How to access rear speakers in 98 Maxima, ahg!

[aubergine]

Hi! I was so taken with my first car (an 88 Skyline GXE) that I stuck with Nissan and got a 98 Maxima. So far it seems like the best thing I've ever done, with one exception - both rear speakers are blown!

I figured it would be a simple matter to replace them, but after getting home with new speakers I find I can't actually figure out how to even get at them. I thought the speaker covers would just pop off but they seem to be pretty securely fastened (I stopped short of applying more pressure than I thought the thin chipboard they are set in could stand.)

I thought maybe I had to undo the whole rear panel and started to do this, then realised it looked like I'd have to pull the rear seats out as well to lift the panel. Anyway it was set to get ridiculous but I thought I'd check online, couldn't find anything in the maintenance sections of the site so if anyone has any ideas I'd be very grateful.

Fort Knox:



Underneath:



Old and Less Old:

[snwbrdr435]

pop off the plastic

[MinisterofDOOM]

pop off the plastic

No, don't do this. You'll break them.

Yes, unfortunately, you do need to remove the rear seatback to get to them. The seat bottom can stay, but the seat back anchors into the upholstered parcel shelf trim. There should be one bolt on each of the outside bottom corners (hidden behind the seat bottom, but you should be able to shove it out of the way enough to get a wrench in there) and another couple behind the arm rest in the center.The seat lifts up once unbolted (It just hangs from the top, sitting in plastic retainers, with no real fasteners).Then you can pop the parcel shelf trim up (it uses the same breakage-prone clip fasteners that door panels use, so be careful) and slide it out.

Check pages 16 and 30 here for illustrations.

The 80's Skyline is awesome. I don't think I've seen one with those particular headlights before. I like them.

[aubergine]

It's an 88 Skyline GXE. It was a fantastic looking car, I think the Maxima is dead boring in comparison unfortunately but putting the Skyline out to pasture was the right thing to do.

You've confirmed what I was horribly afraid of, but thanks for the explain. I was hoping there was some secret way to pop the covers off (slide a flathead in at a certain point perhaps). A bit weird that you have to pull the whole car apart just to get to the speakers, but oh well.

I disconnected the speakers for the meantime but the sound is pretty bad without them. I'm actually a bit worried that the whole thing may have been wired up poorly in the first place (the busted speakers in there are aftermarket, plus CD stacker is newer) and the tuner is showing it's age. It's a blow after the Skyline, which a previous owner had put a really good stereo into.

[MinisterofDOOM]

It's actually not that bad a job. Definitely a huge pain compared to just popping the speaker grills off, but you can get the seat and shelf out in just a few minutes.