'97 Isuzu Rodeo/Honda Passport install question

I've got a 1997 Isuzu Rodeo with a Kenwood eXcelon head-unit installed, and am planning on installing the Empeg in the "tray" opening at the bottom of the console. I've already got how I will hook the empeg up to my current head unit figured out, but not the mounting issue.

Isuzu's mounting points in the 97 model has 4 screw holes near the front of the opening, with the top 2 holes set deeper to provide more stability. The factory unit was attached using mouting brackets which screwed onto the head-unit, but that probably wouldn't work to well for the dock (besides the fact they are in already being used).

Does anyone know of a place (CC or online?) to buy a mounting kit, or should I take it to a pro shop and have them worry about the mouting issues? I'm probably going to have to modify the plastic surround, as it's about 0.2 inches too small in both directions.. But I'm not about to leave that to the installer to do.

If you're not putting the player into the standard stereo spot, then the odds of finding a pre-made mounting kit will be slim. You will be on your own. Usually, they only make mounting kits for putting things into the standard stereo spot.

It is common for folks to drill holes in their docking sleds to match up with factory mounting points. This actually works quite well if it's done carefully. An example of such drilling can be found here.

I'm assuming the Kenwood CD is in the regular mounting spot right now? And no dash cutting was needed to install it? Well, if possible, I would recommend using the regular stereo mounting spot for the Rio Car and just removing the Kenwood CD altogether.

Well, the second mouting spot has the exact same mouting points as the regular stereo spot, so in theory, you can mount a DIN sized unit in the same spot if you have the correct mounting hardware, and run some power/ground wires (nothing I haven't had to do before..). The shelf unit that comes in that spot is made of plastic, and has a buil-in bracket. If all else fails, then yea, I'll just replace the head unit, if I can track down a tuner module and a decent 4CH amp.

I would agree with tony on this one but with a small alteration. Stick the empeg in the hole where the kenwood is just now but since you are going to be using the head unit as an amp don't cut anything in the dash yet. Found out a way to mount the kenwood somewhere , anywhere in a quick and dirty way duct tape being a favorite method.

Run like this for a while and then decide what you want to do. Be it use the kenwood as an amp or fit a dedicated amp.

If you want to mount a unit in the bottom if it is a reasonably solid plastic you should be able to bend out tabs to hold it in place and maybe something at the back to stop any wobble.

If I recall correctly, the opening in the dash is 2" x 7", so I would probably have to do some trimming (easier on the piece over the tray area, not so easy for the rest of the dash). The Kenwood installs behind and flush with the dash, so to do anything with the head-unit, I have to take the dash apart (been done many times, but not for daily use).

I'll wait and see if/when I get my empeg in to just what the dock looks like, and maybe just fabricate mounting plates for it. I wouldn't mind going just Empeg and amp, but I'd rather run both if I can..

Man, I wish there were better pictures (with measurements) of what is included with the package. I never even knew those were mounting tabs on the sides of the docking cage. I thought they were retaining tabs. They might work, but I kinda doubt the hole is in the right position.

Okay, I thought that the Kenwood and the empeg were going into two totally different spots. If it's just a double-din and there's no difference between the two spots then yeah, it shouldn't matter which spots they're in.

Especially considering you don't have a tuner module, now I understand why you want to keep the Kenwood.

Trimming the dash opening to make room for a pull-out has definitely been done before, but it's rarely needed. If your car genuinely needs it, then go for it. Just be really careful and take your time to be sure it looks good. And make sure to get pictures.

They are in different spots. The console is like this:

[ head unit ]

[vent] [vent]

[AC control ]

[cig] [ash  ]

[   tray    ] 

Is the "tray" spot a standard DIN sized opening? My guess is not.

Yea it is.. I'd take a picture of it, but my camera's battaries are dead. I'll try to post something tomarrow when they're charged up.

Hrm... Thinking about it, I think I may end up just going with tearing out the head-unit and putting in the empeg with a 4 channel amp. Since the head unit can do line out, I can always move them back if I find it's not what I want. Means I get to upgrade to an amped system though..

I posted a few pics here, lemme know what you think (The tray slot has about an 8 inch depth to it). Personally, I would hate to be in the backseat if the empeg is in the tray location, as you wouldn't be able to see the display.

Okay what i would be tempted to do is to put the kenwood in the bottom as a kind of stealth install.

You have got a nice rebate around the hole where the tray goes into. I would get a piece of stuff like alloy sheet, plywood, plastic sheet etc and then cut it to the shape of the hole with a bit cut out for the ciger lighter.
Either stick it in or screw it in. In this plate cut a hole that is DIN sized and mount the kenwood in here if you are clever with colours it won't be that noticable.

You look like you have some nice holes for screwing into to hold the plate

Then stick the empeg in the DIN that the kenwood was in

Go over to the install galleries at riocar and look at the A4 install and you should be able to get a clue as to what i mean.

You know, that might just work. The Excelon is a flip face, so I can't make it a stealth unit, but it has a nice feature which allows you to adjust the angle the face rests at when open. If I put it as the slave unit in the tray, I could have the face angled up and make it easier to see than if I put the emepg there. I think I can easily fabricate some new brackets to match what I have in there already, so mounting won't be a problem.

For the empeg, there is a decorative bead around the opening which exactly matches the dimensions of the empeg head unit, so I will just dremel that out..

If you get a good enough job done anyone looking in the window will see the empty empeg hole and not notice the flip face unit down below in the panal

Woop... My empeg finally arrived, so I should be installing it tonight.. The only problem I can see, is that part of the plastic covering the handle is deformed near the left pivot spot exposing the metal underneath. It's not broken, but looks like the mold didn't fill right. Other than that, it's up and running 2.0b7 w/ HiJack v137..

Edit: Well, it's not plastic, but there is a notch out of the handle that looks kinda ugly.

Here's a thread from a different board regarding installing the empeg into an Isuzu VehiCROSS:
http://club.vmag.com/ubb/Forum39/HTML/000848.html

The VehiCROSS uses the same dash configuration as the '97 Rodeo/Passport, IIRC. I have a Kenwood eXcelon too.

Oh, if your dash is the same, then I strongly recommend against putting the empeg in the bottom DIN. Since I put the empeg in, I rarely need to look at or control the Kenwood, but I leave the full-screen info on on the empeg, and putting that on the floor would be a dangerous attention grabber when driving, even just to change tracks. That's just my $0.02.

Here's a picture of mine almost fully installed with the Z828 on the bottom:


The thread describes a couple ways to install it. On mine I bent the square side tabs out and drilled through the center of the dimple. It lines up perfectly with the bottom mounting holes of the stock brackets, but it'll be too deep into the dash, so I had to space it forward with washers. I can take pictures with the dash fascia off later if you like.

Regards, and good luck.
-Daver

Looks really good.

Hrm.. Just got finished installing the empeg in my Rodeo.. Took me all day to get everything installed as I bought a new amp etc..

I went with putting the empeg up top, and completely taking the excelon out. Though it's a great headunit, I don't listen to the radio much at all, and simply listen to my CD's. In the future, I may pick up a tuner module, but I'll try this out for now. I'll take some pictures sometime tomarrow and post em..

I tried fitting the Excelon in the bottom slot, but found that it's external tuner module, and cables got in the way. With no easy access to the back, it was impossible to move them around to get it to fit. I'll try sometime later this week (too much rain right now) and take off the sides of the center console to try to get better access back there. I'm still hunting a problem with my back right speaker (signal is fine, speaker wire to wiring harness is fine, just nothing past that..) which I suspect lies in the wiring harness adapter I made.

It did take me quite a bit of effort to get my Kenwood in the bottom DIN. I'm not looking forward to taking it back out this weekend, either. I did find that by running the signal cables out the bottom side (you can see the blue ones in the picture above), I can pull on them a bit to adjust where they sit in that slot. With the ashtray out I also tried to finagle the harness behind the cigarette lighter, and that helped the space issue a bit too.

Luck,
-Dave

I haven't missed playing CD's or listening to the radio, so I don't think I'll attempt it yet. My current setup is just fine, so I don't want to mess with it.