S-10CREWCAB.NET

Okay, so that had nothing to do with it. I had a '01 Malibu and decided to go to a local dealer running $500 under invoice, to my shock, they WERE! A 4x4, actually worth something in 5 years, safe, tall, able to haul, and room for kids vehicle for $40 less a month! Well, I bought it. It's my first truck, and I LOVE it. Just saying hi to all of you, I actually haven't seen a single other S-10 crew cab on the road other than mine, but I've really only been looking for a week. I caught myself staring at my truck the other day, what is with the editors of mags saying "it's 'a throwback to the Fords of the '50's" and "It doesn't have REFRIGERATOR stamped on the side, so you don't have to look" comments. I think it's a great looking truck, well, when it's not beside a Silverado 2500 Z71



Got two questions tho, the 4x4 can't be on all the time, right? Should only hit the button when needed (I'm guessing), and what's with the sub-standard radio? Any low cost, non-ripping out of parts solutions? I was thinking of just throwing in an amp. I like the stock radio, is it the speakers?



Great site! Glad to see a lot of usefull info for our trucks.

Congrats on the new truck! I told my wife years ago that we would have a small four door 4x4 some day , even if it meant shipping parts from overseas Glad the USA caught up with the rest of the world, um...sort of.

marks10cc wrote: the 4x4 can't be on all the time, right?

RIGHT! The transfer case has no way of slipping when the front and rear axles move at different rates in a turn. You need to be on loose or slick terrain while 4x4 is engaged.



The AWD transfer case uses a "fluid" coupling so it can be active on surfaces that grip, but it does not offer the true 4x4 traction we have.



As for the Audio questions there are a few guys here much more qualified to answer your questions there. I'm still in a stereo "time-warp". I haven't been keeping up on the advancements, and was astonished with what's out there now.

hi, welcome to the site and your new truck. yes, only use 4x4 when you need it (stuck) and never switch into 2. i am not a sound person much either. but there are tons of set ups on the site that you could look inot

Definitely replace your head unit. The sound problems with the stock system are all in the head unit. It's what is distorting at higher volume...not the speakers. I replaced my head unit with a basic JVC CD and the improvement as phenomenal. Also consider the Bazooka RS6A-HP powered sub...very good sound out of a small sub, not really earth shattering, but it makes a noticeable difference...and it fits behind the back seat perfectly.

AZS10Crew wrote:Definitely replace your head unit. The sound problems with the stock system are all in the head unit. It's what is distorting at higher volume...not the speakers. I replaced my head unit with a basic JVC CD and the improvement as phenomenal. Also consider the Bazooka RS6A-HP powered sub...very good sound out of a small sub, not really earth shattering, but it makes a noticeable difference...and it fits behind the back seat perfectly.

hey mark, can you take a pic of your dash?

and which head unit are you talking about. the 2002's came with a different radio than what i have in my 2001.

AZS10Crew wrote:Definitely replace your head unit. The sound problems with the stock system are all in the head unit. It's what is distorting at higher volume...not the speakers. I replaced my head unit with a basic JVC CD and the improvement as phenomenal. Also consider the Bazooka RS6A-HP powered sub...very good sound out of a small sub, not really earth shattering, but it makes a noticeable difference...and it fits behind the back seat perfectly.

I am trying to replace my HU as well, but I can't find a wiring harness since the stock deck uses RDS. What did you do to get around this? I am putting in my Pioneer DEH-P6400 and XM setup as well. I chekced with Audio King and Best Buy and neither of them have the new wiring harness yet. Circuit City does but they want like $150 to install. Any help would be appreciated.

Dave

Dave - Call Crutchfield. They sent me the full set of wiring harnesses and a mounting kit for $35 (I think) shipped to my door. Included full install instructions too. Just tell them the brand of radio you have and the relevant info for your truck (especially that it's an RDS unit). My JVC head unit doesn't have RDS capability, so I lost that, but it wasn't really that worthwhile to me anyway.



Hobie - Here's a pic of my head unit. It's a JVC KD-S580. $130 from Crutchfield and that includes all the mounting hardware and harnesses.







If I get a chance to borrow a digital camera in the next couple days, I'll try and get a pic of it installed. I had the RDS CD player in mine...different than what's in yours I think. I'd still recommend a head unit change though. Over the last few years, the stock speaker quality has improved while the head unit sound quality has remained the same or gotten worse.

ya, i want to see what it looks like when its installed

I will do that. Did you lose stuff like your exterior temp and door chimes or anything, because I have been told that you will lose that without the appropriate wiring harness? Thanks for your help.

Dave

Didn't lose anything. Everything works as normal. The wiring harness is made specifically for the S-10's with the RDS radio, so everything relevant to running an aftermarket radio is spliced onto the harness, then you just plug it right into the stock harness on the truck. Easy as pie.

Well I ordered one from Crutchfield. It was only 9.99 though. I enetered in the vehicle information and selected RDS. We will have to see when it gets here. I know what it should look like, so I got that going for me.

Dave

Did you get the wiring harness only or the whole mounting kit and everything? Mine was $35 because I got the whole mounting kit and everything. Did you order it online? I had to call to order mine since the wiring harnesses were not listed online.



edit - Just checked Crutchfield's website...they do have the harnesses available online now. 2 months ago when I got mine they weren't listed online. I got the harness you mentioned ($9), the mounting kit ($10) and the antenna wire adapter ($5). Not sure if that last part was necessary since the stock wire seemed to be long enough, but I think the plugs might have been different sizes, so you might want to order that too...just in case. After shipping it came to about $30 I guess...not $35.