Replacing the standard head unit on a Mk2 Import

[PumpinChimp]

I've been told that replacing the head unit on the MK2 imports is a royal pain in the ar$e so rather than do it myself I've decided to let the pros have a go at it.

I've been to two companies and they've both told me that to replace the head unit the whole system has to be re-wired.

Is this the case? I'm not really looking forward to shelling out an extra £100 on top of the cost of the new CD player, but if it's a big job I'd rather have someone do it properly than me cocking it up.

Cheers.

[JohnnyC]

they've both told me that to replace the head unit the whole system has to be re-wired.

"whole system re-wired" is one way I suppose, or you could use a wiring harness (adaptor).

PC2-17-4 if no active speakers (around £12 from Halfrauds),
PC9-406 if active speakers & Apr 1990 to Jan 1994 (approx £35),
PC9-411 if active speakers & Jan 1994 to Apr 2000 (approx £35).

And here's a link so you can do it yourself (not difficult with good instructions):
http://internettrash.com/users/jinstall/mr2_1.htm

[Ashy]

My new head unit did not have pre amp outputs (amp is built in) and the autolead adapters did not quite do the job for me. In the end I ran some wires from the head unit to the factory amp to connect to the speakers at that point by-passing the amp entirely (but retaining the sub). Sound was much better than before and it only took about two hours tops to do a proper job.

[waltsinhull]

I've had two head units fitted to my imported car whilst I have had it - both pro installs - they didn't seem to complain too much although they did use an adaptor. A complete re-wire may give some performance gain, particularly if you are going to add an amp at some stage as the standard speaker cable is a little bit skinny.

The biggest problem is finding a headunit that looks right as the original unit was near enough flush, whereas aftermarkets tend to stand proud of the dash.

I had a Sony first off and it didn't look right with or without the surround.

I have a Pioneer DEH P77MP now which sits well proud but looks good with the surround on.

It sounds superb in the MR2 too.