6.5" Speakers in '98 Jeep Cherokee?

[infowarrior45 10+ year member]

Hello,

I am replacing the factory speakers in my '98 Cherokee. I believe the factory defaults are 5.25" speakers in the front doors as well as in the rear (in the roof). I have heard that with a little modding you can get 6.5" speakers in the rear and maybe even in the front doors. Has anyone tried this? Is it even worth the work to get 6.5" speakers in versus 5.25" inchers?

Also, I am planning on amping them....just wondering if it better to put the amp in the front or back? The rear speakers might be kind of a pain to wire since they sit in the roof or the soundbar or whatever.

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[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

remove the panel and take pics of the factory speakers. you'll need to make a new speaker baffle to mount the new drivers to. this will give you extra depth and a larger mounting hole. what modifications you need totally depend on the speaker installed. the magnet size and the overall depth are the two biggest issues.

#1 you need to determine what your available rear depth is between the door metal and the window glass (when window is down) and the top depth between the door metal and the plastic door panel. simply looking at the factory speaker will tell you the top depth. rear depth should be measured with the window down. then you can shop for speakers that are at or below the sum of top + rear depth.

 

[UMWDawg92 10+ year member]

I actually just finished putting some 6.5s in my girl friends 99 jeep cherokee. They will fit fairly easily with just about a 1/2 wood baffle. There is not a ton of mounting depth so make sure that you don't get deep speakers. If you amp them you'll want to amp the fronts. I don't know about putting 6.5s in the rear as I just left those stock. I used 1/2 plywood wrapped in sound deadner as my baffles, when mounted the baffles do hit the plastic door panel a little but as long as all the plastic clips are in good condition the panel stays on and only leaves a tiny gap in the corner. You wouldn't be able to find it unless you looked for it.

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

^ if you have the model number to share with him that would help identify available mounting depth. thanks for sharing!

instead of using the factory plastic clips for mounting, some 10-24 bolts with lock washers/nuts will secure it firmly. i prefer wood wrapped in deadener, but wood coated in resin will also be waterproof. don't forget foam! weatherstripping foam should be on the back and front of the new wood baffle.