a few questions on stock heads and aftermarket, 97-03

[J Foster]

I've got a 2001 F-150 XLT with the nice (nicest?) stock cd player... the one with RDS and speed volume.... anyhoo, I REALLY like the radio but this is the second one I've gone through. Both have had the exact same problem and I'm starting to wonder if it's something my truck is doing or just a general problem with this type and era of radio. The cd player will not load a cd... it clicks and throws the cd around inside, then spits it out. It'll do it all day long if you'd let it. It's a pretty pronounced clicking too... something like a baseball card on bike spokes. Every now and then, on a cool morning, it'll take a cd and start playing it with no problems. Once it's loaded everything is normal. I just can't change cd's. My stock one went out last year. I bought a used one from e-bay around november, and now this one is doing the exact same thing. so the questions.... Is this a common problem with these radios? Is there anything I could check that could be causing this? I'm reluctant to go aftermarket because I really don't want that gap a single din radio would leave. I also want a radio that dims with the rest of the dash lights... preferably in green. Has anybody been able to fit a double din in a 97-03 f-150? I haven;t been able to find any pics of it. I'm really sold on the kenwood dpx-301 that everybody's been talking about, but I'm not sure I could squeeze it in... and i really don't want the red lights. This factory radio does everything I want it to. I don't need some outrageous system... just something functional and clean looking

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[worland]

That era CD players are reknowned for being a tad unreliable. If you do a Google, you can find a few outfits that will repair these old HU's with upgraded components for a flat fee (usually $80-$125).

I'm rather fond of the factory look and options on my Ford HU's also. The single DIN units look like crap, and the double DIN is a little bigger than the factory unit. You may want to upgrade to one of the newer factory HU's. If the connectors in your truck don't match up with the newer HU's, no big deal. You can get after market cable harnesses to fit both the new HU and the factory wiring harness... just splice them together. I was able to build a harness recently to do just that for about $30 in parts.

[J Foster]

Sounds good! I was getting ready to put up two broken radios for sale on e-bay but decided to check here one last time. Looks like i can get this one repaired for much cheaper than an all new unit... .plus I get to keep that clean look on the dash, nice matching green, and DIMMING lights too! Ohhh I got so irritated trying to find a radio that dimmed. Couldn't find one for under $400.

Anyhoo, are there any reccommended repair shops? I'm leaning towards "sound-repair", but only because of their more professional looking website and slightly lower flat rate ($90)

many thanks!