hey guys,i reinstalled my general lee in my 2000 explorer sport.the radio is still in the same place but i did some major work that allowed me to put it further into the dash.the radio only protrudes from the dash about 2 inches now .very nice install..it came out good.the radio used to hang alot farther out.it sits father in now and is more stable too,doesnt move around.also gives more room in the cup holder area.this wasnt a easy task..i had to remove the whole center console.in the second pic you will see the part i dremeled to allow the radio to slide back farther.the rear of the radio(the heatsink)used to touch this and prevent it from going farther in .you can see where i tried to dremel it without taking the whole thing apart....the left side of the plate ,you can see i was having a rough go of it.after removing the whole consol i was able to unbolt the part and dremel away with ease.i had to remove the whole consol because there was 2 bolts still holding this plate in that i could not reach with taking it apart.it was a pain but the end result is great.this is what is possible with a explorer sport with the full console that comes all the up to the dash.to give you an idea of the complexity my consol is loaded ..it has rear a/c and stereo controls.so when removing this there was a blower in here ,duct work from front to back.it was some work.but now that i done it i know the short cuts if i ever have the need again.so for any of you explorer owners out there with a full to the dash console,if you been wondering where to put that radio ..here ya go....i also had to cut the stash holders area to fit the radio thru the opening...those areas where you put junk ya know..but this was already cut from my previous install.its just farther back and cleaner now .the plate i cut out was part of the mounting bracket for the front of the console.i didnt totally gut it ,just took out enough to allow the radio to slide in farther.i left enough mounting bracket to still provide a solid mount for the front of console.took a couple hours between looking it over ,getting tools,pulling it out ,dremel the plate....put it all back together,you get the idea.this is something the do it yourselfer can do.i struggled for awhile with mounting options in this explorer so if your in the same boat heres a solution for you.i also had to move a small electrical connector thats bolted together.its the wiring connector for all the electronics in the console.i had to move it from its original position and position it out of the way.sorry for the dreary pic but it rained here this morning and i took the pic with no flash to avoid glare.well thats it ..here ya go.
and the plate i removed
and the plate i removed
