1989 B350 Aftermarket Radio Install

[JKFlipFloop]

Guys I am going to be ripping out the stock deck on this beast. From what I understand, this year has an infinity sound system (because the radio has the joystick speaker balance knob). Can someone verify if this is true. If so where is the amplifier located? Most importantly, shouldn't that amp be completely bypassed or deinstalled? A new head unit these days has much better output power and less noise, not to mention built in high pass and low pass filters, which would not work well with an amp inline.
Thoughts?

[Bruceper]

Quite often the Infiniti systems had amplifiers mounted directly on the speakers themselves. There is also an amplifier built into the Infiniti deck. Depending on which system you opted for gives you either the amplified deck or amplified speakers.

On some of the car models with component systems there was also an amp under the dash but as far as I know, these never came in trucks or vans.

Pull a speaker, if there is some strange contraption added to the speaker it's one of the 20 watt speaker amps. You should see four wires going in and two going out to the speaker. You can bypass the amp, but I would suggest aftermarket speakers anyways.

Hope this helped and actually applies to your van. My experience is mostly with cars from that era.

[SiennaGuy]

Like I always do, I'd strongly recommend buying a new stereo for your B350 from Crutchfield.com. When you buy from them, they'll tell you which stereo or speakers will fit so you don't waste time and money trying to install stuff that's either too big or is shaped differently than the places in your dash and doors. They have specific info for over 25,000 vehicles. I checked to see if they had information on what will fit in your 1989 B350, and they do. I'd bet that they'd also have the info about the amp and its wiring.

Over the years, I've put in four car stereos in different cars with their help. Other than being an extremely satisfied customer, I have no connection to them.

Purchases from Crutchfield include detailed, vehicle-specific instructions with photos that show you how to disassemble the parts of your particular vehicle's dashboard and then install the stereo. They also include a dash kit for your vehicle that includes any necessary dashboard trim pieces, brackets, and a wiring harness to make wiring it up a lot easier. Specific speaker installation instructions are also included when you buy speakers from them. These instructions are developed by Crutchfield's team—none of them are the generic crappy instructions that often come in the boxes.

Purchases from them come with lifetime US-based free tech support and if you run into a problem with the installation, help is just a phone call away. They stand behind the stuff they carry and they have a liberal return policy. Their website also has the inexpensive hard-to-find tools to pry off dashboard parts and door panels without damaging anything.

Yes, you can probably figure it all out yourself, but it would probably take a very long time, serious frustration, some bruised fingers and maybe some broken parts—all while you try to install stuff that won't fit, no matter what you do. It's just not worth it.