# 2001 Pathfinder LE stereo install help needed!



## shawndoggy (Aug 22, 2005)

Ok, I'm a newb here, first post.

I am replacing the bose stereo in my 2001 Pathfinder LE. I've got the headunit issue figured out and I realize that I'll be re-running all of the speaker wire because of the Bose amp. But here's where I'm getting hung up: where do you send your amp power wire through the firewall?

On other installs I've done there's been an extra grommet or other obvious place to send the wire through. Not so on the pathy. Any help would be appreciated!


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## dhmitchell (Sep 1, 2005)

shawndoggy said:


> Ok, I'm a newb here, first post.
> 
> I am replacing the bose stereo in my 2001 Pathfinder LE. I've got the headunit issue figured out and I realize that I'll be re-running all of the speaker wire because of the Bose amp. But here's where I'm getting hung up: where do you send your amp power wire through the firewall?
> 
> On other installs I've done there's been an extra grommet or other obvious place to send the wire through. Not so on the pathy. Any help would be appreciated!


This doesn't help on running the wires, but JFYI to anyone else you can continue using the Bose amp with another radio. My in dash 6-CD got the dreaded Err2 and rather than getting it fixed and have it break again I removed it and replaced the radio. Crutchfield now sells an adaptor for use with the Bose speaker system and with it you can use any single DIN radio and the existing amp. I did it and I think it sounds a little better than the original. I can't use the steering wheel radio controls anymore (not like I ever did). The dash fit-kit looks pretty good and there's a little compartment under the radio now where the changer used to go. I might get a remote CD changer and put it somewhere else in the future, but for now the single CD in the new radio is fine.


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## shawndoggy (Aug 22, 2005)

Yeah, my thought was that if I'm doing the system I might as well do it right and do speakers and amps all at the same time. I'm installing on saturday and will post an update on how to do it.

FYI, if you have a 2001 Pathfinder you can run your amp power wire through a grommet in the firewall right behind the glovebox. Can't really see it from inside the vehicle, but stick your hand up there and you will feel it.


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## shawndoggy (Aug 22, 2005)

*How to do a comlete stereo install in a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE with Bose (Replace the Bose system entirely):*

Because the Bose stereo in the 2001 Nissan Pathfinder uses amplifiers with weird impedences, you can't just remove the headunit and speakers and use the factory wiring like you can with most cars. Rather, you need to rewire the speakers too.

For my install, I added the following:

Pioneer DEH-P6600 headunit
Omnifi DMP1 digital music player
Infinity 6.03cs 6.5" component speakers (front)
Infinity 625.5i 6.5" coax speakers (rear)
Infinity Perfect 10" subwoofer (in separate box in rear)
Profile AP1040 four channel amplifier (for components)
U.S. Acoustics USX2100 amplifier (bridged mono @ 300W rms @ 4 ohms for the sub)

Headunit:

Replacing the headunit in the Pathy is surprisingly easy. Instructions can be found at http://www.carstereohelp.com. The instructions are free for the headunit and cost $5 for the front door and $5 for the rear door. (They are worth it. Pay the $10.) The stock bose headunit has ISO DIN brackets on it, which I removed. I screwed these into the Pioneer deck (they match up perfectly) and put the Omnifi directly below it. I put the two units back in to see how they looked and there was a bit of space around the edges but the stock bezels were too big to fit in around. So I got a Metra 99-9999 generic double din faceplate which can be cut down to work. It looks GREAT. You will also need an antenna adapter (search ebay... these go for $5 shipped) and a wiring harness (ditto ebay).

Speakers: Thankfully the bose speakers have very deep mounting depths, so it's difficult to imagine a 6.5" speaker that wouldn't fit (perhaps a dedicated midbass driver with a 6" mounting depth, but anything in the 3" range would be fine). I sound deadened the doors too with the door skins off because I only want to be doing this once. Note that the pop rivets used to hold the door skin on are stronger than the skin itself and if you just yank on the skin it will crack and the rivet will stay put. I highly recommend getting a panel removal tool (like this one from Crutchfield: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-gyaYWfZcXGW/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=764&id=morephotos&i=18187650#Tab)
Otherwise, though, the 6.5" speakers were a direct drop in in the factory brackets. For the components, I flush mounted the tweeters right next to the mids, on the door skins. If you look at the factory grill on the skin, it's bigger than the actual speaker hole (there's a lot of fake "grill" there). So I took my 1.75" hole saw (a big drill bit thingy) and drilled holes in the skins for the tweets. Came out pretty good.

WIRING: Getting the 4 guage wire through the firewall was the big challenge. There's a grommet behind the glove box, but you can't see it from the engine bay or the interior. Just have to reach your hand up there and punch through. Once that's done, though, the Pathfinder has deep covered wiring channels up either side of the car for wiring. I ran power and the remote lead and the (_*heavily*_ shielded) omnifi cable up the passenger side, and the speaker wires and RCA cables for the amps down the drivers side. 

AMPS: the sub-floor storage area is pretty small. I fit the AP1040 and the power and ground blocks under there. for grounding, I unscrewed one of the tie downs, sanded to bare metal (critical for a good ground... otherwise you'll get alternator whine), and mounted my ground wire with a ring terminal under the bolt and put it all back together. I mounted the amp and the dist blocks to a piece of 1/4" mdf from home depot (a 2x2' sheet was $2.35... you need to cut it down to 19" x 11.5") The lid will still close with everything in there. The other amp was screwed directly to the speaker box. Though I haven't gotten around to it yet, I plan on mounting the omnifi harddrive in the storage compartment in the right side of the cargo area.

Future Thoughts: For a more custom look, I may look into hacking into the rear quarter interior panel, removing the bose amp, and building a fiberglass sub box that is recessed in the area formerly occupied by the bose amp. If I do this I'm going to go to the junkyard and get the interior panel to cut in half (removing everything from the rear wheel well back). I'll save the factory panel in case I totally screw it up. Since the Infinity Perfect 10 takes a very small enclosure, I can probably make a good box in that area that leaves a lot of the rear cargo area open.


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## shawndoggy (Aug 22, 2005)

*Some Pictures*


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## lnfamous (Sep 14, 2005)

*Rewire?*

Rewire just to change a radio isn't necessary. You get slightly higher volumes from low #'s on the aftermarket radio controls but rewire is a ton of work for no reason. Even when you replace the speakers, front speakers have seporate amps built into them, just jump wires from the harness to the new speaker and remove speaker/bose amps.


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## cmiller (Apr 6, 2005)

I replaced the BOSE with a Clarion single DIN and a sub thanks to the help at Crutchfield. Everything else stayed factory. Sounded great! By adding the sub you can decrease the bass to the other speakers and the sound is much cleaner (less muddy bass). I've since sold the PF but still have the BOSE- single DIN mount and the aftermarket - BOSE amp wiring harness. email or PM me if interested in doing so. That said, I still would bet shawndoggy's system would have blown mine away! You can't compare OEM BOSE to a set of Kappas!


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## Portugese06 (Jan 18, 2006)

*Installing DOUBLE-DIN stereo in '02 Pathy...*

Hello,

First of all I think this message board it great! Second, I am in the process of installing a new stereo in my '02 LE pathfinder (w/bose system). We are going to replace all of the speakers (including tweeters), run new wire, install new headunit, and install an amp. So far, everything has gone well except a slight cosmetic issue. I am installing the Kenwood DPX-301 DOUBLE DIN head unit. The mountin brakcets fit correctly onto the new unit. However, when we mounted it all up and put the front panel back on it, the outer plastic ring that came with the new unit was too thick and caused the front panel to not attach. So, we had to take it off. In doing so, the stereo sticks out a LITTLE bit and there is a gap on the top and bottom. I was wondering if anyone might be able to help with this issue. I see where someone bought a Metra mounting kit, but would that really help me with this issue? I have attached a link to pictures to hopefully help you visually understand what is going on. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks a lot!





WC


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## shawndoggy (Aug 22, 2005)

Portugese06 said:


> I see where someone bought a Metra mounting kit, but would that really help me with this issue?


Yes, the metra kit will help. In my install above, you can see the Metra plate acting as the gap filler between the HU and the edge of the dash hole. So it will fill in the space. 

But your HU also sticks out really far. Is there any way to mount it a little deeper? It looks kinda goofy sticking out so far.


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## Portugese06 (Jan 18, 2006)

the mounting bracket is as far as it goes forward. i dont really know what to do about it...Also, what do you think about mounting the amp underneath the front passenger seat? how did you secure the tweeters in the side panel? thanks

(do you have an email or something to communicate easier?) thanks


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## trebol289 (Mar 27, 2011)

hi i am new at this i need help how do u run new speaker wire on my 01 nissan pathfinder


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