you have to remove the two bolts first!!! then you can remove the speaker cover. Take out the plastic insert that sits in that tray and it will expose the bolts

 

Okay that is what I was wondering...it just did not look like it was connected to those bolts under the lower rubber mat. Just looking at it doesn't seem to connect the two areas. Go figure...THANKS!

 

Ok misrepresented what I was trying to ask - does the insert that is on the top of the dash and integrated with the speaker just pop out? I can't get it out at all - not without breaking it (from what it feels like). Is it just in there tight? Wondering if those of you that have done the mode been able to get it back in there exactly as it was before. I don't want it looking like crap after the mod - I want to be sure it sits flush with the dash.

 

Once the bolts are removed, lift the edge of the tray closest to the windshield slightly then slide it forward a bit and it lifts out. The posted pic in the beginning of this thread shows the entire assembly being lifted out once the two bolts are removed. You have to lift the front edge where the bolts were first a bit.

 

So are the bolts under a tray that pops out or what??? I can't seem to get my issue explained properly. Where are the bolts? If I get in the truck and look at the center speaker there are no bolts to see. Do I lift out the tray to see the bolts underneath the speaker. No one has shown a pic of the assembly showing the bolts. Do I pop out the tray that sits on the top of the the dash/speaker assembly? That is my question - what do I do to get to the bolts?

 

There is a thin rubber mat/liner inside the tray. Lift the rubber mat out and the bolts are under it.

 

My god, if you can't find the two bolts under the mat, you have no hope of completing this mod. And I thought I was mechanically challenged!

 

Ok sorry for the blonde moment but I did not realize the speaker tray had a rubber mat around it - I thought the whole black plastic surround was inserted around the speaker (speaker was a separate piece). The rubber mat looked like it was part of the whole assembly so apologies. I was able to get the unit opened up and attempted to add the adapter and the USB cable I ordered. I believe the actual cable I ordered is not sufficient to make the connection to my Zune. I'll get a PS3 cable and see if that fixes the problem. I may have to get another adapter as well since the adapter is really too big to fit in the plastic opening.

 

OK, I purchased a 6 ft. mini USB/USB A cable and a dbl female USB A connector ($12 bucks at Fry’s electronics) and ran the cables per the instructions with no issues. (Thanks everyone!) However, I am having 2 issues:

1) When I connect my IPod’s standard white USB cable to my existing Sync USB, it works fine. When I connect my IPod to the new installed cable, the IPod recognizes the connection (it displays the Connected to Sync and the Ford Logo). Now when I connect to USB2, it will play for a moment. If I advance to the next track, or anything, then system says “Lost connection to USB2” and the IPod loses its “connected to Sync” on the display. Do you think this is because the length is too great? (6 Ft plus the additional 3+ ft from the standard IPod white cable)
2) It does not appear that I can connect to USB2 from the menu on the HU. It seems to work from the voice sync command, but when I “select Source” from the menu, I only see USB (not USB 2). Could be an issue with item 1 above, not sure.

Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like you are having signal loss problems with the length of cables you have run. A better quality 6ft USB will prob help.

 

So, what is the definition of a better quality Cable? (Cost, brand name) Is there a particular product or brand that I should look for? Anyone use a 6 ft brand name that is working for you with the standard IPod cable?

 

As long as you stick to a Brand like Belkin quality then they are normally a batter grade of cable. There's no need to go silly but some of these $1-$5 cables aint much good for anything. Belkin run about $10 for a good quality 6ft cable on line.

 

i am using a 10ft cable from L-Com. that was $10. When I add the 3ft ipod cable, I now have 13 feet of cable and everything works fine. don't get sucked into the "better" cable debate.

 

It does make a difference. I tried a few different cables and the only ones i could get to function was belkin cables and the PS3 sony cables. There's no need to pay Hundreds of $ for brand name cables but just dont expect a $0.79 6ft cable to work. Plus the max you can really pay for a USB cable is $10. Nothing like $1000+hdmi snakeoil cables. I got plenty of them cheapass USB cables here and they wont even funtion with my Hardrive's lol. A bad cable is really the only reason for a problem with your setup. Just try a few more.

 

Well, I swapped out my 6 ft cable for a 4 ft cable from my Blackberry and that did the trick. Woo Hoo

The 6 ft cable works with the Blackberry so no wasted money.

Thanks all