installermarc Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 if ford went to a style wiring like in the navigator/aviator, you should be fine taking out the factory radio. speed pulse should be a grey/black in the main harness(24 pin). steering wheel controls may be different. i have seen two types from ford now, one easy, one not so. check with your local shop for more help, or post back and i will see what i can come up with from my sources at ford. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wakebum40 Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 Marc, Thanks.... I did go to my local installer.. In fact I went to 2 of them... The first one is the guy who I want to do it... but he was nervous since he had a problem with a rear dvd on a ford freestyle and the D3.. the 2nd is the installer my local Ford dealer uses.. he told me that he was informed by ford not to do it.. and that there was a special data sync interface between the dash unit and the rear factor installed DVD entertainment unit .. My prime installer is also going to do some digging.... so if there is anything you learn from Ford pls let me know.. Thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MisFit Posted June 13, 2007 Report Share Posted June 13, 2007 ford is completely fucked up in the situation you guys are in. i service several ford and lincoln dealerships. every truck, and every year has been different. ive been able to do some with no problems at all. some i've had to extend and relocate the stock radio to keep the dvd operational. others wouldnt work at all even with relocating. its gonna be trial and error for you guys. metra makes a harness 70-5520v, but its not going to work on all trucks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trpltongue Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 wakebum, I haven't had it installed yet, because I haven't decided which unit I want yet However, I have spoken with Metra and with a couple of the high end Houston installers and they are all telling me that the factory rear dvd is self-contained and continues to work even without the factory head unit. The Metra guy told me that they were actually doing an install in an 07 and were surprised when they removed the factory head unit and just for fun, hit the power button on the dvd player and it fired right up. He said he picked up a set of headphones and it was playing just fine over the headphones. The data link is only for streaming the fm/am/sat/aux/etc to the headphones from the front and for controlling the dvd from the front. However, you will obviously loose the ability to play the dvd through the factory speakers. Sorry I can't confirm, but I'm 95% certain that you can remove the factory head unit and retain your dvd player. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
installermarc Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 ok, my guy at ford says the radio and dvd overhead are separate, but the best way to tell is to unplug the main connector to the radio and then try the dvd with headphones. if it works, your ok. if not, you may need to relocate the factory radio to retain it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trpltongue Posted June 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 Does anyone know how to remove the factory radio? I can't seem to find out how to do it anywhere. I'm a bit nervous to just go pulling on the fascia like my old expedition. Russell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cntrylvr79 Posted June 14, 2007 Report Share Posted June 14, 2007 if ford went to a style wiring like in the navigator/aviator, you should be fine taking out the factory radio. speed pulse should be a grey/black in the main harness(24 pin). steering wheel controls may be different. i have seen two types from ford now, one easy, one not so. check with your local shop for more help, or post back and i will see what i can come up with from my sources at ford. Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls we have another installer on the forum. Welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trpltongue Posted July 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2007 Just a quick update, to remove the factory radio, simply remove the bezel between the radio and shifter console, it is small and below the main radio bezel. It can be a PITA to remove but it does pop out. Then pull from the bottom up on the main radio bezel and it too pop's right out. I removed my factory radio and confirmed that the dvd and wireless headphones work as before. Anyone know what wiring harness I need? Metra guide suggests the XSVI-5520 but that sucker is expensive ($75) and I'm not sure why? Crutchfield sells a harness for $13 but I'm confused as to why there are 2 different harnesses at such different prices. Also, I can't seem to get the radio wiring diagram anywhere? Mine is a limited so it has the factory amp and subwoofer. Russell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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