I learn something new every day.

I had to put two separate DIN units into the EX's stock radio location. So, I went online shopping, looking at pictures of the parts in all of the dask kits. I gambled on using the American International HON-K830 dash kit ("for 1986-02 HONDA/ACURA") since it seemed to have the most complex set of parts of all of the kits available, and looked to be specifically engineered for allowing two DIN units.

Well...

I started with the instructions for the 2002 CR-V which were close. Those instructions basically say "remove all tabs from everything, except for the ones you'll be using to install the four mounting screws. That's about 20-25 separate pieces of plastic to cut off, including the pocket railing which the instructions indicate I should remove using plier. Schyeah, fat chance that would work....

I started with a razor, but that just took way too long. I was so glad I'd purchased a dremel tool yesterday as part of my planning for my to-be-determined 625i speaker installs...*that* saved time, and I got to try out my new safety glasses...and learned not to breath the burning plastic fumes too much.

I then found that the headunit wouldn't fit inside the trim ring with the metal mounting cage...ok, so I remove the cage, that's fine and it fits in the lower part.

But the empeg requires it's mounting cage (as it is a pull out unit). Aha, the top part of the side units is wider, and the spacers to bring it into DIN size are optional, so that fits...

...but it has no side mounting screw holes. Drilling aluminum was *not* fun. And realizing I had to shorten the supplied mounting screws, I grew frustrated...then remember the dremel too. That and a pair of pliers, and now I had low-profile screws to work with.

The front trim piece, however, won't fit around the face of the empeg, so I cut it in half. The bottom part of the face of the empeg covers the gap between the headunit and the empeg just fine.

It's starting to shape up folks. Just have the reintegration of the factory sub, speakers and aux jack left to do...

-brendan

Brendan, You could've just used the stock brackets instead. That's what I did when I first replaced the EX's stock double din radio with 2 full din units.

One was the in-dash dvd player and an in-dash Clarion VRX-610.

John

[quote:36c3206463=" "]Brendan, You could've just used the stock brackets instead. That's what I did when I first replaced the EX's stock double din radio with 2 full din units.

One was the in-dash dvd player and an in-dash Clarion VRX-610.[/quote:36c3206463]

Yeah, when I realized I had to drill the empeg's sled *anyway* I realized I probably could have used the stock brackets, though I would have had to have been a lot more precise with the screw holes I drilled, as the dash kit has long slots, while the brackets just have holes.

Also, I think with the cut-to-slightly-less-than-half of the front double-din frame, I can have a slighly more integrated (gapless) look as the bottom of the empeg frame overlaps the not quite straight dremeling of the frame around the headunit which means the gap and the cuts are covered up. We'll see.

-brendan

I have to agree with you Brendan. Spend a few buck for a cleaner and quicker install.

I understand your discussion concerns installation of two separate single DIN units. Would the same apply to installation of one double DIN unit? thanks, joel

[quote:bcba5cb6a2=" "]Brendan, You could've just used the stock brackets instead. That's what I did when I first replaced the EX's stock double din radio with 2 full din units.

One was the in-dash dvd player and an in-dash Clarion VRX-610.[/quote:bcba5cb6a2]

John - one question: when you installed the two separate DIN units using the stock EX metal mounting brackets, did you keep the sleeves on the units (and therefore have to drill holes in the sleeves), or did the stock brackets mount directly onto the DIN units without the sleeves?

The reason I ask is that if the latter is the case, then, due to the empeg requiring the pull out sleeve, I couldn't have used the brackets...

-brendan

[quote:53968001f8=" "]I have to agree with you Brendan. Spend a few buck for a cleaner and quicker install.[/quote:53968001f8]

Well, it certainly wasn't quicker...

The pull out handle on the empeg (mounted above) covers my not-so-straight and slightly melty dremeling of the double-din ring. The lower half of the ring also sits behind the empeg handle a bit, which has the nice side-effect of keeping the handle slightly lifted to allow for easier removal (no need to dig my nails in to get a grip).

Still, mostly black plastic instead of metal exposed around the headunit,but you can still see 4 small aluminum tabs. Might just nail polish them.

It'll never be a pretty install (the seemingly larger than normal face of the empeg is to blame, I think), but it doesn't look that bad. If I remember tomorrow I'll take some pics...

-brendan

[quote:9448f74c37=" "]I understand your discussion concerns installation of two separate single DIN units. Would the same apply to installation of one double DIN unit? thanks, joel[/quote:9448f74c37]

I'd try it with the standard honda metal brackets first.

-brendan

John - one question: when you installed the two separate DIN units using the stock EX metal mounting brackets, did you keep the sleeves on the units (and therefore have to drill holes in the sleeves), or did the stock brackets mount directly onto the DIN units without the sleeves?

The reason I ask is that if the latter is the case, then, due to the empeg requiring the pull out sleeve, I couldn't have used the brackets...

-brendan

Brendan, I didn't use any of the sleeves at all. Luckily, the holes on the brackets lined up with the the holes on in the in-dash dvd and in-dash TV unit. I did make a custom face plate from a black ABS Plastic in order to give it a cleaner look. That part took a lot more time than anything. I ended up discarding that when I eventually upgraded to the Clarion VRX-935VD all in one unit.

For that install, I still used the stock brackets. The pocket that I used to fill the hole came off of a Nissan Frontier pickup. I had to shave off some of the plastic and had to drill holes on the bracket to make it line up with the deck.

Here's a pic of the first install using the EX stereo brackets. The top head unit is the pyle pldvd-120 in-dash dvd and bottom is the Clarion VRX-610.
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/237000-237999/237769_46_full.jpg
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/9/web/237000-237999/237769_48_full.jpg


The current head unit is this. It's the clarion vrx-935vd. I used the EX stock stereo brackets also.
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/4/web/436000-436999/436687_6_full.jpg

John

You don't need to use a dremel to remove the tabs from the AI kits. They're already scored, and all you need to do is grab them with a pair of pliers and twist. It saves a lot of time and there's no risk of inhaling dangerous fumes or risk of hurting yourself.

[quote:200423f94d=" "]You don't need to use a dremel to remove the tabs from the AI kits. They're already scored, and all you need to do is grab them with a pair of pliers and twist. It saves a lot of time and there's no risk of inhaling dangerous fumes or risk of hurting yourself.[/quote:200423f94d]

After struggling for a few minutes trying to remove the AI tabs with pliers and failing every time, I reverted to the dremel. Perhaps my kit missed the scoring step? I'd figure that would be part of the molding process, though.

-brendan

[quote:5dcd21295d=" "]Brendan, I didn't use any of the sleeves at all. Luckily, the holes on the brackets lined up with the the holes on in the in-dash dvd and in-dash TV unit.[/quote:5dcd21295d]

Thanks John. Yeah, that indicates to me that using the OEM brackets wouldn't work with the empeg, as the required sleeve would have been too wide.

-brendan

OK, color me stupid. :oops: I had no idea one could have 2 head units! How in the world does this work? What are the benfits?

[quote:2f0dd5e47e=" "]OK, color me stupid. :oops: I had no idea one could have 2 head units! How in the world does this work? What are the benfits?[/quote:2f0dd5e47e]

In my case:

Head Unit 1: CD/CD-R/MP3CD/AM/FM w/ integrated amp.
Head Unit 2: Hard Drive based MP3 player with 20GB and no integrated amp. It does, however, have four channel out and all the standard head unit senses/controls like remote amp and mute lines.

-brendan

Don't even mess with the AI mounting kit. I argued with the schmuck sales-kid at Best buy for 10 minutes that Metra makes a custom kit for an element. He tried to sell me that POS AI kit and some accessory pocket to go with it. Went to Ultimate Electronics and bought the Metra kit (part no. 99-7863). Note its only a single DIN mounting bracket but I didn't have to break/cut off any of those damn tabs. and the whole kit is only like 15 bucks.

Ok folks. I MUST get the honda factory brackets. I called the stealership and they gave me these part numbers:

77211-s9a-000
77212-s9a-000

They're both a little over 10 bucks each. Could anyone verify that these are the correct part numbers? Does anyone have these brackets hanging around? Is there a source online for these at a non-stealershp rate?

Thanks.

Have I posted this before? This diagram shows the relationship of the EX and LX radios with the brackets (I have these in my LX). The part numbers are 517678 and 517681 (items 3 and 4). This diagram is from the Majestic Honda website. I also have actual photos of my installation in this thread. (http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14940)

Man, I can't find anything using the PNs you posted. At Majestic honda, the parts come up only 5 bucks each, but they add 5 bucks for HANDLING and even more for shipping and its more expensive than the dealership. I guess their system can't tell the difference between something tiny like this part, and an engine block.

Boooo! I guess I'll be off to the dealership tommorrow. I hate the dealership.

Majestic's P/Ns are a little odd at times...I thought it was just me that couldn't cross reference or find parts on other dealer sites with those numbers.

Well, I hope that at the very least my pictures and the diagram will give you a visual reference of what to look for at the dreaded dealership...I wish you luck on your search.