Retrofitting Newer OEM CD Players

[Matt42]

My family, coworkers, and circumstances have convinced me that I am a dinosaur. (Brachiosaurus is my role model. ) My 1996 has a factory AM/FM-cassette player, which has been great. But in nine years, there have been advances in CDs and CD players. Both my daughter's and wife's cars have CD players. Worse still, my new office DC came with a CD player. So, my question is . . .



Can a late factory CD player from a Dodge Ram be retrofitted into my 1996?



I don't like most (any) of the aftermarket choices because they demand more of my attention on the road than I like to give. The factory unit in the office truck is pretty basic, but doesn't require a lot of mental effort to use.



If this has been covered to excess in the past, hit me upside the head--digitally--and I'll try a search again.

 

[ANG012]

I got new one off of e-bay from a dodge dealer am/fm cd-cassette for $200. Said if didn't like send it back. Any second gen. radio will work. Some of the car radios will work that has the bolt hole in the top and one on the side. 1997 and up will have different part because they have slot in the back steering wheek controls. mine was for 2002 fit right in, same plugs in the back but a different location. My wires were long enough to work. I have a 1997.

 

[Matt42]

I got new one off of e-bay from a dodge dealer am/fm cd-cassette for $200. Said if didn't like send it back. Any second gen. radio will work. Some of the car radios will work that has the bolt hole in the top and one on the side. 1997 and up will have different part because they have slot in the back steering wheek controls. mine was for 2002 fit right in, same plugs in the back but a different location. My wires were long enough to work. I have a 1997.

That helps. A lot. I've been looking at Crutchfield and other sources for an aftermarket CD player. Yikes. They don't even look like radios. Some come with remotes that appear to be necessary for some functions. As if I was driving from the bed.



When all I want to do is adjust the volume, I don't want to have to scroll through a menu!



Similarly bad is the CD-cassette player in my wife's Saturn Vue. It has all sorts of automatic settings for stuff that uses a knob or slider on my truck's cassette player. The Saturn's radio uses preset tone settings for what it percives to be talk radio, classical, or rock. All I can say about that is that those settings are almost completely unlike anything I would want. Resetting them is so difficult that I have to pull off the road and scroll through a menu! And it always wants to tell me what it thinks is the correct time is, even when I just want to know what station it's set on.



The Vue AWD torque steers, bump steers and has a Vauxhall V6 engine mated to an indecisive auto slushbox. It came with ratty tires and it rattles like a 1960 Chevy. (I know thru experience!)



Sorry about the rant. Obviously I need a dinosaur smilie!

 

[Driftwood Ram]

Matt,

I have a buddy that has a '95 and found a radio/CD combination that looks like the stock radio. It is supposed to be a plug and play. I will see what I can find out on Monday.

 

[Matt42]

Matt,

I have a buddy that has a '95 and found a radio/CD combination that looks like the stock radio. It is supposed to be a plug and play. I will see what I can find out on Monday.

Thanks. I'm back on the road late next week. My initial thought is to see if I can get one that'll pay CDs and cassettes, but I am beginning to wonder about the cassette part. I've done some looking on eBay, but I'd like to see one in person first.



I think my boss would take a very dim view of me borrowing the player from the office's 04. 5 to see if a similar one would fit.



That's as I am being dragged into the 20th century.

 

[Driftwood Ram]

Matt,



Look here: http://www.westcoastradios.com/page/page/612616.htm

 

[Matt42]

Matt,



Look here: http://www.westcoastradios.com/page/page/612616.htm

Wow! Double wow.