Speakers for 86 STX?

[pacnwranger]

Hi Everyone,

I have an original stereo radio in my '86 Ranger STX, with two speakers in-dash and two in the boxes mounted behind the seats. The speakers are in need of replacement and I'd like to keep the system close to stock. Any recommendations on speakers?

Thanks!

Dave

 

[franklin2]

Ford used oddball speaker sizes. Finding any speaker to fit will be a challenge.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Within the last week someone posted a link to a Facebook marketplace or maybe eBay for printed speaker adapter for Ford ranger/b2. Sorry, I'm not sure where. Maybe someone will chime in...

 

[Josh B]

Man, yours is the spitin image of my 87 XLT (iirc), except my 87 was plum eat up with rust and i had covered it up fairly well with Kmart spray cans That red interior is spot on too
Mine didn't have any buttons around the bed

I bought an in dash stereo for mine and ran wires around the edges and under the carpet and had a couple 6x9 fairly heavy low profile speakers with covers leaned up against the rear cab wall behind the seats, it worked well

 

[pacnwranger]

Thanks all for the feedback. I'll go hunting for speakers. Does anyone know if the ohms rating was 8 back then? How critical would that be for the stereo?

(Previous owner of this truck installed a vinyl tonneau cover, hence the snaps on the side. Works well in warm summer months!)

 

[Josh B]

Did you mean to type pacnwrangler? I believe you are correct about the 8 ohm sir

 

[franklin2]

Thanks all for the feedback. I'll go hunting for speakers. Does anyone know if the ohms rating was 8 back then? How critical would that be for the stereo?

(Previous owner of this truck installed a vinyl tonneau cover, hence the snaps on the side. Works well in warm summer months!)

The ohms on the speakers in a automotive application should always be 4 ohms or lower. The power supply for the amplifier in the radio is only 12 volts. So to get any power out of the radio you need to have a lower ohm speaker. 8 ohms will work, but you won't get the highest output with it.

If the amplifier could supply 12v of music to the speaker, 12 x 12 divided by 8 ohms = 18 watts. If you use a 4 ohm speaker, 12x12 divided by 4 ohms =36 watts.

 

[pacnwranger]

Again, thanks to all for your replies.

I did a little research regarding classic car speakers. Apparently, the change from 8 ohms to 4 was sometime in the 1980s. Several sites discuss this, e.g., http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm. According to this, there is risk of damaging the radio with lower ohm speakers. I just don't want to damage what's in the truck. I'm old enough to remember when old cars were new. They sounded pretty good to me. And they were simple!

 

[franklin2]

Again, thanks to all for your replies.

I did a little research regarding classic car speakers. Apparently, the change from 8 ohms to 4 was sometime in the 1980s. Several sites discuss this, e.g., http://www.turnswitch.com/speakers.htm. According to this, there is risk of damaging the radio with lower ohm speakers. I just don't want to damage what's in the truck. I'm old enough to remember when old cars were new. They sounded pretty good to me. And they were simple!

View attachment 85929

Did they reference your more modern radio with that low ohm concern on that site? No. But no harm will be done running a higher ohm speaker. You may not find any though, most auto speakers are 4 ohms.

 

[pacnwranger]

I managed to remove one of the rear speakers. Looks like it is 6 ohms. I may try to rebuild them with new foam 'surrounds.'

 

[SenorNoob]

Speaker Adapters

That's for the front. That adapter is for a 4" speaker. A shallow 4.5" can fit if you wanna make your own adapter.

Rears are simple enough to just measure. Mine (Supercab) are actually the 5x8 "subs" from a factory Mustang Mach sounds system

 

[pacnwranger]

Here's a pic of one of the rear speakers (still wired to the plastic 'cabinet' that goes just behind the seat) and one of the front in-dash speakers. Fronts are 3.2 ohms and rear @ 6 ohms. The front speakers are still in great shape and the back ones just need new foam surrounds, which I've ordered. I believe the original radio is in good working condition, but we'll see after I get it the speakers back in...

 

[franklin2]

At the least, you usually have to spray the radio controls with TV tuner cleaner to get rid of the crackling noise when you turn the knobs. Problem is, Radio Shack used to sell it but I see they are out of stock.

 

[SenorNoob]

Some brands of electrical contact cleaner contain the same additives. It never seems to last though. I end up redoing the volume adjustment on my powered headphone every couple months.

 

[franklin2]

Not many of them contain the red oil. I don't know if that is the difference or not, but the radio shack stuff lasts for years for me. It was fairly expensive for a very small can, but it lasts a good while. Not sure where you can get it now.