2001 chevy tahoe hu

I'm running on a little budget but i would like a nice HU with nice features for my truck because the factory CD player isn't working.  I've settled on a touch screen HU from China.   The link is below with detailed pics of the HU.  I know it might be a mistake buying this but it's only going to be temporary until I can get a quality Alpine HU.  Anyways, this is a Double Din unit which I'm pretty sure my truck has a Double Din cabinet.  I've never installed a double din HU before but I've installed a single din unit in my 98 Ford Explorer.  My question is will I need some type of din adapter for this HU to mount completey in or will it just mount in with nothing additional?  Also I'm going to go ahead and install my amp and sub while I'm at it.  What is the best way to run a 4 gauge cable from the battery to the inside.  Should I just try to go through the steering or I seen some installers drill a hole through the firewall.  Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

First of all, your truck does not accept a double din unit.  It may look like it will fit, but modifications are needed.  I would suggest you wait till you can afford the Alpine Unit.  China decks without a brand name on them are JUNK.  A 4Ga wire is not needed to power this or any other deck.

Well the 4 gauge wire will be used to power my amp not the HU.  I'm not completely illerate when it comes to this stuff.  So for my head unit I should just have to install a single din unit?

spittin2rock wrote:

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Well the 4 gauge wire will be used to power my amp not the HU.  I'm not completely illerate when it comes to this stuff.  So for my head unit I should just have to install a single din unit?

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If you weren't completely illiterate when it came to this stuff you wouldn't have made this post...

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

You can install a double din unit in that truck.  Just an idea though, we charge 50 dollars labor to install a single din unit.  We get 200 dollars to install a double din in those vehicles.  Just to give you an idea of how much work it is to get it to look good.

First of all douche bag... if you're not going to post civilized answers then don't post at all.  And obviously you didn't read the entire thread.  The other guy though I was going to try to use a 4 gauge wire to power my head unit.  So if you had any type of education whatsoever you wouldn't have replied to my comment with that comment jerk off....

i am an idiot wrote:

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You can install a double din unit in that truck.  Just an idea though, we charge 50 dollars labor to install a single din unit.  We get 200 dollars to install a double din in those vehicles.  Just to give you an idea of how much work it is to get it to look good.

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Ok so basically, what you are saying is that a double din will not fit in there without additional mods done and that wouldn't be an easy task to complete?

That is pretty much what I was saying.  It is not difficult to do, just time consuming to make it look good.

haha

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A DMM is a beautiful thing.

MECP Advanced Installer Certified.

i am an idiot wrote:

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That is pretty much what I was saying.  It is not difficult to do, just time consuming to make it look good.

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Understood... thanks for your knowledge.

in that truck, unless you can find a rubber or plastic gromet to cut and pass the 4ga through it is best that you find a spot to drill a hole. me personally i would normally drill a hole anyway to avoid the headache of trying to pass that big wire through such a tight spot but to each his own.

unless you plan on doing a bunch of cutting and modifying, both to the interior of your dash and the outer trim, i would suggest you go with a single din unit. truthfully, if you have to settle for something "cheap" from china, i would just get something thats brand name, but basic, for now. until you have the money to get what you want. nowadays you can get something with decent features, but without the dvd player and screen, for a good price as long as you are not looking for something with bluetooth.

if you can live without the screen for now i would suggest doing that because i cant tell you how many people ive done work for and installed those cheap cheap in-dash tv's for who come back to me a month later, or even the day after and tell me to take the darn thing out. 200-300 bucks might seem like a lot for a in dash tv but it really isnt, its actually about bare minimum for what you can pay for one new. when it comes to ANYTHING car audio related you usually get what you pay for.

i understand you just need a temporary solution for now but that is no reason to throw your money away like that. buy something basic, but built with quality, and you might be able to sell it later when the time comes.

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soundnsecurity wrote:

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in that truck, unless you can find a rubber or plastic gromet to cut and pass the 4ga through it is best that you find a spot to drill a hole. me personally i would normally drill a hole anyway to avoid the headache of trying to pass that big wire through such a tight spot but to each his own.

unless you plan on doing a bunch of cutting and modifying, both to the interior of your dash and the outer trim, i would suggest you go with a single din unit. truthfully, if you have to settle for something "cheap" from china, i would just get something thats brand name, but basic, for now. until you have the money to get what you want. nowadays you can get something with decent features, but without the dvd player and screen, for a good price as long as you are not looking for something with bluetooth.

if you can live without the screen for now i would suggest doing that because i cant tell you how many people ive done work for and installed those cheap cheap in-dash tv's for who come back to me a month later, or even the day after and tell me to take the darn thing out. 200-300 bucks might seem like a lot for a in dash tv but it really isnt, its actually about bare minimum for what you can pay for one new. when it comes to ANYTHING car audio related you usually get what you pay for.

i understand you just need a temporary solution for now but that is no reason to throw your money away like that. buy something basic, but built with quality, and you might be able to sell it later when the time comes.

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You do have a point.  I think I'm going to pass on the China off brand because like you said you get what you pay for in Car Audio.  I found a decent Jenson that actually fits my budget.  I had Jenson in my Honda and it did great justice in my Honda.  I had a Jenson HU and a Jenson amp powering a Audiobahn sub.  It sounded hella crisp and clean.  I've been pretty satisfied with Jenson and would go back.  So I'm going to take your advice and install a single din unit. 

I've never drilled a hole through a firewall before.  I'm sure it can't be to hard.  The only challenge I think I will run into is finding the spot to execute the hole to make sure I don't hit anything on both ends.  I do have a question though... Should I drill from inside the car out or the other way around?  Again everyone's knowledge is appreciated.

drill from the inside, and all you have to do in order to not drill through something important is look for points of reference that go through both sides of the firewall. this could be the accelerator line, the steering column, a wire harness, etc. once you have a point of reference to go by, just look for open spots on the inside of the firewall that you can get to with your drill and use your reference point to check if the same spot is clear in the engine compartment. also most firewalls are one layer of sheet metal so once you punch through the first layer you should be able to take the drill out and see light through your hole. if you dont see any light try to push something like a flexible rod or a long zip tie through your hole and check to see if it comes through the other side. if it is still hard to get something through then you should just double check where you are drilling your hole.

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If you're looking firewall from the inside of the truck you should see a rubber grommet that is to the left of the brake pedal and up a little higher. If you go just to the left of this you can drill through this spot. Drill a small pilot hole and then push a pick tool through so that you can see where it comes through. There's some fabric heat shielding covering the firewall from the engine bay so you won't usually just see your drilled hole or light without poking a pick tool through.

I've pulled 8ga through this grommet, but even the 8 ga is difficult to pull. 4 gauge is quite a bit tougher to pull through. I'd much rather drill a hole in this vehicle. Just make sure you seal up the hole well after you've got your wire run.

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MECP Basic Installation Tech
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