helotaxi

I've looked on here a good bit and it seems that no one bothers replacing the factory radio. I can't live with the factory setup personally and I have a very nice Kenwood double-DIN DVD nav unit that is going in the truck. Truck is a '10 Lariat Screw. I searched for quite some time for a dash kit that isn't the standard chintzy black since that would look like crap with all the woodgrain. The good news is that Metra makes a kit that matches each of the different woodgrain dashes (Lariat, King Ranch and Platinum all have different wood patterns if you didn't know). There are two different kits, one for single DIN radios that has a storage pocket to take up the rest of the space (99-5822) and one for double DIN (95-5822). The parts numbers listed are for the basic black kit. Add MM to the part number for the Lariat (Milano Maple), AS for the Platinum (Ash Satin) and CM for the King Ranch (Curly Maple). The woodgrained kits ARE more expensive but what did you expect there? The double DIN has fewer parts and is about $10 cheaper than the single DIN with pocket.

Then there is the question of wiring. The Lariat has the Sync system and Sirius radio stock. My truck came with the 6-disc changer but not the Sony system. My Kenwood radio has Bluetooth and iPod control as well as an additional USB input but after using the Sync with my phone for hands-free voice activated dialing just once, I was hooked on that so it had to stay. This added expense to the radio swap. Also, the truck has the nice steering wheel controls for the radio so it would be a shame to waste those. This left me with two options from what I could find. One was the PAC harness and controller to keep the Sync and the separate steering wheel control module. This would have run me somewhere over $200 and has gotten some mixed to poor reviews as far as functionality. The other option, and the one that I went with was the Metra/Axxess FRST harness and module which retains the Sync and Sirius and retains the steering wheel controls as well. In addition it was only $145 and available from the same place I ordered the dash kit. I have a road trip planned leaving on Monday, so I dropped the extra $$ on one day shipping.

First the dash kit...the finish is gorgeous. Same high gloss as the factory dash. Build quality looks to be pretty good. It includes new panel clips and decent instructions. My only complaint is that it does not include screws to mount the radio to the bracket. For $110 a handful of screws would have seemed appropriate.

Now the wiring adapter and harness. Holy spaghetti wire, Batman! No fewer than 7 plugs and 10 RCA connectors as well as a remote mount brain module. The instructions are pretty good but left me with a few questions that unfortunately I'm going to have to answer on my own since I have to do the install today and tech support is closed for the weekend/holiday. I'm pretty sure that I have it right but if so it is not an elegant solution for this one connection and is the only complaint I have about the harness to this point.

I'll update this thread throughout the day with pics of the components and install pics. I'll also give my thoughts on how well everything works over the next couple days as I feel it out.

helotaxi

Ok. So I'm pretty pissed off at this point. Milano Maple does NOT match my truck. I don't know if Metra got it wrong or Ford changed something. The only thing that I know is that it doesn't match. The factory panels have a darker, more distinct grain pattern and the wood is a different shade of brown. My wife couldn't tell the difference but I could and it would drive me nuts.

Of course I didn't notice until I was almost done with the install and as I was taking the cigarette lighter receptacle out of the new panel it flaked a spot off the finish. It won't show one installed but it means that I can't return it. It will probably end up on eBay at this point unless someone needs it on here. Not sure what it will match.

I guess that I won't have nav or DVD for this trip.

To be continued...

Timkware

Any chance you took pictures of the install, or still have it installed to take pictures, I'm thinking of doing the same thing to my lariat, and want to see how bad the color is off, and what the finish product looks like as well.

thanks

igotworms

Yes, do you have any pictures before you took everything back out. I have the standard black plastic on the dash so matching shouldnt be a problem for me. I really would like to see how this looks before investing some money into this. Thanks!

VEECON

im definitely looking forward to your results. i have a '10 lariat screw as well with mb quart mids, 2 SI BM 12s, and eclipse amp for mids and an mtx amp for subs. right now im running them off the oem deck and have a maxxsonics mx-1, but im not happy with the results. my only option to get the best sound out of my system seems to be replacing the oem deck. im looking at the pioneer avic-z120bt. i know the deck comes with functions that the sync does, but im still considering keeping sync, especially because i like where the mic is placed. if this dont work out, then im going to just get the steering wheel harness and use the pioneer's mic in the oem location (if possible) and the other functions of the deck like bluetooth and usb.