driver’s side.







Setting up the runs for the wires.







The connection at the driver's side battery.







250 amp circuit breaker, mounted on top of the fuse block holder. The power wire on the left comes from the battery, 13" away. The power wire on the right goes down through the firewall, into the cab. The small blue wire is a ground for the breaker, that allows a tiny blue LED to turn on when powered. This location is in the corner on the driver's side of the engine compartment. I bought the copper ring terminals with the right size hole to mount on the breaker.







A closer view of the bass Boost knob. I used double sided velcro tape rather than screws. Still deciding if this is the permanent mounting location.







This picture shows where I mounted the Bass Boost knob, under the drink holder fold out thingy. I wanted it accessible, but not too visible at the same time.

By removing the stock metal fold down tray for my amp rack, it left an empty threaded hole on my floorboard on the driver’s side. I bought some threaded rod for the hole. I measured, cut and screwed the rod into the hole. I left enough room for my speaker amp ground cable to attach with a nut on top of it. On the underside of the truck cab, I left enough room for another ground cable to be attached with a nut. I located a hole on my truck’s frame that was a decent size and close in-line to the threaded rod. I used 1/0ga ground wire to bolt from my truck’s frame up to the threaded rod. I think the ground cable length was approximately 12-14”s long. I wanted to have a solid ground point and one that was as short as possible. I had to do some filing and sanding of the metal to get down past the paint. I repeated the same process on the passenger side for my sub amp, but with a slight difference. The passenger side still uses the seat bolt for support. However, the bolt was long enough and enough threads were showing under the cab, that I was able to put a ring terminal on the threads and secure it with a thinner style flange nut. I made the same type of short ground wire and bolted it onto the truck’s frame on the passenger side. Again filing and sanding so there would be metal on metal connections.







Ground strap from bottom of seat bolt to frame.







Ground strap from threaded rod on driver's side.







Driver's side ground strap from frame to threaded rod. Rust has since been removed and bolt coated with grease.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

Side note. I did not do a big three upgrade. I looked at my stock truck wires and figured they were sufficient gauge for my stereo build. I also figured I could always upgrade them at a later date if needed. 

*Back-Up Camera.* I installed Pioneer’s ND-BC4 Camera. I wanted a Camera that I could position to my needs. I considered the license plate frame style, but after reading many online reviews, I opted for the stand alone type. I played around with many different mounting locations. One benefit to this Camera is the ability to tilt and angle the view to a specific mounting spot. It is also very small and easily hidden. Not much creativity went in to my mounting location. I bought a piece of aluminum angle iron from Home Depot. I cut it to the length of my license plate. I drilled two holes and used my license plate bolts to secure the bracket behind my truck’s rear bumper. I moved the Camera around on the bracket until I found the position I liked. The Camera comes with its own mounting bracket that has slots for screws and double sided sticky tape underneath. I was going to use small screws to mount the Camera to the angle bracket. Instead, I used the sticky tape option. So far it has worked out well and I periodically check it for stability. 
The Camera comes with plenty of wire to connect to your system. My truck is a crew cab with a 6ft bed and there was plenty of length for the wire. I worked from the Camera towards the front. The Camera comes with small wire mounts, to secure the wire along the run. They have tape on the bottom and a metal wire holder that you bend over, to clamp the wire down. The Camera did not come with too many of those clamps. Not completely relying upon tape for all things, I used some zip ties along the way. I ran the wire up inside the passenger side frame rail. There’s a crossbeam under the rear of the cab that I made the wire follow. There are a few floor grommets for the cab of the truck, under where the rear passengers sit. I cut a small slit in one of the grommets under the right rear passenger seat. I ran the Camera wire through the grommet and into the cab. I followed the same wiring run as my interconnects, along the passenger door sill. Behind the glove box is a metal support beam. I coiled the remaining Camera wire and wire tied it to the beam. There is a small power supply unit that comes with the Camera. I used double sided tape to attach the power supply to the same metal support beam. From the power supply, there is a wire with an RCA connector that attaches to the head unit. I left enough slack in the RCA wire from the power supply, so I could pull the head unit out and not worry about the connector coming off. In the future I will splice into the Camera wire so I can use one of my Upfitter switches to manually turn on the Camera. I have no complaints so far with the visibility of the Camera and the clarity of the images.







If you look close, you can see the two holes I drilled on the rear of the bed. I initially though about mounting the camera there so it would be less exposed. However, the view would have been blocked quite a bit, being so far back. Not to mention the pain in the ass it would be to tap the threads.
*
Head Unit.* I knew I wanted GPS and settled for the Pioneer AVIC710 stereo. There are quite a few wires for this unit and to be honest, I was a little intimidated. I’ve done installs before, but never with so many different hook-ups and wires. One thing that helped me was to have everything laid out on the floor beforehand. That way I could visually see where everything was supposed to hook up. I bought Crutchfield’s adapter kit (95-5812), to allow the AVIC710 to be installed in the stock location, and it worked just fine. I was surprised at how easy the Ford dash comes apart, a couple pressure clamps and a few screws was all I needed to remove. There is quite a bit of room to work with once a few plastic panels are removed and the wiring harnesses are disconnected.







About to remove the stock stereo.







A pic of the final product, Pioneer Avic 710 mounted in a Crutchfield adapter bracket.

*Satellite Antenna.* My truck came with Sirius Satellite Radio and the antenna was already mounted on the cab. I had to buy a new Sirius Satellite tuner, which allowed me to hook up with the AVIC710. The problem is the Ford connectors on the stock Satellite tuner, do not match the Satellite connectors to the AVIC710. A brilliant idea would be for some company to make an adapter wire with different plugs at the ends to match the specific vehicle connections. Regardless, the new Sirius tuner was smaller and easier to bolt on under the dash. I even used the same threaded bolt mounts from the stock Ford Satellite tuner mounting bracket. The antenna that came stock and attached to the Ford tuner had a square plastic housing, then a round circle in the middle of the housing. The square housing is what clamped the antenna into the Ford tuner. The new Sirius tuner had a round hole for the antenna to insert into. All I had to do was break off the outer square plastic housing of the Ford connector, and the round part of the antenna fit directly into the Sirius tuner. This saved me from running a new Satellite antenna.







This is the Sirius Satellite tuner mounted in the same location as the stock Satellite tuner was. I was able to re-use the stock Satellite antenna.







This picture shows the location of the Satellite tuner, just under the steering column to the left.

*Bluetooth Mic.* The AVIC710 has Bluetooth capabilities. I personally like using the ear bud, but I figured I might as well install the mic at the same time as everything else. I ran the mic up the A-Pillar on the driver’s side. I didn’t use any of the Bluetooth mounting brackets that came with the AVIC710. I put a little tension on the mic wire, so the circular head of the mic was being pulled into the A-Pillar, at the very top near the windshield. There was plenty of wire to run back down the A-Pillar and behind the dash to the AVIC710.







This is the mic for the bluetooth. It's tucked away in the top left corner of the windshield.

*GPS Antenna.* I mounted the GPS antenna on the dashboard, right up against the windshield. On the Ford, there was already a small flat spot that was ideal for the location. The antenna came with a 3”x3” magnetic pad with adhesive tape on one side for mounting. The antenna itself is magnetized and clamps itself onto the pad. I ran the antenna wire through one of the defroster vents, down to the stereo unit. I attached the pad onto the dash and clamped the antenna on it. There was very minimal wire showing from the vent to the pad.







This is a picture of the GPS antenna on the dash.







A closer pic of the GPS antenna. 
Side note. I modified the wiring harness of the 710 and hacked the GPS mode. There’s a great video on YouTube for how to do this. The hack lets you set route points and adjust locations while the vehicle is moving. Otherwise, the stereo’s factory setting will not allow you to make adjustments unless the vehicle is stopped, for obvious safety concerns.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

*Steering Wheel Controls.* I wanted to be able to use my stock steering wheel controls with the new stereo. I bought the PAC (SWI-PS) universal steering wheel control. The instructions were just ok as far as details. Compared to Pioneer instructions they sucked. I read these instructions over and over to be sure I understood them. I’ve never had to wire a resistor in-line for a stereo system. However, it worked and I can now control the volume, source, and song selections with my stock steering wheel. Luckily, there is plenty of room for this device behind the dash. You need access to it to program the controls. 








Wiring for the sub amp. The hole sizes and spacing for the speaker wire could be a little better. lol







Wiring for my speaker amp, fuses not installed yet.







Different view of the final product.







This is the final product.







The side view of the speaker amp on the driver's side. It's hard to tell, but the seat is resting on the seat stop, not the amp. The seat fabric just hangs down a bit. So far there's been no heat issues.







Side view of the sub amp. Again, the seat is resting on its stop, not the amp. The black wire is for the bass boost knob under the dash.

Well that’s about it. It took me about five months total to do this build. I didn’t work on it every day. There were mail order delays as well as pure laziness that affected the build time. I like that I saved money, rather than paying a shop to install everything. Also, I know where everything is and how to fix it on my own. To me, my truck sounds awesome the way it is. I’m sure some people reading this post will have their own ideas or criticisms. That’s fine, I can appreciate other view points. I’m also open to any questions as to how or why I did things.


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## customtronic (Jul 7, 2007)

Looks good man. Nice and simple and easy to service. Everything doesn't have to be full blown custom. Good job.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

Buckshot-Bob said:


> Just a few suggestions, I would make sure those big holes gets covered. That will make a HUGE difference in midbass response.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice front stage by the way and neat stealth install  

Kelvin


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## raamaudio (May 4, 2005)

Looks great

I concur, cover those big access holes, small ones a good idea as well, with some sheet metal(I prefer the thin dimpled, coated, aluminum screen door repair panels found at most smaller hardware stores) the mat, then the entire area with Ensolite. 

I also coat the back of the door panel, focused mainly closer to the speakers, with some mat as needed then the foam to help diffuse anything getting under the door panel, decoupling it, etc....as well. 

Nice stealthy install, my favorite way to build, I did a 99 F350 quad dually once, moved the rear seat forward 1" and had a wall with 3 tens full depth ones and three amps.

Just finishing up my 96 Duramax with 6x9 ID X69s, full size ID horns, single IDQ12V3 and mini amps, very stealthy, very loud, great sound stage, so far, more tweaking to do (Blow through with dual or triple 15's or 4 12's might be next though

Rick


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## raamaudio (May 4, 2005)

Ground to chassis, I would clean it up again, put the cable back on, tighten well and spray it with some undercoating. I have had my old taco like this for over a decade and 190k miles in every climate imaginable including on the 5th winter in Utah where they use tons of salt on the roads, never had to touch it once, still working fine

Rick


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## jam0o0 (Nov 30, 2010)

i like everything except the cap. 
link from research: GlassWolf's Homepage


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## slater (Nov 21, 2010)

jam0o0 said:


> i like everything except the cap.
> link from research: GlassWolf's Homepage


nice find!! i tried telling a couple people that caps are NOT worth it. here is just one more thing to prove me right. 

nice clean install!


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

I appreciate the comments. On the Cap issue: I can't really remember why I chose to install it, other than thinking "It's better to account for during the build, than try to install at a later date". However, that too doesn't make much sense. 
Now that everything is built, I will probably test my system out by bypassing the cap and seeing if there is any change. If there isn't, I would remove the cap.
And maybe I'll take a second look at my door panels and the giant holes in them. I'm still very pleased with the sound I'm getting.


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## bikerider (Dec 28, 2008)

Buckshot-Bob said:


> I appreciate the comments. On the Cap issue: I can't really remember why I chose to install it, other than thinking "It's better to account for during the build, than try to install at a later date". However, that too doesn't make much sense.
> Now that everything is built, I will probably test my system out by bypassing the cap and seeing if there is any change. If there isn't, I would remove the cap.
> And maybe I'll take a second look at my door panels and the giant holes in them. *I'm still very pleased with the sound I'm getting.*


If you invest just a couple of hours in sealing those holes properly you will be even more pleased. After all of the quality work you have done here those holes are not allowing those mids to perform to their potential, even though you are happy with it now.


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## DJSPANKY (Dec 15, 2009)

Nice work. Any thought on moving the crossover modules out of the doors. Doors will always get moisture in them, which could damage the crossovers. It doesn't always happen, but I would eliminate the oppertunity for failure all together by moving them into the cab of the truck.

Other than that it looks good.


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## Eastman474 (Jan 8, 2010)

Nice work.. looks good


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## Audioguy36 (Jun 10, 2010)

Top notch build man!


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

DJSPANKY said:


> Nice work. Any thought on moving the crossover modules out of the doors. Doors will always get moisture in them, which could damage the crossovers. It doesn't always happen, but I would eliminate the oppertunity for failure all together by moving them into the cab of the truck.
> 
> Other than that it looks good.


Originally, I thought about mounting the crossovers on the amp rack. The problem is getting to the stock speaker wire as it passes through the door from the cab. Trying to get up behind the dash at the doors, especially the driver's side, is a real pain in the ass. Mounting them inside the doors, eliminated that problem. 
I'm kinda playing everything by ear, no pun intended. If there are any problems I have with my system, believe me I will re-engineer whatever it takes to find a solution.


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## raamaudio (May 4, 2005)

Since the crossovers are just under the trim panels and not inside the doors it is not to likely to have a moisture issue. Especially the more you seal the doors, using something like Ensolite is perfect for that. 

Sealing up the door access holes is not an option in my book as it will reduce road noise a great deal and result in a better sounding system just from that aspect alone. 

Also using a piece of Ensolite, Deflex pads, etc behind the speakers will clean up their output a bit. 

You are doing a great job but it looks more like the average shop job where very critical steps are just not done, you can do the changes in no time at all and it will be better

Sincerely
Rick


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

raamaudio said:


> Since the crossovers are just under the trim panels and not inside the doors it is not to likely to have a moisture issue. Especially the more you seal the doors, using something like Ensolite is perfect for that.
> 
> Sealing up the door access holes is not an option in my book as it will reduce road noise a great deal and result in a better sounding system just from that aspect alone.
> 
> ...


I would still be worried about breaking some components inside the passive by slaming the doors everytime. Happened to me a long time ago - not covered by warranty

Kelvin


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## BowDown (Sep 24, 2009)

Maybe pop the cover off the crossovers and use some hot glue to secure the components down.


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## raamaudio (May 4, 2005)

I have had hot glue melt on super hot days before so I would use silicone sealer instead as I do on panel pops, overlaps, etc.....just enough to do the job but can be removed if needed, etc......


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

BowDown said:


> Maybe pop the cover off the crossovers and use some hot glue to secure the components down.


Which components are you referring to? Internally, I thought everything was soldered to the board. I can only think about the tiny jumpers that were used to attenuate the crossover....


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## bak2life (Dec 5, 2010)

> Rear Subs – Two Pioneer 12 “ TS-SW1201 S2
> Amplifiers – Two MBQuart Discus – DSC4125 powering the separates, DSC1500.1D for the subs


Buckshot...would you care to comment on the subs / amp combination in terms of being musical? 

BTW...nice truck...clean install!


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## jam0o0 (Nov 30, 2010)

the industry standard way to water and vibration proof electronic boards for the offroad industry is to "pot" them in epoxy. basically you just mix up a big batch of 2 part epoxy and pour that on the board. i've never done it to a board that had parts i needed to swap on it but it shouldn't be too hard to avoid those with the epoxy.


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## bikerider (Dec 28, 2008)

You can also pot with RTV which remains more pliable than an epoxy. When I first got out of college I worked in the defense industry and this is how we protected a lot of the circuitry for the Patriot missile control display power supplies and other modules.

If it were me I'd just get the crossovers out of the door before trying to modify it to justify a less than ideal mounting location.


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## jdc753 (Nov 14, 2007)

awesome build man!! Great to see more truck builds like these. Only things I would suggest is sealing up the doors like others mentioned, can make some fiberglass access panels that area easily removed if you need to work on the doors. Also maybe making a beauty panel to cover up the wiring and ends of the amps and such, sorta make the amps/cap flush mounted into the panel, you obviously got the ability to make em, and I personally think it would dress it up that little bit more.

Also guessing your already on a ford-diesel forum, but if not maybe come on over and check out PowerStrokeNation.com I post on there under the same name, lots of 6.4 guys and a great community.


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## Buckshot-Bob (Dec 26, 2009)

bak2life said:


> Buckshot...would you care to comment on the subs / amp combination in terms of being musical?
> 
> BTW...nice truck...clean install!


I'm not sure what you're asking about in terms of musical? The subs are rated at 400w RMS and 1500w peak. My 1500.1 amp is rated for 750w at 2ohms and 1500w at 1ohm. There's plenty of power for the subs and I really like how the bass carries. I'm currently running a parallel mono set up.

And for everyone else, I am in the process of looking for a screen material I like, to use for covering the door panels.


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## captivahach (Aug 18, 2010)

Great build. I love my image comp. I have a f250 with 4 idq 10's, two comp sets, Im wanting to pull it all this spring and seal and dampen everything up. I sealed up my rear pillars and helped the mids out alot.


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## TxFireman1972 (Jul 8, 2010)

subwoofery said:


> I would still be worried about breaking some components inside the passive by slaming the doors everytime. Happened to me a long time ago - not covered by warranty
> 
> Kelvin


Any recommendations on where to mount them in a Superduty?


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## JayinMI (Oct 18, 2008)

Buckshot-Bob said:


> A brilliant idea would be for some company to make an adapter wire with different plugs at the ends to match the specific vehicle connections.


Try tss-radio.com....I had a customer bring in a tuner with an antenna adapter to go from GM XM to Sirius.

Jay


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

TxFireman1972 said:


> Any recommendations on where to mount them in a Superduty?


Anywhere you can that is not in or on the door - under the front seats, in the back seats, under the roof liner, in the kick panels, etc... 

Kelvin


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## Kellyo77 (Dec 5, 2009)

When sealing up the doors in my 06 F250 I used really thin sheet metal. Roughly 1/16" thick. Layer of deadener on both sides and screwed it over the holes. Then covered the whole part with another piece of deadener. Then Ensolite over the entire door. My components rock.


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## low2001gmc (Aug 27, 2008)

very nice......


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## slwt13 (Nov 9, 2011)

I know this was from a while back but I'm looking to install a Pioneer head unit in my F250 with sync. Am I required to purchase the Sync interface module regardless of your install type?

I'm not that big of a sync fan, maybe i'm not in the know, but I simply want to install my head unit but maintain the steering controls.


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## hrearden22 (Sep 20, 2008)

Awesome write up with terrific detail and lots of pictures. Thank you for doing this. I am going through an install a very similar truck and you have saved me hours of work.


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## fetoma (Jul 12, 2011)

Beginning my build on an F250 and this was an excellent write-up!


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## mooch91 (Apr 6, 2008)

Wanted to jump in and say nice work on the install! Reminds me very mcuh of the system I did in my 07 F350 a few years back (also in the build logs). Many of the design ideas you chose were the same as mine - shows how limited we really are with options in these trucks! Great job!


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## Jerden (Jun 19, 2012)

Subscribed.


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## capea4 (Sep 2, 2010)

Jerden said:


> Subscribed.


?


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