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Originally Posted by fresnelly
My car: 2001 Ford Focus Wagon.
The stock CD player in my car self-destructed yesterday and I'm in the market for a modest replacement.
I'm not looking for a debate on different models and brands, but instead about standards and the basics of installation. You know, so I don't feel like an idiot when I go in to buy a new one.
In the stores you only ever see a display of the faceplates. Are the boxes that house the player inside the dash all a standard size, or do different brands require special mounting brackets based on the make of your car?
What about the dimensions of the faceplate? The stock Focus one is huge compared to the sleek aftermarket faceplates available. How do you fill the gaps and get it to blend neatly into the dash? Are masking kits available for relatively cheap, or are you at the mercy of an expensive customizing job?
What about the electrical power? Again, are all models standardized or is extra work often necessary?
I'm not interested in adding speakers or components. How does this limit my choices?
In more general terms, what costs should I expect besides labour and the stereo itself? What will the salespeople try to push on me that I can ignore?
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You have a very easy car to do an upgrade into. Another vehicle might not get the DIY recommendation but a Focus surely does. First ask yourself this: Were you reasonably happy with the performance of the stock system? In other words, did it do pretty much everything you needed it to? If the answer is yes, it will take you about 3 hours to nicely upgrade what is in there and possibly less if you leave the stock speakers in place.
Some stats -
The Focus uses a double-DIN sized headunit. This means that behind the trim pieces you will find a standard sized component. Any double-DIN will fit into that space.
There are many companies selling exact Ford-style trim kits that you would use to retrim the opening to match your aftermarket replacement headunit so everything looks neat afterwards. Scosche, Metra, & Tsunami are 3 that should have what you need.
You can also put a single-DIN headunit in there and add a storage pocket below it. That is useful if you want a place to put your sunglasses. Again, the above companies will have that kit too.
You can get plug-in adapters for the factory wiring harness that will let you splice an aftermarket headunit right in without cutting anything. Once more, look to the companies above for those parts. With the adapters, you don't need to run any new wires, just graft to the old ones via plugs & sockets. New wire is on the ends of the adapters that you will attach the new headunit harness to.
I know you don't plan to do this but should you change your mind, the speakers are 5x7 in size and nearly every manufacturer makes them such as Boston, Alpine, Kenwood, and they will fit perfectly into your Focus.
Back to the adapter companies once more, they make speaker harness adapter plugs so you don't have to cut the factory ones out to wire in your new speakers.
The greatest issue will be getting the headunit out of the dash. IIRC, that vintage Focus has 4 holes on the front of it but maybe not. You will need to remove the factory trim panel that surrounds the stock headunit to get at it. I would go to
www.focaljet.com and post your questions as to how to do that there in their car audio forum.
Once the headunit is pulled out, you would unplug it from the factory harness. Then plug your adapters into the factory ones and wire the new headunit to them. If all your speakers are good, you should be able to turn it on and hear them now. Do so, verify that they work, and close up the dash with your new trim kit. Pretty easy so far.
If you decide to change the speakers too, you must remove the door panels to get at the factory speakers. However, there may have been a version of the Focus where you only needed to snap-off the factory grille to get at the speaker. Again, check on focaljet for specifics to your model year.
Like the headunit, remove the factory speakers and plug the adapters in. Then, wire your speakers to them and reinstall them into the doors. The 5x7 will bolt right up to the factory holes. Be sure to use the supplied gaskets if the speakers came with them or create your own with gasket tape from Lowes or similar.
That's it for a quick refit. I did not go into wiring separate amplifiers, dynamatting the doors, or adding a subwoofer. Dynamatting the doors is straightforward and easy to do if the door panels are off. You will benefit by having a less lively door & door panel which will translate directly into better sound. So will external amplifier(s) and a subwoofer but those will be far more involved.
So, replacing the headunit (and adding new speakers) will give you an easy upgrade over the stock system and should be well within your capabilities. If you take it to a car audio shop, figure anywhere from 1.5-3 hours labor cost on top of the equipment. If you decide to DIY it, I would likely source everything through Crutchfield as they will make it easy for you and can supply all the needed adapters.
Good Luck!